[Mb-civic] CBC News - CHINA REJECTS JAPAN'S DEMAND FOR APOLOGY

Sun Apr 17 16:25:08 PDT 2005

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CHINA REJECTS JAPAN'S DEMAND FOR APOLOGY
WebPosted Sun Apr 17 09:17:13 2005

BEIJING---China's foreign minister says Beijing does not have to
apologize to Japan for the widespread anti-Japanese protests across
the country.

During a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing said Japan
hurt the feelings of Chinese people by its treatment of history, and its
stance on Taiwan and human rights.

Li's Japanese counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura, had travelled to
Beijing, as tens of thousands of people held anti-Japanese rallies in
China on Sunday.

One of the demonstrations was held in the southern city of Shenzhen,
where thousands of people, chanting slogans and carrying banners, rallied
outside a Japanese department store.

Other protesters in the northeastern industrial city of Shenyang hurled
rocks and paint at the Japanese consulate, a consular official said.

Japanese embassy spokesman Keiji Ide said "more than 1,000 people" had
gathered in different parts of the city and marched on the consulate.

Smaller rallies took place elsewhere, including the cities of Zhuhai and
Dongguan in southern China.

The protesters are demanding that Japan be denied a permanent seat on the
United Nations Security Council. They cite atrocities committed by
Japanese troops against the Chinese during the Second World War,
including massacres that killed between 50,000 and 300,000 people.

They're also enraged by new Japanese textbooks that appear to downplay
the atrocities.

Machimura said before Sunday's meeting that he would repeat demands for
an apology and compensation for Japanese property damaged during weeks of
demonstrations.

Japan condemns Beijing for failing to curb protests

His ministry has criticized Beijing for not curbing the "destructive
and violent actions" of demonstrators who gathered for a third
consecutive weekend.

"Even though information was available beforehand to infer that there
would be a demonstration, nothing was done to prevent it &#8230; and we
strongly protest to the Chinese government," the ministry said in a
statement on Saturday.

As many as 20,000 protesters marched to the Japanese consulate in
Shanghai that day, defying police notices urging them not to demonstrate.

 FROM APRIL 7, 2005: Japan criticized for new school textbook

 VIEWPOINT: Sylvia Yu: China-Japan conflict Police in riot gear kept them
 away from the building, but protesters were able to throw eggs and
 rocks. Some demonstrators broke the windows of nearby restaurants;
 others flipped over a car.

About 3,000 people marched in the city of Hangzhou, southwest of
Shanghai. In Tianjin, east of Beijing, about 2,000 protesters held a
peaceful march.