In October 2000, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited Japan, and the Japanese government and public attach great importance to the visit of our premier, and all circles in Japan believe that Premier Zhu's current visit will promote the development of bilateral relations. The Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation specially conducted a program to visit Premier Zhu and invited more than 100 Japanese citizens to the program site.
During the visit, a Japanese reporter asked Premier Zhu a question: "May I ask Premier Zhu, Japan has already reflected on World War II, but why does China still not forgive and demand that Japan continue to apologize to China?" When will Japan's apology be counted? ”
This is a sensitive issue in Sino-Japanese relations, and as soon as the reporter's words ended, the scene was silent, and all those present held their breath, waiting for the Chinese premier's answer.
Zhu Rongji
Premier Zhu did not answer immediately, he thought for two minutes, and then said something word by word. Premier Zhu's voice was not high, but it was decisive and very powerful, and the Japanese citizens present solemnly respected the Chinese premier.
So how did Premier Zhu answer? Why did his words make the Japanese people stand in awe?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Premier Zhu's witty remarks</h1>
In the face of the reporter's question, Premier Zhu replied: "When this gentleman talked about Japan's apology, I would like to remind everyone that why did Japan apologize to China in an official document?" In 1995, your country's former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama did apologize verbally to the people of Asia, but did not do the documents. So we can't say that we didn't forgive and let Japan always apologize, because you have never formally apologized. Of course, apologies are a matter for Japan, and I hope that all of Japan will take this issue seriously. ”
Premier Zhu's words are very loud, he not only pointed out the imprecise expression of reporters, but also told everyone that Japan has not formally apologized for the crimes of World War II, and it is impossible to talk about us letting Japan apologize all the time. The Prime Minister's words are thought-provoking, and a country that does not have a correct understanding of its own crimes is dangerous, because if he does not admit his mistakes and crimes, it means that he may repeat the mistakes of history at any time, and it is also possible to repeat the mistakes of history.
Premier Zhu stressed that the apology is Japan's own business, not a matter of others asking for it, and if Japan does not have such a consciousness, it is useless for anyone to ask for it. So Premier Zhu asked the Japanese to take this issue seriously. He was a euphemism for pointing out that Japan had not taken the issue seriously in the past.
During the visit, a young Japanese girl asked Premier Zhu a question: "A Chinese told me that the Japanese must remember history, and Chinese they must try to forget history." I would like to ask Premier Zhu what you think of this sentence. ”
Premier Zhu replied after a little thought: "Everyone cannot forget history, because forgetting history means betrayal." All people should treat history correctly and learn the lessons of history, so that we can face the future and avoid making historical mistakes. This applies to all people, both Japanese and Chinese. ”
The Japanese girl's question was a good one, and it could be said to be complementary to the reporter's question. Premier Zhu reminded people, especially the Japanese, that they must not forget history and must learn to learn lessons from history, so that they will not repeat the mistakes made in World War II.
Of course, for Chinese, we must not forget that period of history that cannot be looked back. In order to stop being bullied by others, we must keep improving ourselves and strengthening ourselves. And we must remain vigilant against any sign of aggression by others.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="64" > the historical enlightenment of Sino-Japanese relations</h1>
We are neighbors with Japan, and it is reasonable to say that neighbors should live in harmony with each other. But unfortunately, we have met japan, the evil neighbor. More than a thousand years ago, Japan coveted our rich and beautiful land. For example, during the Tang Dynasty, China and Japan fought a war, that is, the famous Battle of Baijiangkou.
In 663 AD, Japan, which had coveted Korea for many years, sent sailors to march into Korea, and met the water army led by liu Renluo, the general of the Tang Dynasty, at the mouth of the Baijiang River, and there were more than a thousand Japanese ships, with 32,000 people, which can be said to cover the river. The number of naval warships in Datang is only a few hundred, and the number of warriors is only 20,000.
Schematic diagram of the Battle of Baijiangkou
Although the Japanese army had the advantage in the number of ships and personnel, their ships were small, and The Ships of the Tang Dynasty were tall and large, and Liu Renluo used the tactic of fire attack, so the Tang army won four battles and four victories, hitting the Japanese army to cry wolf, burning and drowning countless times, and even the sea water was stained red.
