Dozens of Chinese Canadians gathered in front of the Japanese
Embassy in Ottawa Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the
victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese
Aggression.
The protesters, holding banners that read "Japan, Pay Your
Debts," and "No to Japan for Security Council," demanded the
Japanese government admit its war crimes and make official
apologies.
"Not only the Chinese people, but also people from across the
world are indignant at the Japanese government's refusal to admit
mistakes in starting the Second World War. If it wants to be
forgiven, it must first apologize and make due compensations to the
victims," said Wang Wenwan, chairperson of the Federation of
Chinese Communities in Ottawa.
The Chinese Canadians were joined by a group of Dutch survivors
from the Japanese concentration camps in Asia.
Eighty-three-year-old John Franken, who lives in Montreal, turns up
on the occasion every year.
This year, he was met by the Japanese ambassador together with
Francois Velsan, a survivor of the Japanese concentration camp in
Indonesia.
"As long as the Japanese government does not make public
apologies, I cannot forgive them," Franken said.
He was among 400,000 Dutch who were captured and kept in the
camps by the Japanese army in Indonesia in 1941. One-third of the
detainees died.
(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2005)