UNESCO accepts Nanjing Massacre, comfort women documents

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China said on Thursday UNESCO has accepted its application to register records of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and Japan's wartime sex slaves on the Memory of the World Register.

The documents listed by China are first-hand materials that recorded Japanese invaders' atrocities in Nanjing from Dec. 13, 1937 to March 1, 1938, including the slaughter of Chinese soldiers and civilians and the conscription of "comfort women", said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a daily press briefing.

The documents fit the criteria of the register, she said, adding that they should become the common memories of mankind and be cherished and protected by all mankind.

China submitted the application to cherish peace, respect human dignity and prevent the tragic and dark time from happening again, she said.

Japan has opposed the application.

The Japanese government's opposition shows its false reading of history, Hua said, adding that China will not drop its application.

She urged Japan to face up to, remember and correctly tackle issues left over from history, instead of attempting to deny or even whitewash its aggression history.

"We hope the Japanese government shows remorse for its past and corrects its misdeeds with sincerity and concrete actions, to create a peaceful future with its Asian neighbors and people of the world," she said.

Created in 1997, the Memory of the World Register protects the world's documentary heritage.

Historians estimate that 200,000 women were forced into sexual servitude by Japanese forces during WWII, most of them from countries invaded by Japan at that time. - Xinhua

UNESCO listing helps to remind Japan of brutal history 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that China has submitted an application to UNESCO to list archives related to the brutalities committed by the Japanese military during WWII on the organization's Memory of the World Register.

At Tuesday's regular briefing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said these archives are precious historical documents concerning the Nanjing Massacre and comfort women. Expectedly, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga responded acidly, saying his government "will lodge a protest and ask China to withdraw the application if there is a political intention behind it."

It seems that Japanese right-wing politicians have lost their logic. History is history, and misdeeds done against entire humankind cannot be undone. The right wing's attempt to protest against authentic materials that can prove Japan's wrongdoings in the past only demonstrates their cowardice in the face of historical facts. China won't compromise on this matter as the atrocities perpetrated by Japanese troops are unarguable. They are globally confirmed facts. It would be a self-degradation if these Japanese rightists keep lying to themselves and the world.

The reason why Japanese right-wing groups swell with arrogance, to some extent, stems from the lack of global condemnation of their misdeeds. Compared with the attention of the world to what the Jewish people went through during WWII, there are fewer eyes focused on how East Asian victims suffered under the iron heel of the Japanese military.

This asymmetric attention leaves China at a disadvantaged position when arguing with Japan on historical issues. Some Western countries, which have a prejudiced view of China's rise, are taking an ambiguous attitude toward Japan over historical issues.

In the last few years, China has been looking to the future and chosen not to be disturbed by historical rifts when developing relations with Japan. However, as Japan's right deviation keeps speeding up with Shinzo Abe in office, China must realize that historical issues, a key component of the Sino-Japanese relationship, must top the agenda.

In this case, it is necessary for China to lead the world community in reviewing what a rightist, imperialist Japan did to East Asia and the rest of the world decades ago, and let them know the consequences of allowing a resurrection of the Japanese right wing. The more international support China can acquire, the less breathing space these Japanese rightists will have. -

By Liu Zhun Global Times

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UNESCO receives Chinese bid for listing of Nanjing documents China is applying to UNESCO to list 11 sets of documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre on the Memory of the World Register.

China confirms 'comfort women’ docs given to UNESCO

China has submitted applications to UNESCO to preserve the archives that confirm the suffering of "comfort women", in order to make them part of the Memory of the World Register.

“By applying for the inclusion of precious historical documents related to the Nanjing Massacre and Japan's forced recruitment of the ‘comfort women’ in the register, China intends to commemorate history, treasure peace, uphold the dignity of mankind, and prevent such offences against humanity, human rights, and human beings from ever happening again.”

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed the news at a regular press conference on Tuesday.

When asked whether the Chinese government has applied for the inclusion of relevant files and documents, Hua said that Memory of the World Register is an important initiative launched by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which collects manuscripts and rare documents preserved in libraries and archives as well as oral historical records of worldwide significance.

China has been active in making applications to the Memory of the World Register and currently has nine documents listed on the register. What has been submitted on this occasion is a series of authentic, rare and precious documents with historical significance, which meet the standard of application.

The application follows recent comments by leading Japanese politicians and academics casting doubt on the plight of the comfort women.

The Japanese Imperial Army had a policy of forcing women captured in occupied lands to work as sex slaves in military brothels.

