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Wen tells Japan to free skipper
Source: Xinhua |
September 23, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AMID tensions over Japan's detention of a Chinese skipper, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has demanded Japan swiftly release the man while Tokyo proposed high-level talks on the issue.
"I strongly urge the Japanese side to release the skipper immediately and unconditionally," Wen said Tuesday after arriving in New York City for a three-day visit.
"If Japan clings to its mistake, China will take further actions and the Japanese side shall bear all the consequences that arise," Wen said during a meeting with representatives of Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans.
Wen added that China-Japan relations had witnessed improvement and development thanks to years of efforts by both sides.
That momentum has now suffered severe damage and Japan is solely responsible, he said.
The Chinese premier also urged the Japanese government to swiftly correct its mistake to bring bilateral ties back on track.
In Tokyo, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshito Sengoku called for high-level talks with China to ease the row. "We hope Japan and China will hold high-level talks as soon as possible to ease the diplomatic row," Sengoku said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokswoman Jiang Yu yesterday urged Japan to unconditionally release the Chinese trawler captain to avoid further damaging bilateral ties.
"It is futile to play tricks of deceiving the world and the international public opinion," said Jiang in a written statement.
Jiang made the remarks when asked to comment on Japan's reportedly calling on China to remain "calm" and solve the issue through high-level contacts.
On September 7, two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese trawler collided off China's Diaoyu Islands. The next day, the Japan Coast Guard seized the Chinese trawler and detained the trawler's captain and 14 fishermen on board, drawing strong protests from the Chinese government and people.
The fishermen were released last week, but the captain, 41-year-old Zhan Qixiong, is still being held by Japanese authorities. Despite China's repeated call for the immediate release of the captain, a Japanese court on Sunday authorized prosecutors to extend the detention of the Chinese man by 10 days to September 29.
The captain's family back in a small village in Fujian Province was in no mood yesterday to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, an occasion for family reunions.
"He has been fishing for more than 20 years and he has gone to the Diaoyu Islands often in the past years. After he was caught by the Japanese, he had telephoned me saying that he would come back soon because he had done nothing wrong," said Chen Tingting, the captain's wife.
"I strongly urge the Japanese side to release the skipper immediately and unconditionally," Wen said Tuesday after arriving in New York City for a three-day visit.
"If Japan clings to its mistake, China will take further actions and the Japanese side shall bear all the consequences that arise," Wen said during a meeting with representatives of Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans.
Wen added that China-Japan relations had witnessed improvement and development thanks to years of efforts by both sides.
That momentum has now suffered severe damage and Japan is solely responsible, he said.
The Chinese premier also urged the Japanese government to swiftly correct its mistake to bring bilateral ties back on track.
In Tokyo, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshito Sengoku called for high-level talks with China to ease the row. "We hope Japan and China will hold high-level talks as soon as possible to ease the diplomatic row," Sengoku said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokswoman Jiang Yu yesterday urged Japan to unconditionally release the Chinese trawler captain to avoid further damaging bilateral ties.
"It is futile to play tricks of deceiving the world and the international public opinion," said Jiang in a written statement.
Jiang made the remarks when asked to comment on Japan's reportedly calling on China to remain "calm" and solve the issue through high-level contacts.
On September 7, two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese trawler collided off China's Diaoyu Islands. The next day, the Japan Coast Guard seized the Chinese trawler and detained the trawler's captain and 14 fishermen on board, drawing strong protests from the Chinese government and people.
The fishermen were released last week, but the captain, 41-year-old Zhan Qixiong, is still being held by Japanese authorities. Despite China's repeated call for the immediate release of the captain, a Japanese court on Sunday authorized prosecutors to extend the detention of the Chinese man by 10 days to September 29.
The captain's family back in a small village in Fujian Province was in no mood yesterday to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, an occasion for family reunions.
"He has been fishing for more than 20 years and he has gone to the Diaoyu Islands often in the past years. After he was caught by the Japanese, he had telephoned me saying that he would come back soon because he had done nothing wrong," said Chen Tingting, the captain's wife.
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