China urges Japan to retract erroneous remarks without delay: FM

(ECNS) -- China once again urged the Japanese side to take seriously what it has heard from China, reflect on and correct its wrongdoing, retract the erroneous remarks without delay, and take practical steps to honor its commitments to China, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Mao made the remarks in response to the written response released by the Japanese government on Tuesday, which claimed that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in the Japanese Cabinet "do not change the consistent position of the Japanese government," and also stated that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of great significance to Japan's security guarantee and the overall stability of the international community.

China has stated its serious position more than once. Those remarks seriously violate the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, erode the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and challenge the post-war international order, she said

“China has made clear its firm opposition. The remarks have been questioned and criticized by visionary people inside Japan, and met with condemnation from the international community,” Mao said.

The spokesperson added that the Japanese government’s November 25 statement continues to repeat that its position on Taiwan is either “consistent” or “unchanged”. That is hardly adequate. What China and the international community want are answers to these questions: What exactly does the Japanese side mean by what they call “consistent position”? Does the Japanese side still follow the one-China principle? The Japanese side should honestly, accurately and fully articulate what that “consistent position” is. Soft-pedaling the issue, putting out unspecified notions without touching on the essence of the issue, and hoping that somehow the issue would resolve itself—such kind of approach will certainly not go anywhere.

“Not only that, the Japanese side, instead of turning back from the wrong course, again made irresponsible remarks in the statement regarding the Taiwan question and interfered in China’s internal affairs. Let me stress that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. How to resolve the Taiwan question and realize national reunification is purely China’s own affair and not for Japan to point fingers or even meddle in it,” she concluded.