China slams Japan's criticism of Li's speech

BEIJING - Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Tuesday criticized a Japanese politician's remarks that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's speech in Germany "ignored history".

On Sunday, Li visited Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam, capital of the German federal state of Brandenburg, the site of the Potsdam Proclamation in 1945, which set the terms for Japan's surrender in World War II.

He said that all the territories Japan stole from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and related islands, should be restored to China.

On Monday, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga rebutted Li's claim, saying, "That remark ignores history. (Japan) can never accept it."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is in Berlin accompanying Premier Li Keqiang on his trip to Europe, has stated China's solemn position on Suga's remarks, said Hong.

Hong reiterated that in modern times, Japanese militarists launched an aggressive war against China and illegally occupied and stole Chinese territories, including Taiwan and its affiliated islands.

"These historical facts should not be obliterated," he said.

In 1945, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation as well as its unconditional surrender.

Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration makes it clear that the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.

In December 1943, leaders of the United States, Britain and China signed the Cairo Declaration, declaring that all the territories Japan had seized from China should be returned.

In the China-Japan Joint Statement issued in 1972, the Japanese government also promised to earnestly implement Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration.

"These are unmistakable historical facts," Hong said.

He asked the Japanese side to face history squarely, clarify and correct relevant statements and never again make remarks that lack common sense.