Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II (WWII), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday condemned certain forces in Japan in utterly deplorable and self-humiliating attempts to glorify aggression, deny invasion, distort history, and whitewash war criminals.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expounded on China's position on historical issues after the tenth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting.  

On this day 80 years ago, Japan, defeated in war, accepted the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation and announced its unconditional surrender. The war of aggression launched by Japanese militarists inflicted untold sufferings on the people of China and other Asian countries, and brought severe disaster to the Japanese people, Wang said.  

The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and other international documents specified Japan's war responsibilities and demanded that Japan return the territories it had stolen from China, including the island of Taiwan, he noted.

This is an indisputable outcome of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and an important part of the post-war international order, he added.  

Wang condemned certain forces in Japan in utterly contemptible and self-humiliating attempts to glorify aggression, deny invasion, distort history, and whitewash war criminals, adding that these acts constitute a challenge to the UN Charter, the post-war international order, human conscience and the people of all victorious countries of WWII.  

Wang said "We urge Japan to make the right choice," adding that only by facing up to history can a country earn respect, only by drawing lessons from history can it embrace the future, and only by remembering the past can it avoid repeating past mistakes.


Global Times