Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday commemorated the 77th anniversary of the official start of a war with Japan, condemning those who “ignore the iron facts of history” in an oblique jab at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Xi and a cast of hundreds of soldiers and schoolchildren gathered for a ceremony on the edge of the capital to mark the Marco Polo Bridge incident, a skirmish between Chinese and Japanese troops on July 7, 1937, that served as a pretext for Tokyo’s forces to seize Beijing and triggered the second Sino-Japanese war.
The event, carried live on state television, came amid a deluge of articles in China’s state and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled media outlets linked to the anniversary and criticizing Tokyo for historical revisionism and moves toward potential remilitarization.
Photo: AFP
The conflict, commonly known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, left 20 million Chinese dead, according to Beijing’s estimates.
It ended with Tokyo’s World War II defeat in 1945.
Flanked by aging war veterans and young students, Xi unveiled a slab-like sculpture marking the start of the conflict and praised the resistance of all sectors of Chinese society against what he described as Japan’s “barbaric invasion” aimed at “annexing” China. Japan had already invaded Manchuria in 1931.
“There are still a small number of people who ignore the iron facts of history,” Xi said, but he avoided mentioning Japan or Abe by name.
“History is history and facts are facts. Nobody can change history and facts,” he added. “Anyone who intends to deny, distort or beautify history will not find agreement among Chinese people and people of all other countries.”
Li Wei (李薇), chief Japan expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top government think tank, said it was clear who Xi was referring to.
“It at least includes Shinzo Abe and people who deny history or are trying to gloss over history,” she told reporters.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary and top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said in response to yesterday’s commemorations: “China unnecessarily turning an historical issue into an international one does nothing to contribute to peace and cooperation in the region.”
Tokyo remains repentant, he added.
“There is no change to the position of the Japanese government regarding historical issues stemming from World War II, and our nation’s path as a pacifist nation since the war has been highly regarded in the international community,” Suga said.
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