What is Memory of the World Register?

UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction.

It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia from all over the world for posterity, for the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and for increased access to and dissemination of these items.

This documentary heritage serves as a mirror, reflecting the diversity of language, ethnic groups and culture, and also the memory of the world.

However, much documentary heritage is fragile, and we are losing memories every day. UNESCO has therefore launched the program as a way to preserve and promote documentary heritage, which can be a single document, a collection, a holding, or an archive that is deemed to be of such significance as to transcend the boundaries of time and culture.

As of June 2013, there were 299 items of international significance from 100 countries included in "Memory of the World”. China has nine documents listed on the register. They are:

Ancient Naxi Dongba Literary Manuscripts
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2003.

Ben Cao Gang Mu ( Compendium of Materia Medica)
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2011.

Golden Lists of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2005.

Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon)
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2011.

Official Records of Tibet from Yuan Dynasty China, 1304-1367
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2013.

Qiaopi and Yinxin Correspondence and Remittance Documents from Overseas Chinese
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2013.

Qing Dynasty Yangshi Lei Archives
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2007.

Records of the Qing's Grand Secretariat - 'Infiltration of Western Culture in China'
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 1999.

Traditional Music Sound Archives
Documentary heritage submitted by China and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 1997. - (People's Daily Online)

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Shangri-La Dialogue proves unfairly dominated by Washington, regional harsh accusations

The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), held annually in Singapore, is a security forum where Western, especially US discourse power has the upper hand. It's not, as the West claimed, timed to deal with security anxieties ratcheted up in the Asia-Pacific region, but a platform to sell US security doctrines that are positively portrayed as "contributing to regional stability."

Throughout these years, three terms have been used over and over to describe China's defense policy at the dialogue, among which "uncertain" is the lightest one. In recent times, China has been increasingly accused of being "aggressive" or "bullying" others. The SLD, which is actually led by the US, offers a platform to communicate with Beijing while pressuring it.

Another purpose of the SLD is to coordinate relations among US allies. At the SLD over last weekend, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel rallied defense ministers from Japan and South Korea to hold a trilateral meeting despite strained relationship between Seoul and Tokyo.

Tempers frayed unprecedentedly at this year's SLD, as Japan and the US ganged up to antagonize China. The keynote address delivered by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a barrage against China and its recent behavior in the East China Sea and South China Sea disputes.

Abe emphasized the importance of international law to resolve or at least manage disputes. He also pledged Japan would play an "even greater and more proactive role" with stronger defense ties to Southeast Asia, including an offer to provide patrol boats to the Philippines and Vietnam.

In a subsequent address next morning, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel endorsed Abe's speech and unleashed a rhetorical fusillade on China.

The rhetoric from Tokyo and Washington only reinforced both countries' anxieties over China's growing might.

It's not difficult to pick out logical loopholes from Abe's elaborate speech. He clamored for respect for international law, but the prime minister's ambition to enshrine collective self-defense is a violation of Japan's pacifist constitution. How can we expect a man who disregards domestic law to respect international law?

Japan promised to enhance its security role in Southeast Asia. But how can its Self-Defense Forces still be called this if they stretch into Southeast Asia?

The clumsy attacks against China didn't score much resonance from the Southeast Asian contingent, the most important audience at Shangri-La.

Vietnam and the Philippines acted rather constrainedly in Singapore. And after Hagel's speech, a professor from Indonesia asked the defense secretary whether the US is contradicting itself by opposing one single country, implicitly China, dominating East Asia while the US itself pursues a dominant role. But Hagel evaded giving a direct answer.

The tone of this SLD was set during Abe's keynote speech. The Chinese delegation were duly incensed and forced to return fire.

Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the General Staff of the PLA, accused Abe and Hagel of sticking to each other targeting China, departing from the speech he had prepared for the dialogue. The Chinese side went toe-to-toe with Washington and Tokyo.

In its move from being a reluctant participant in the SLD, China now engages actively in the security forum.

This year, the sizeable contingent from China includes military representatives, scholars, media persons and a diplomatic delegation led by Fu Ying, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress.

The primary goal of the Chinese delegation was to advocate and elaborate a new security concept for Asia. Nonetheless, we were kidnapped by the crude Western accusations and forced into a defensive battle.

In recent years, there are soaring attacks against China at the SLD, a West-dominated platform.

China should prepare itself for provocations and respond in a more wise and humorous way. There is no need to be led by the nose by the Western countries.

