Chinese People Condemn Japan for Revising TextbookThe people of this Chinese city, where invading Japanese troops massacred 300,000 people during the 1940s, today condemned Japan for its revision of a school history textbook."It is not an academic issue nor a historical one, but a serious political issue," said Meng Guoxiang, an expert with the Nanjing Massacre Society, at a seminar. Sheng Hong, a historian, said that the textbook has totally denied and distorted the historical facts, and the Japanese government's approval of the textbook has sent out a dangerous signal. "The Japanese government seems bent on passing the legacy of invasion to later generations," he said. Li Ninggui, a middle school principal, told the seminar that the revision of the textbook has deprived Japanese youngsters of their right to find out the truth of history. Yang Zongren, deputy president of the Nanjing Massacre Research Association, said that the move showed that the Japanese government is supporting and conniving at a small number of right- wing people to challenge human consciousness and justice. He noted that documents and other materials have proved that Japanese troops committed horrendous crimes in Nanjing half a century ago, resulting in the deaths of 300,000 people. "We have the obligation to let the whole world know the facts," he said. Xia Shuqin, 72, who lost seven family members during the Nanjing Massacre, said that the attempts by Japanese right-wingers to deny the historical facts will end in vain, and history cannot be rewritten. |
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