[People's Daily Online]

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, July 20, 2003

Tokyo Governor's Words Arouse Chinese People's Anger

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara suggested in a lecture on Thursday that the
Chinese in Tokyo be arrested and deported.

He claimed that most crimes in Tokyo were committed by "Zhina" people and
that local police worry that sooner or later these people will kidnap
children of important Japanese people, the China News Service quoted
Japanese media as saying.

Such talks reflect clear xenophobia. Anyone with any sense would reject
Ishihara's assertion as groundless.

A metropolis such as Tokyo is attractive to people from all over the world
as a place to live, work or study.

Even if some local Chinese have been engaged in crime, how can that be used
to back the proposal that all Chinese people living in Tokyo should be
expelled? Or justify Ishihara's offensive and insulting words to the Chinese
as a whole?

If some Japanese people living in Beijing broke the law, that would likewise
be no justification for targetting all Japanese in the Chinese capital.

In his tirade, Ishihara freely used the term "Zhina," a derogatory Japanese
name for China.

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, "Zhina," a name the Japanese
Government used to refer to China, began to have insulting connotations.

The Japanese Government was eventually forced to abandon use of the term
after it faced a protracted struggle by and representations from the Chinese
Government and people.

A veteran politician such as Ishihara could not be unaware of what such a
word means to the Chinese people. His talk can only be interpreted as a
clear attempt to humiliate and provoke the Chinese people.

A closer look at the Tokyo governor will show it is not surprising that such
words came from his mouth.

Ishihara has long been trademarked as an extreme right-winger for preaching
the national superiority of the Japanese and whitewashing the war crimes
committed by Japanese militarists during World War II.

Sino-Japanese relations have been developing soundly thanks to the
unremitting efforts of both sides. We have every reason to cherish this
hard-won friendly relationship.

But extreme right-wingers such as Ishihara are sowing the seeds of hatred
against Chinese people.

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