BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the Japanese side is in no position to interfere in the affairs of China's Taiwan region, either from the perspective of history or law.
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the comments as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly said on Monday that any crisis in Taiwan could spur Japan and the United States to take joint action to rescue their own citizens. She added that in such a situation, there was no way Japan could abandon its long-time ally, the United States.
"The remarks by the Japanese side once again reveal the Japanese right-wing forces' ambitions to provoke antagonism, make trouble, and take the opportunity to keep remilitarizing Japan and to challenge the post-war international order," Guo said, urging the international community to stay on high alert and firmly reject that.
Japan should be reminded that the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement states that "the Government of Japan recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. The Government of the People's Republic of China reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation," Guo said.
The 1978 Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan, ratified by the two countries' legislatures, affirmed that the principles set out in the 1972 Joint Statement should be strictly observed, he added.
A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, require that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Taiwan, must be restored to China, and Japan should be "completely disarmed" and not maintain such industries as "would enable her to re-arm for war," he said, adding that Japan's Constitution also made strict restrictions on the country's military forces, the right of belligerency and the right to war.
"These are political commitments that Japan must strictly honor and legal obligations that they cannot deny," Guo said.
"Japan claims to act within the scope of law but has kept their gross interference in China's domestic affairs and even threatened the use of force against China. This is self-contradictory," he noted.
Japan committed innumerable crimes during its colonial rule over Taiwan of more than 50 years, and bears serious historical responsibilities to the Chinese people.
"Either from the perspective of history or law, the Japanese side is in no position to interfere in the affairs of China's Taiwan region," Guo said.
"We once again urge the Japanese side to abide by the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and Japan's own political commitments made to China, do soul-searching, correct its wrongdoings, and stop their manipulation and reckless moves on the Taiwan question," he said. ■
