Jiang wades into row over Japan's war past
Jiang wades into row over Japan's war past
SEOUL (Reuter): Chinese President Jiang Zemin yesterday charged into the middle of a row between his host South Korea and Japan by warning of a threat from Japanese militarists.
Both Jiang and his South Korean counterpart Kim Young-sam, in a news conference, chastised Tokyo for its view of history that touches raw nerves in both their countries.
"We must be vigilant against a Japanese militarist minority," said Jiang, the first Chinese head of state to visit South Korea.
"Although half a century has passed since the end of a war between China and Japan, some Japanese politicians still have a wrong historical view," Jiang said. "Japan should have a correct view of history.
"The key problem is whether Japan recognizes that the war was an act of aggression."
But Jiang added Beijing wants improved ties with Tokyo.
Jiang's comments followed a 1-1/2 hour meeting with Kim that touched on the Japan-Korea row, which at one point threatened a summit between Kim and Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Osaka on Saturday.
Kim told the news conference: "We will correct Japan's bad habits".
Murayama enraged South Korea last month by saying a 1910 annexation treaty that began 35 years of Japanese colonial rule over the then united Korean peninsula was technically valid. Murayama later backed down.
Japanese cabinet minister Takami Eto rubbed salt into the open wound by saying Japan did "good things" under colonialism. Eto resigned on Monday, salvaging the Osaka summit.
Kim noted offensive remarks by Japanese leaders on about 30 occasions since the end of colonial rule. The comments by Jiang and Kim underline their uneasiness at Tokyo's efforts, on display at Osaka, for a greater Asian leadership role.
Later, Jiang made history by becoming the first president from a Communist country to address the National Assembly. His appearance dramatically illustrated Beijing's growing intimacy with Seoul and a cooling of its relations with its old Communist ally Pyongyang.
Seoul and Beijing only established formal diplomatic relations in 1992, ending decades of hostility resulting from China's support for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War that divided the Korean peninsula.
In his speech to parliament, Jiang ignored the troubled recent history and stretched back to ancient times to recall scholarly exchanges and Chinese influence on Korean culture.
He was vague on the key issue of how to achieve peace between North and South Korea, saying only he hoped the two sides would "through contact and dialogue gradually enhance mutual trust and improve relations".
At the news conference, Jiang described his talks with Kim as "friendly and serious".