Flawed maps ground textbooks
29/6/2005 8:28
China yesterday insisted that it has the legal right to temporarily
impound textbooks meant for a Japanese school in Dalian, a port city in
northeastern Liaoning Province.
On April 25, Dalian Customs temporarily held
128 textbooks sent from Japan to the Japanese school after it found different
colors were used for Taiwan and the Chinese mainland on maps of 15 geography
books.
Noting that China is dealing with the issue in accordance with
relevant laws, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Beijing that the
one-China policy is related to Chinese sovereignty and Chinese people's
feeling.
He said that the 15 books will be returned to Japans.
Liu also
urged Japan to take more measures to accelerate the process of destroying the
chemical weapons left behind by the Japanese invading army during World War
II.
Japanese government officials confirmed on Monday that a poison gas
accident in Guangzhou, southern Guangdong Province, last week was caused by
chemical weapons abandoned by the Japanese army at the end of WWIIs.
But
Japanese media also quoted a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying that
China was slow in response while Japan was willing to speed up disposal of the
chemical weapons.
"We've noticed relevant reports. China has lodged
representations to the Japanese side and asked for clarification," Liu
said.
He added that the Chinese government always attaches great importance
to the issue and has worked vigorously to accelerate the process. "It is the
Japanese side that should take more measures to push forward the process of
destroying the chemical weapons," Liu said.
"Abandoning chemical weapons in
China constituted a serious crime committed by the Japanese army during its
aggression against China," Liu said, and the weapons are still realistic threats
to the life and property of the Chinese people.
Xinhua
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