A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called for greater efforts from the international community to advance the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The call was made by China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation of the Middle East.
Speaking at the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the two-state solution is "near a point of no return".
Guterres said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had brought a glimmer of hope -- the long-sought release of hostages and delivery of life-saving humanitarian relief. But, those embers of opportunity were cruelly extinguished with the shattering of the ceasefire on March 18, when Israeil announced to resume military operations in Gaza.
The UN chief urged the international community to take irreversible actions towards implementing the two-State solution ahead of an international conference, which will be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia in June.
"The clock is ticking. The two-State solution is near a point of no return. The international community has a responsibility to prevent perpetual occupation and violence," he said.
Also addressing the meeting, Fu Cong said that the Gaza conflict is the blasting fuse of the current round of regional unrest. It has been 19 months since the outbreak, and there is still no sign of peace.
Fu stressed that Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law as an occupying power, fully restore humanitarian access to Gaza, immediately stop settlement activities in the West Bank that violate Security Council resolutions, and revive the two-State solution.
"The implementation of the two-State solution is the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian question. We support the Gaza recovery and reconstruction plan jointly initiated by Egypt and Arab countries. We appreciate France and Saudi Arabia for holding a high-level meeting on the implementation of the two-State solution in June. We expect the meeting to inject new impetus into the implementation of the two-State solution. The international community should redouble its efforts to promote the political process of the two-State solution and provide strong guarantees for this. The Security Council, as the primary institution for maintaining international peace and security, has the responsibility to take all necessary actions to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza," Fu said.
Since Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza on March 18, 2,273 Palestinians had been killed, raising the overall death toll to 52,365 since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza-based health authorities on Tuesday.
Chinese envoy calls for greater efforts from int'l community to advance two-state solution
Chinese envoy calls for greater efforts from int'l community to advance two-state solution
Chinese envoy calls for greater efforts from int'l community to advance two-state solution
International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.
The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.
In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.
Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.
Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.
Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.
In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.
"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.
"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.
Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims
