Nanjing delays exchange with Japanese as protest
Source: Xinhua |
March 3, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE eastern Chinese city of Nanjing said yesterday it will delay its "Japanese Culture Week" scheduled for March as a protest over a Japanese mayor's blunt denial of the World War II-era Nanjing Massacre.
The People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries of Nanjing said it has notified the Japanese side.
Japanese Culture Week is co-organized by the association and the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai. It features exchanges by young people of both nations.
Nagoya Mayor Kawamura Takashi said on February 20 that the Nanjing Massacre "probably never happened" while meeting with a delegation from Nanjing.
Nanjing witnessed genocide, mass rape and widespread looting after the Japanese invasion of the city in 1937. More than 300,000 Chinese were killed.
The denial prompted a fierce backlash from the Chinese public, with many calling for an immediate apology from Nagoya's mayor and a travel boycott directed at the city .
Nanjing has suspended official exchanges with Nagoya.
The two established sister-city ties in 1978.
The Nanjing Massacre, along with other knotty historical issues, has often strained relations between China and Japan. Japanese prime ministers' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine have often spilled over into diplomatic squabbles, as the shrine commemorates several Japanese war criminals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last month that the Nanjing Massacre is a "proven atrocity recognized by the international community."
The People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries of Nanjing said it has notified the Japanese side.
Japanese Culture Week is co-organized by the association and the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai. It features exchanges by young people of both nations.
Nagoya Mayor Kawamura Takashi said on February 20 that the Nanjing Massacre "probably never happened" while meeting with a delegation from Nanjing.
Nanjing witnessed genocide, mass rape and widespread looting after the Japanese invasion of the city in 1937. More than 300,000 Chinese were killed.
The denial prompted a fierce backlash from the Chinese public, with many calling for an immediate apology from Nagoya's mayor and a travel boycott directed at the city .
Nanjing has suspended official exchanges with Nagoya.
The two established sister-city ties in 1978.
The Nanjing Massacre, along with other knotty historical issues, has often strained relations between China and Japan. Japanese prime ministers' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine have often spilled over into diplomatic squabbles, as the shrine commemorates several Japanese war criminals.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last month that the Nanjing Massacre is a "proven atrocity recognized by the international community."
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