China yesterday observed the 74th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of its northeastern region, with official media urging citizens not to forget the episode, but not to let it poison their feelings toward Japan.
The conciliatory message came amid a spike in tensions over Chinese accusations that Japan has failed to shoulder responsibility for atrocities committed before and after World War II, and over conflicting claims to a chain of potentially oil-rich islands in the East China Sea.
Untold suffering
In a lengthy commentary on Saturday, the People's Daily newspaper told readers the Sept. 18, 1931, attack by Japanese soldiers on a Chinese barracks in the northeast city of Shenyang had unleashed an era of untold suffering.
But the commentary attributed the attack to "a small group of Japanese militarists" -- rather than to the Japanese nation as a whole. It said Chinese should observe it by looking ahead and not dwelling on the past.
"We never want to extend hatred by keeping history in mind. Instead we want to face the future by making history a mirror," the commentary said, using an oft-used rhetorical phrase.
Victims of war
Chinese in more than 100 cities were to mark the anniversary yesterday by gathering around memorials to victims of China's Anti-Japanese War and standing at attention as bells tolled and sirens wailed.
State-run television ran lengthy documentaries showing atrocities during the era.
In Beijing, however, there were no apparent protests or special security arrangements at the Japanese Embassy, where earlier this year angry crowds hurled rocks and bottles in a display of anger over Japan's alleged refusal to take responsibility for its actions in China in the 14 years that followed the Shenyang attack.
State-controlled media
China's entirely state-controlled media has carried a steady stream of anti-Japanese commentary in recent months as the country commemorates the 60th anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.
Beijing has also continued to rail against visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to a Tokyo shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including executed war criminals.
They have also objected to allegedly saccharine depictions of the war in some Japanese textbooks.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS