China-Niger relations are part of South-South cooperation, and China is willing to carry forward the traditional friendship between the two countries and enhance mutual trust, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his meeting with Niger's Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare in Changsha, the capital city of central China's Hunan Province.
Wang expressed the hope that Niger will safeguard the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens in Niger.
China's cooperation with Africa is guided by the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests as well as its African policy -- sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith -- and China encourages Chinese enterprises to act in the spirit of win-win cooperation, address Africa's needs, support its development, and aid in its revitalization, said Wang.
Sangare said Niger firmly adheres to the one-China policy, regards cooperation with China as a priority, attaches great importance to security issues, and is willing to enhance mutual trust and maintain dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect.
Sangare came to China for the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation which was held in Changsha on Wednesday.
China willing to deepen friendship, enhance mutual trust with Niger: FM
Japan should better inform its younger generations about its history of aggression during World War II (WWII) to raise anti-war awareness in society, according to descendants of Japanese invaders in China during WWII.
On July 7, 1937, Japanese troops attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's nationwide resistance against the Japanese invaders, initiating a whole-of-nation war effort that opened the main Eastern battlefield in the global war against fascism.
In a recent interview with China Media Group, Kuroi Akio, one of the five descendants who visited China last year for an apology tour, warned about the lack of information in today's education system regarding Japan's wartime invasion of China and other Asian countries.
"Three years ago, I asked a group of children between the ages of six and 10 if Japan had ever been in a war and where it was fought. About 70 children raised their hands, so I asked them one by one. Every child answered 'America,' and not one mentioned any other country. The children knew about the war with the United States and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, they didn't know about Japan's invasions of China, the Korean Peninsula, China's Taiwan region, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This is the reality, and that's why the education in Japan is so hopeless," said Kuroi, who knelt down before the Chinese people during his apology tour in northeast China's Jilin Province last September.
Kurokawa Yasuko, another descendant, also called for better education in Japan about its wartime history, saying it was essential for a properly informed public opinion.
"I think that [the lack of war history education] is wrong. It's important to teach students the history of Japan's invasion to others in the modern world, otherwise the public opinion of this country will be steered in the wrong direction," she said.
"We hope to create a strong anti-war public opinion in Japan. My activities are called 'micro-power' in Japan, a tiny power indeed, but by gathering voices of support and agreement, such drops of water will become a stream, a river, and eventually an ocean. Without a peaceful future, mankind can't survive. Humanity's future can only be realized through the belief in peace," Kuroi said.
Japan should better inform younger generations about its wartime atrocities: WWII descendants
