Beijing, Oct 03: Even as the Japanese government appealed against a court ruling granting USD 1.7 million to Chinese victims of chemical weapons left behind by the Japanese army during World War II, Beijing today asked Tokyo to immediately settle the issue. The Chinese stand on the sensitive issue was conveyed to the Japanese government here today when Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing summoned Japanese Ambassador to China, Koreshige Anami, the official Xinhua news agency reported. China demands the Japanese government settle follow-up issues of the abandoned chemical weapons incident in Qiqihar, a city of northeast China's Jelongjiang province as quickly as possible, it said. "With regard to the case of Japan's chemical weapons abandoned in China, it constitutes a major historical issue between China and Japan left over by history, and it is also a practical issue that calls for immediate solution," Li said, adding that the Qiqihar incident gave an eloquent proof of this point. "On handling the follow-up issues of the incident, the Japanese side acts slowly and is inconsistent with public statements made by Japanese leaders," Li noted
This has drawn strong discontent and resentment from general public as well as victims in China, he said.
Bureau Report