The leaders of Japan and China called for a new era in relations at a summit yesterday, pledging to hold annual meetings, resolve an angry dispute over maritime gas deposits and not allow their bitter history to divide them.
The carefully choreographed summit between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) was aimed at bolstering ties between the Asian giants.
The two also discussed China’s contentious handling of protests in Tibet. Fukuda praised Beijing for agreeing to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
PHOTO: EPA
Both leaders used the meeting to herald greater cooperation between Asia’s most populous nation and its most powerful economy
“Our relations are at a new starting point, and we have a new chance,” Hu said at a joint news conference after the summit, adding later: “Japan and China have an important responsibility to assure peace in Asia.”
As a sign of that determination, the two agreed to hold annual summits, attempting to prevent the recent rift that created a 10-year gap in visits to Japan by a Chinese president.
Fukuda also said the countries were on the verge of resolving a thorny dispute over the exploitation of natural gas fields in the East China Sea. China is tapping the fields, but Japan says they should be jointly developed.
“We believe a breakthrough may now be possible,” Fukuda said, without giving further details.
The two nations have held a series of meetings on the problem, without announcing much progress.
Fukuda also said he hoped for a successful Beijing Olympics, recalling the 1964 summer games in Tokyo that marked Japan’s emergence on the world stage after its defeat in World War II.
Fukuda, however, said he had not decided whether to attend the opening ceremony.
“The world is watching. We hope the Chinese government and people realize this and that people will be able to watch the games with pleasure,” he said.
Hu said fledgling talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives would continue, though he offered veiled accusations.
“We hope that the Dalai will express his sincerity through his acts,” Hu said. “We hope the Dalai will stop acting to separate the homeland, stop orchestrating the inciting of violent acts and stop undermining the Beijing Olympics, so as to create the conditions for further discussions. We hope that the contacts will have a positive result.”
Hundreds of demonstrators marched against China’s policy in Tibet and thousands of riot police were mobilized to ensure Hu’s safety.
After a ceremony at the imperial palace, he went to the summit with Fukuda, then on to a lunch with business leaders and a meeting with the heads of Japan’s main political parties.
Hu and Fukuda were to play pingpong today before Hu went off to see Yokohama and Nara.
Far from the violence ravaging Haiti, a market on the border with the Dominican Republic has maintained a welcome degree of normal everyday life. At the Dajabon border gate, a wave of Haitians press forward, eager to shop at the twice-weekly market about 200km from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They are drawn by the market’s offerings — food, clothing, toys and even used appliances — items not always readily available in Haiti. However, with gang violence bad and growing ever worse in Haiti, the Dominican government has reinforced the usual military presence at the border and placed soldiers on alert. While the market continues to
An image of a dancer balancing on the words “China Before Communism” looms over Parisian commuters catching the morning metro, signaling the annual return of Shen Yun, a controversial spectacle of traditional Chinese dance mixed with vehement criticism of Beijing and conservative rhetoric. The Shen Yun Performing Arts company has slipped the beliefs of a spiritual movement called Falun Gong in between its technicolored visuals and leaping dancers since 2006, with advertising for the show so ubiquitous that it has become an Internet meme. Founded in 1992, Falun Gong claims nearly 100 million followers and has been subject to “persistent persecution” in
ONLINE VITRIOL: While Mo Yan faces a lawsuit, bottled water company Nongfu Spring and Tsinghua University are being attacked amid a rise in nationalist fervor At first glance, a Nobel prize winning author, a bottle of green tea and Beijing’s Tsinghua University have little in common, but in recent weeks they have been dubbed by China’s nationalist netizens as the “three new evils” in the fight to defend the country’s valor in cyberspace. Last month, a patriotic blogger called Wu Wanzheng filed a lawsuit against China’s only Nobel prize-winning author, Mo Yan (莫言), accusing him of discrediting the Communist army and glorifying Japanese soldiers in his fictional works set during the Japanese invasion of China. Wu, who posts online under the pseudonym “Truth-Telling Mao Xinghuo,” is seeking
‘SURPRISES’: The militants claim to have successfully tested a missile capable of reaching Mach 8 and vowed to strike ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal, Russia’s state media reported on Thursday, potentially raising the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The report by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an unidentified official, but provided no evidence for the claim. It comes as Moscow maintains an aggressively counter-Western foreign policy amid its grinding war on Ukraine. However, the Houthis have for weeks hinted about “surprises” they plan for the battles at sea to counter the