Japanese lawmakers wish to see photographs of Japan's wartime
atrocities removed from Chinese museums because they want to avoid
facing up to history and repenting for past crimes, Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang stated at a press conference
yesterday.
A group of Japanese lawmakers, principally hailing from the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party, vowed on Wednesday to put pressure
on China to remove photographs and other exhibits and to stop
screening films depicting Japanese wartime atrocities committed
before and during World War II.
"The photographs record the horrors of the period to remember
history. They are there not to continue hatred, but to prevent
tragedies from recurring," Qin said.
Six-party talks
Qin said Beijing was keen for the six-party talks to resume as quickly as
possible.
Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator at the six-party
talks, told reporters on Wednesday that he will visit China, South
Korea and Japan next week to discuss the possibility of restarting
the talks.
Hill said that the long-running banking dispute with North Korea
could end "very soon" after Russia offered to help bring it to a
close. The frozen funds issue has prevented the six-party talks
from moving forward since March.
Nicaragua ties
On reports that Nicaragua is considering diplomatic ties with
China, Qin said: "We hope related countries will respect and insist
on the one-China principle to make the correct and wise
choice."
This would be the second Central American nation to make such a
move in recent weeks after Costa Rica established diplomatic
relations with China on June 1 after severing ties with Taiwan.
China says the principle followed to forge diplomatic ties with
Costa Rica could extend to other nations. Qin added that the
Chinese government stands ready to create ties with all countries
based on the UN Charter and Five Principles of Peaceful
Co-existence.
Military spending
Qin Gang slammed US remarks criticizing China's defense spending
as "irresponsible," and retorted by asking Washington to stop
selling weapons to Taiwan, an action which "sends any wrong signals
to Taiwan secessionist forces."
Qin's remarks were in response to' statement. Richard Lawless,
the US deputy undersecretary for defense for Asia, reportedly
accused China of concealing weapons spending. Qin dismissed this
claim, saying China moved for peaceful development and remained
transparent in its defense expenditure.
Olympic security
China is ready to tackle security at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in cooperation with
other countries, Qin said. Qin was responding to comments by Thomas
Fuentes, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) of the US, who said that the FBI stood ready to offer its
expertise to China during the Games.
Fuentes is in Beijing for the sixth meeting of the Joint Liaison
Group (JLG) between China and the US on law enforcement cooperation
such as the fight against corruption, cyber crime, fugitives, human
smuggling, intellectual property and legal assistance.
Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and US Ambassador to
China Clark Randt are present at the meetings along with officials
from the Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Security and
Justice and the US Department of State and Department of Justice,
he said.
China-US trade issue
"We hope US senators will refrain from politicizing economic and
trade issues, and from bringing pressure to bear," Qin said.
Qin made the remarks in response to a bill sponsored on
Wednesday by four US senators that seeks to force through a
revaluation of the RMB.
"The two sides should resolve trade problems in the principle of
equal consultation," He added.
Qin expressed his hopes that the US Congress would take in the
importance of the stable development China-US relations from a
strategic perspective, and properly handle trade frictions.
China has adopted a managed floating RMB exchange rate, Qin
said, among ongoing reforms of the currency.
Iraqi President to visit China
At the invitation of President Hu Jintao, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will
pay a state visit to China from June 20 to 26, Qin announced.
Qin said Talabani would hold in-depth talks with Hu, as well as
meeting with top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao.
The two sides would discuss bilateral relations as well as
international issues of common concern, said Qin, adding that
agreements would be signed on increasing cooperation between the
foreign ministries and in terms of education and health.
Besides Beijing, the Iraqi president will also tour the ancient
city of Xi'an and Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency June 15,
2007)