This battle seriously injured Japan's vitality, and completely subdued Japan, and since then it has not dared to fight with our Greater China for nearly a thousand years.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese minister Toyotomi Hideyoshi controlled the government, and he not only plotted against Korea, but also spied on our Greater China. Japan wrote a letter to the King of Joseon, asking to attack the Ming Dynasty through the Korean Road, but the King of Korea categorically refused. So the Japanese sent troops to Korea, and Korea was not a rival of Japan, so they asked Daming for help. The Ming Dynasty sent Li Rusong to lead a large army into the dynasty. After several years of bitter fighting, the Sino-Korean coalition defeated the Japanese army.
The battle once again subdued Japan and directly led to the decline of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's power. This battle allowed Japan to be honest for another 300 years.
There is a characteristic of Japan as a country, you don't reason with him, you have the ability to do it with him, you can beat him before he obeys you. This was the case in the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, and it was also true during World War II, when the Americans beat the Japanese soldiers to the point of urine, Japan obeyed the United States, the Soviets took the Kwantung Army into full control, and the Japanese also obeyed the Soviet Union.
But if you can't beat him, then your suffering will begin, and in history Korea has been bullied by Japan, and we in China have also been bullied by Japan.
In 1894, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and China was extremely weak at that time, and Japan's national strength increased rapidly after the Meiji Restoration. At that time, an uprising broke out in Korea, because Korea was a vassal state of the Great Qing, so the Dprk asked the Great Qing for help, and the Great Qing sent troops to support the Dprk.
Japan, which had coveted China for thousands of years, found that its opportunity had come, so it also sent troops to Korea. Japan was well prepared, but the Qing Dynasty was in a hurry, a naval battle that wiped out the Beiyang Marine Division, and the Sino-Japanese War ended with the fiasco of the Qing Dynasty.
The Japanese do not talk about martial virtue when they fight wars, and they kill our civilians. For example, the famous Lushun Massacre is a typical example. At that time, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty lost the battle, the Japanese entered Lushun and slaughtered the city of Lushun, and tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the entire city of Lushun, leaving only 36 people responsible for burying the body.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="65" > crimes committed by Japan in China during World War II</h1>
Japan's aggression against China in World War II began with the invasion of China's three eastern provinces in 1931. In the September 18 Incident, the Kwantung Army shelled the Northeast Army's North Camp, but Zhang Xueliang ordered the troops not to return fire, so the entire Northeast was handed over to Japan without resistance.
Soon after japan occupied the northeast, it supported Puyi's Manchukuo, of course, Puyi was just a decoration, and the Japanese did not take him seriously at all.
Puyi
In 1937, Japan launched an all-out war of aggression against China and soon occupied half of China. Japan burned and plundered Chinese soil, and the crimes committed are too numerous to describe.
Wherever The Japanese soldiers went, they carried out the "three lights" policy against civilians, and their evil deeds of brutalizing innocent civilians were inhumane.
On September 15, before the September 18 Incident, our Anti-Japanese Salvation Army attacked the Japanese army in Fushun, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese army, and the Japanese soldiers suffered losses and retaliated against our soldiers and civilians. However, the Japanese army entered a village called Pingdingshan and killed more than 3,000 unarmed villagers in our country, and the villagers of the nearby Qianjinbao Village fled after hearing the news, and the Japanese soldiers hunted down and killed 24 villagers, which is the famous Pingdingshan Massacre.
Flat Top Mountain Massacre
On December 8, 1937, five days before the Japanese captured Nanjing, they also caused the Zhenjiang Massacre. After the Japanese soldiers captured Zhenjiang City, they slaughtered Zhenjiang City for 10 days, and in 10 days, the Japanese soldiers brutally killed more than 10,000 people in Zhenjiang, and the Japanese soldiers also set fire to it, burning as many as 16,700 houses and raping thousands of women.
The Nanjing Massacre was even more tragic. After the Japanese army captured Nanjing, it carried out a massacre for more than 40 days. They not only brutalized the nationalist soldiers who had laid down their arms, but also wantonly slaughtered the citizens of Nanjing. Their methods of killing people are extremely cruel, slashing, burning, burying alive, machine gun fire, driving into the Yangtze River... All kinds of killing methods are used to the extreme. In this massacre, the Japanese army killed more than 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians.
