China never allows Japanese militarism to stage a comeback, National Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Jiang made the remarks in response to media reports that Japan's defense budget is set to hit a record high of about 60 billion U.S. dollars for fiscal year 2026, along with plans to deploy improved missiles capable of reaching China's coastal areas.
"Japan has accelerated its military expansion and its growth has been far beyond the military capacity, including offensive weaponry, needed for exclusively defense-oriented purposes. This cannot help but arouse alert and concerns among peace-loving people around the world: what exactly is Japan up to? China has just held commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Eighty years ago, Japanese militarism launched a war of aggression that inflicted untold suffering on the people of Asian countries. Today, regional countries are more committed than ever to safeguarding peace and never allow Japanese militarism to stage a comeback. We urge Japan to reflect deeply on its history of aggression, earnestly respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors and the international community, exercise caution in words and deeds in the military security field, and refrain from repeating the mistakes of the past," he said.
China never allows Japanese militarism to stage comeback: spokesman
China never allows Japanese militarism to stage comeback: spokesman
Voting for the election of the eighth-term Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded on Sunday night.
Voting for the election began at 07:30 a.m. local time on Sunday. More than 600 polling stations were opened across Hong Kong, serving approximately 4.13 million registered voters.
Long queues had already formed outside multiple polling stations across Hong Kong before the polls opened. At polling station entrances, staff and volunteers attentively assisted voters with the procedures. Some voters posed for a photo holding a thank-you card given by staff after casting their ballot.
"As a Hong Kong citizen, I think it's my responsibility to vote, and I don't want to give up my rights. That's why I come here to support," a voter said.
"We actually flew in from Thailand. Learning today is a special day to vote, we actually canceled all our appointments and canceled everything, and we flew in with the whole family just to be part of Hong Kong and to vote, and to cast our vote and be part of the community," said another voter.
HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee cast his ballot at around 08:30 a.m. at Raimondi College on Robinson Road. He said that the LegCo election is of great importance to Hong Kong's overall development and future reforms, and it also represents the expectations of Hong Kong society.
A number of voters said they look forward to the new term of the Legislative Council taking greater responsibility in advancing Hong Kong's economy, society, and public welfare.
"I think an area of focus I'd like to see is, one is the economy, and secondly is youth mobility and youth policies. I think youth are the future, and it's very important to get unity within the youth and also give us hope, right? The youth in general -- what can we do to, for us as youth, to partake in civil society and to show our responsibility, but also from the government, like, what kind of policy that can help us do that as well," said a young voter.
"I hope that there will be more fair education in the sense that even people from the poor family, they can actually receive good education in good schools," another voter said.
The new term of LegCo will be composed of 90 members, including 40 elected by the Election Committee, 30 elected by functional constituencies, and 20 elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections.
The eighth-term LegCo of the HKSAR will commence its four-year term on Jan 1, 2026.
Voting for 8th-term HKSAR LegCo election concludes
