Top legislature, advisory body strongly condemn Abe's shrine visit

The foreign affairs committees of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) issued statements on Friday, voicing strong indignation toward and condemnation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine.

"We firmly oppose the blatant homage paid by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni shrine, and strongly condemn such serious provocation to world peace and human conscience," said the statement of the NPC, China's top legislative body.

To date, 14 Class-A war criminals who committed heinous crimes against the Chinese people and other Asian peoples remain honored in the notorious shrine, the statement said.

The visit to the shrine by Japanese politicians, which was in total disregard to the strong opposition of the people of China and other countries, is an attempt to deny and whitewash the war crimes committed by militarist Japan and challenges the post-war international order, it said.

Tens of millions of Chinese families lost their loved ones and suffered unimaginable afflictions in Japan's war of aggression against China between 1931 and 1945, the statement said.

"History will never be forgotten, and the Chinese people can never tolerate any words or actions that attempt to erase war crimes," it said.

Since it was established, the Abe administration has strained every nerve to push a radical right conservative path with historical revisionism as its core, and has tried to get rid of the constraints of the post-war order, said the statement.

"Such a move has aroused wide concerns of the international community, and has been strongly questioned by its people at home," it said.

Abe has not reflected upon the Japanese side's mistake on the Diaoyu Islands territorial disputes, but has become stronger and stronger in action, with the noticeable move of passing three defense and security policy papers brazenly targeting China and other neighboring countries, the statement said.

People cannot help but worry about the attempts of the Japanese government and the direction in which the country is moving, it said.

The statement continued by saying that the Chinese, the people of Asia, and the whole world can see clearly that the perverse act of far-right forces has again become a threat to regional peace and order.

Abe's erroneous act not only runs counter to the statements and commitments made by the Japanese government to reflect upon history, but also reverses the wheel of history, it said.

Such an act can only impair Japan's international image and isolate it from its neighbors and the world, which ultimately brings harm to the Japanese people, said the statement.

"The world of the 21st century is no longer a world that allows a country to behave as it likes. China is no longer a poor and weak country," said the statement.

"The Chinese people have the will and the ability to safeguard regional peace and stability together with Asian peoples and people of the world. We will never let history repeat itself," it concluded.

The statement from the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body, said all parties that participate in the CPPCC and all social groups and people from all walks of life expressed their indignation and condemnation, and firmly support the solemn position the Chinese government expressed to the Japanese side.

The shrine visit not only severely hurts the feelings of the Chinese people, but also erects a new, major political barrier to the improvement and development of bilateral ties. The Japanese side must bear the responsibility for all the consequences that arise, it said.

Only by facing up to and deeply repenting for its history of aggression and truly "taking history as a mirror" can Japan develop a "future-oriented" relationship with its Asian neighbors, it added.

"We solemnly urge the Japanese side to take steps to correct its mistakes and remove their adverse impact; take concrete actions to win back trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community at large; and safeguard the overall interests of China-Japan relations," it said.