During the massacre, the Japanese soldiers also set up a killing contest to see who killed the most people, and killed enough 100 people to be the winner. A Japanese soldier named Takeshi Noda killed 105 people, and another killed 106 people to Toshiaki Xiang, both of whom were the winners. In addition to killing people, The Japanese soldiers also raped women, thousands of women were brutally trampled by the Japanese, and many women committed suicide in shame or were trampled to death.
Takeshi Noda and Toshiaki Xiang's killing match
The Japanese also carried out continuous bombing of the rear of our war of resistance, and from the beginning of 1938, the Japanese Kou carried out strategic bombing of Chongqing, which lasted for 5 and a half years. In the past five years, Japan has carried out 218 bombings of Chongqing, dispatched more than 9,000 aircraft and dropped more than 11,500 bombs.
Under the indiscriminate bombardment of the Japanese, the bustling urban area of Chongqing was destroyed, and a bustling commercial street was burned to ashes by the fire caused by the bomb. More than 10,000 citizens lost their lives and more than 17,600 houses were destroyed.
The bombing also resulted in the June 5 Tunnel Massacre. In order to avoid the bombing of the Japanese Kou, whenever the air defense alarm sounded, chongqing citizens had to go into the air raid shelter to avoid, on the night of June 5, 1941, the Japanese Kou launched an air raid, the citizens hid in the air raid shelter, but because part of the vent was blown up, causing the lack of oxygen in the cave, the citizens because of the lack of oxygen to the mouth of the cave, resulting in a serious stampede incident, hypoxia suffocation and then stampede to death, this time the incident caused more than 1,000 deaths.
The Japanese also used germ warfare on the battlefield. In 1941, during the Battle of Changsha, General Xue Yue commanded the Nationalist army to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese, who suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield. At that time, Changde was an important backup area for the Changsha front, and the Japanese wanted to take Changde, but they were too short of troops to attack Changde, so the Japanese Kou airdropped biological weapons with plague on Changde. As a result, the plague was in Changde, and many citizens were infected with plague, and the citizens infected with the plague often died one family after another. In this plague, as many as 7,000 people have been recorded as many as 7,000 people.
The Japanese unit responsible for the development of biological and chemical weapons is the infamous Unit 731, which not only manufactures various biological and chemical weapons for the Japanese, but also uses Chinese to conduct live experiments. More than 3,000 people were Chinese used by the Japanese Kou for live experiments alone, and all of them died.
The Japanese also used poison gas on our soldiers and civilians. In 1942, when the Japanese Kou were sweeping up our liberated areas, they created the Beiyan Massacre. At that time, after the Japanese army entered beiyan village, the anti-Japanese fighters and villagers of the county brigade all drilled into the tunnel, and the Japanese army actually released poisonous gas into the tunnel, poisoning more than 800 fighters and villagers at one time.
The Beiyan Massacre
There are many tragic cases committed by Japanese soldiers, but the above are just a few typical examples.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="67" > who is responsible for the atrocities committed by the Japanese Kou</h1>
The crimes committed by the Japanese Kou against the Chinese people cannot be denied, and the evidence cannot be erased. After the surrender of the Japanese Kou, the Allies also tried the Japanese war criminals, but this trial was not complete, because it was not only the war criminals who should be held responsible, but also many people who were responsible for the crimes of the Japanese Kou.
It is true that the war criminals who kill without blinking are to be tried and held accountable for their actions, but these people are only part, not all, of the Japanese war machine. They are only the executors of the war, and behind them there are the makers of the war policy, and the driving force behind the war, and if these people are not tried, then the trial is incomplete.
When it comes to the makers of war policy, it is the Konoe Cabinet, which is the cabinet under the 39th Prime Minister of Japan, Fumimaro Konoe. The Konoe Cabinet achieved fascist rule at home and pursued a war policy abroad, and the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" he proposed became the guiding ideology of Japan's war of aggression. As soon as he took office, he launched an all-out war of aggression against China, and he also urged the Nationalist government to surrender, and his so-called "Guards Statement" was notorious.