More importantly, we should cultivate and expand the clout of multilateral platforms where China can have a bigger say, such as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia and the World Peace Forum.

Sources: The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Yu Jincui with Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. yujincui@globaltimes.com.cn

Regional harsh accusations overshadow Shangri-La talks

Perhaps the number "13" is unlucky after all. For, over this weekend, the 13th Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), the premier Asia-Pacific security forum held annually in Singapore, was unfortunately shrouded in a thicket of almost tangible tension.

The first salvo was launched by none other than the increasingly controversial Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. During his keynote speech at SLD opening dinner, Abe made a thinly veiled accusation that China upset the status quo in the East China Sea by threat of force.

Abe talked about the need to change the country's legal basis, a reference to the amendment of Japan's pacifist constitution, to enable it to take part in "collective self-defense." But amiss in Abe's extensive description of the "new Japanese" concept was any mention of Japan's militaristic past which still casts a dark pall over many of its victimized neighbors.

The next morning, as if in sync, US secretary of defense Chuck Hagel wasted no time in his keynote speech to directly confront China by accusing the latter of unilaterally altering the status quo in the South China Sea.

Hagel followed up by officially stating the US disapproval of China's setting up of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea. Echoing Abe, Hagel agreed with the need to amend the Japanese constitution, and even mooted the reassessment of their joint defense treaty.

The unusually blunt and strident US posture during this year's SLD startled many observers. But a careful examination of the recent chain of events both regionally and worldwide may provide some clues as to Hagel's tough tone.

A rapidly emergent China, with its attendant rising confidence in tackling foreign and regional matters, almost inevitably gave rise to the perception among some US policymakers that the hitherto more or less unchallenged regional leadership of the US in the Asia-Pacific region was being increasingly sapped.

This resulted in the US urgency to reassert its preeminent role in at least the security matters of the region. Hence the notions of "pivoting" and "rebalancing" rang aloud in US rhetoric versus this region. This sense of acute leadership reinstatement is further exacerbated by recent US foreign policy fiascos around the world.

The Edward Snowden-revealed US blatant spying on foes and allies alike continued to gnaw at global US credibility and moral standing. US President Barack Obama's own threat of use of force to resolve the Syrian civil war was essentially upstaged by a last-minute Russian brokered deal to avert imminent attack.

Yet the Chinese responded to these seemingly joint attacks with a two-pronged approach. The more genteel response was delivered by its former vice foreign minister Fu Ying, who reassured the region of China's peaceful intension and long-standing contribution to regional security.

The more head-on response came in the form of off-the-cuff remarks Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the General Staff of the PLA, who characterized both Abe and Hagel's speeches as being provocative to China.

Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that the general mood among many of the SLD participants from regional neighbors was such that while potential Japanese remilitarization and the return of US hegemony in the region were certainly not welcome, a certain perception of increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region, rightly or otherwise, was also taking root. China needs to redouble its efforts in assuring its neighbors of its purported peaceful rise.

But despite their confrontational postures, both Wang and Hagel made ample mentions of various ongoing and perspective security cooperation mechanisms between the US and China, giving the impression that their "new type of major power relationship" could still hold up despite stark differences.

In addition, Abe, Hagel and Wang variously gave high praises for the important roles in regional security played by East Asian Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum as well as ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

It is in this sense that despite the dense and serious mood permeating this year's SLD, a glimmer of hope can still be gleaned.

Contributed by Ei Sun Oh Source:Global Times Published: 2014-6-3 19:38:01
The author is a senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

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China's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the South China Sea were established through the long process of historical development, said Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), at the 13th Shangri-La Dialogue..

It can be traced back to over 2,000 years ago, or the Han Dynasty, when China started discovering and gradually maturing its administration over the South China Sea, especially the Nansha Islands and related sea area, Wang said..

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The UNCLOS, which took effect in 1994, cannot re-demarcate sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction that came into being over such a prolonged period of time in history, while recognizing countries' historical rights over seas and islands and islets, Wang said..

The UNCLOS is inapplicable to the adjustment of ownership of sea islands and islets, he said. The law governing the sea is an enormous and comprehensive law system, not merely a single UNCLOS..

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China has signed the UNCLOS and respects it, but the United States has not signed the convention because it feels many provisions of the convention are against it, he said..

Wang noted China's stance in this regard is coherent and clear, that is, China advocates solving the disputes over islands and maritime demarcation through direct consultations and talks with the directly-involved parties..

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