Implementing the two-state solution is the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian question, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong stressed on Monday at a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
At the meeting, Fu noted that the Middle East is currently mired in turmoil. Just after Israel and Iran reached a fragile ceasefire, Israel launched strikes on southern Lebanon, resulting in casualties. Meanwhile, the suffering of the Palestinian people has continued to grow. The tragedies they endure shake international equity and justice, and test the moral conscience of humanity. The international community must not allow this suffering to continue and should take urgent actions.
China strongly urges the immediate and unimpeded restoration of humanitarian aid delivery, said Fu, adding that as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become extremely critical, Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law as an occupying power, immediately lift the blockade of Gaza, restore full access to humanitarian supplies, and support and cooperate with the UN and other humanitarian organizations in their work.
Fu also emphasized at the meeting that China strongly calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
Noting that military means cannot bring lasting peace, and prolonging the war will only lead to further casualties, Fu said ceasefire negotiations and political settlement are the only correct way forward. China urges Israel to immediately halt all military operations in Gaza, and countries with significant influence over the parties involved should act in an impartial and responsible manner to help push for a ceasefire.
"We strongly call for the revitalization of the two-state solution. The Palestinian question lies at the heart of the Middle East issue. The implementation of the two-state solution is the only viable path to resolving the Palestinian question. The international community should strengthen unity and jointly provide support and guarantee to advance the political process of the two-state solution, and firmly oppose the forced transfer of Palestinians and the dangerous attempts to annex Gaza and the West Bank," said Fu.
China will continue to join hands with the international community to work on a ceasefire in Gaza, the humanitarian relief, the implementation of the two-state solution, and, ultimately, the comprehensive, just, and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question, Fu added.
China stresses two-state solution as only viable path to resolving Palestinian question
China stresses two-state solution as only viable path to resolving Palestinian question
China stresses two-state solution as only viable path to resolving Palestinian question
A video featuring a former member of Unit 731, a notorious Japanese germ-warfare unit during World War II (WWII), was released on Thursday in northeast China's Harbin, revealing details of how the unit used meteorological data to conduct horrific bacterial experiments on human beings.
The video was released by the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, in which former Unit 731 member Tsuruo Nishijima detailed how the unit used meteorological data to carry out a bacterial dispersal experiment.
The video was recorded in 1997 by Japanese scholar Fuyuko Nishisato and donated to the exhibition hall in 2019, according to the hall, which was built on the former site of the headquarters of Unit 731 in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province.
Jin Shicheng, director of the Department of Publicity, Education and Exhibition of the exhibition hall, said that Nishijima joined Unit 731 in October 1938 and served in the unit's meteorological squad. The squad was not a simple observation section but rather an auxiliary force supporting the unit's field human experiments by measuring wind direction, wind speed, and other conditions to ensure optimal experimental results, according to Jin.
Nishijima confirmed in the footage that "the meteorological squad had to be present at every field experiment." He testified to the "rainfall experiments" conducted by Unit 731, which involved aircraft releasing bacterial agents at extremely low altitudes.
At a field-testing site in Anda City, Heilongjiang, Unit 731 aircraft descended to about 50 meters above the ground. They sprayed bacterial culture liquids onto "maruta" -- human test subjects -- who were tied to wooden stakes. Each experiment involved about 30 people, spaced roughly 5 meters apart. After the experiments, the victims were loaded into sealed trucks and transported back to the unit, where their symptoms and disease progression were recorded over a period of several days.
"Unit 731's bacterial weapons were dropped by aircraft from a height of 50 meters in the open air. Therefore, the meteorological squad needed to observe wind direction and speed, which directly affected the precision and accuracy of the bacterial weapons deployment," said Jin.
Nishijima recounted the harrowing experience of the human test subjects.
"They were fully aware that inhaling the substances would certainly lead to death, so they closed their eyes and held their breath to avoid breathing them in. Their resistance prevented the experiment from proceeding. To compel them to comply, they were forced at gunpoint to open their mouths and lift their heads," said Nishijima.
These experiments, disguised as "scientific research," were in fact systematic tests of biological warfare weapons conducted by the Japanese military. The data generated from these inhumane activities became "research findings" shared among the Japanese army medical school, the medical community, and the military at large.
"At that time, the entire Japanese medical community tacitly approved, encouraged, and even participated in the criminal acts of Unit 731. The unit comprised members from Japan's medical and academic sectors who served the Japanese war of aggression against China. Thus, Unit 731 was not just a military unit but represented an organized and systematic criminal enterprise operating from the top down," said Jin.
Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established in Harbin as the nerve center for Japanese biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during WWII.
At least 3,000 people were used for human experiments by Unit 731, and Japan's biological weapons killed more than 300,000 people in China.
Video offers details of Japan's germ-warfare crimes in northeast China