After committing suicide in fear of sin, konoe Fumimaro's body
After the defeat of Japan, Konoe was no longer in office, but he could not escape the blame, and when the Allies tried, he was also summoned, and he did not dare to face the Trial of the Allies, so he committed suicide by poisoning. Although the Guards died, they did not really confess their crimes, let alone issue a confession, and he died only for fear of trial and fear of just punishment.
Hideki Tojo, who was originally Prime Minister of Land and later became Prime Minister, continued his war policy, and during his tenure he not only continued to invade China and Asian countries, but he also frantically declared war on the United States and Britain. It was also his last madness that led to the rapid collapse of Japan and its eventual surrender.
Although Hideki Tojo was tried and executed, he did not repent and confess his guilt, and the reason why he was executed was entirely because of his helpless defeat, if it were not for the defeat, he would continue to maim the people of Asia and even make enemies of the people of the world.
Hideki Tojo attempted suicide in fear of guilt
In fact, Konoe and Hideki Tojo were not the culprits, the real culprits were Emperor Hirohito. Because during World War II, Hirohito was the supreme ruler of Japan, he had absolute power over Japan, the cabinet could be changed, but the emperor was the only one, and the implementation of the cabinet's policies was also his will, and it was Hirohito's ambition to rule Asia and even enslave the world. Therefore, the Tokyo Trials should put Hirohito first as a war criminal in any case, and even Hirohito himself felt that he was doomed.
Hirohito was an unexpected exception at the Tokyo Trials, where he was not tried, executed, or punished in any way, and he was still his emperor, much to Hirohito's own surprise.
The fact that the emperor was not tried is not in common sense and the aspirations of the people of Asia. The Nationalist government strongly advocates the trial of the emperor, but it is the United States that leads the trial, which is not in the interest of the United States. Out of its own strategic interests, the United States needed a Japan to remain in East Asia, because the socialist Soviet Union was at Japan's side, and they wanted to build Japan into a bridgehead against communism, and leaving the emperor was the most conducive to building such a bridgehead.
Emperor Hirohito
Therefore, the United States did not hesitate to go against the wishes of the Asian people and against normal logic, and retained Hirohito. Naturally, Hirohito was grateful to the United States. After World War II, Japan obeyed the United States and followed the United States step by step, which is deeply related to this practice of the United States, which also fully shows the strategic vision of the Americans and the sinister intentions of the United States.
In fact, when Hirohito launched the war of aggression, it was not that he was hot-headed, but that there was another pusher behind him, that is, the Japanese chaebol. The Japanese capitalists, especially the big capitalists, want to carry out capital expansion, and Japan is obviously unable to meet the desire of these chaebols to get rich, they dream of exploiting the people of the whole Asia and even the people of the whole world, and they have no better way but to fight, so the driving force of the chaebol is the profound root of Japan's war of aggression.
But Japan's chaebols are hiding behind the scenes, and the courts have a hard time finding evidence of their crimes, so they get away with it. And Japan's chaebols will not take the initiative to repent and confess their sins.
Yasukuni Shrine
So after the war, although the Allies conducted a so-called trial, not all the criminals were punished, and even the biggest criminals escaped accountability. This is not a historical oversight, but a deliberate attempt by the United States, because American interests require such a trial.
Germany, the same war initiator during World War II and a member of the Axis powers, did very differently from Japan. In 1970, when German Chancellor Brandt visited Poland, the German Chancellor came to the Monument to the Uprising in the Ghetto to lay a wreath of Jews who had died at the hands of the Nazis in Germany.
After branding a wreath, Brandt bowed his head in silence to the victims, and suddenly he fell to his knees and deeply repented to the victims. This kneeling of Brandt is called a knee of astonishment, and this kneeling not only does not make Germany short, but makes Germany and the German people instantly stand tall in front of the people of the world. What people saw was a sincere and repentant Germany, and since then Europe and the world have looked at Germany with astonishment, and the whole world is willing to accept Germany.
Brandt knelt down to confess to the Jewish victims
Now Japan also owes Asia and the world a "shocking knee", but more than seventy years after World War II, the emperor has changed to Akihito, and the prime minister has changed dozens of terms, and Japan has not appeared such a sincere leader! Just as Premier Zhu said, Japan has never had an official document expressing its remorse and confession of guilt.