Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

When asked to comment on reports that the recently declassified documents released by the Russian government show that during World War II, the Japanese invaders in China planned to attack the Soviet Union from Northeast China and prepared to use biological warfare that could cause massive damage to the troops by establishing Unit 731 in Harbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that the Japanese forces that invaded China blatantly violated international law by launching a heinous bacterial warfare against the Chinese people during World War II, conducting inhumane live human experiments, and committing atrocities against humanity. 

The information disclosed by the Russian authorities once again proves that the Japanese military's use of bacterial warfare is an undeniable fact, the spokesperson said. 

Only by facing up to history can we gain respect; only by learning from history can we open up the future; only by not forgetting the past can we prevent ourselves from going astray again, Mao said. 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. "We urge Japan to reflect deeply on its history of aggression, to respect the feelings of the people of China and other victimized countries, to make a clean break with militarism, to eliminate its evil legacy through practical actions, and to refrain from repeating the mistakes of history," the spokesperson added.

Global Times