Japan must take seriously an incident in which an officer from the country's Self-Defense Forces broke into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo armed with a knife, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, calling on Japanese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
Lin made the remarks in response to a media query about whether Japanese officials had given China any assurance that something like this will not happen again, and whether the incident risks widening the schism between Tokyo and Beijing.
"The incident once again highlighted the danger of the rampant spread of far-right impact and neo-militarism in the country. It also reveals the toxicity of the Japanese government's erroneous policies on vital issues concerning China-Japan relations such as history and Taiwan, and Japan’s failure in maintaining discipline in Self-Defense Force and in fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and personnel," Lin said.
"With regard to what measures the Japanese side will take to properly handle the incident and get rid of the root cause for such incidents once and for all, I'd refer you to the Japanese side. The international community, including China, is watching," he said.
The spokesman also debunked reports by the Japanese media that the officer who broke into the Chinese embassy said he was trying to merely convey his opinions to the ambassador.
"Have you ever seen an individual who, armed with a knife, entered the embassy without permission to convey opinions to the ambassador? The man, a sitting officer of Japan's Self-Defence Forces, scaled the wall and broke into the Chinese embassy with a knife with a 18-centimeter-long blade. This is the fact that the Japanese police found out. It's also a fact that he threatened to kill Chinese diplomats in the so-called 'name of god.' The Japanese side must take it seriously and thoroughly investigate the incident," Lin said.
China urges thorough investigations following armed intrusion at Tokyo embassy
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called on the international community to promote dialogue among the parties involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the latter's request.
Abdelatty briefed Wang on his views on the development of the regional situation. Expressing that the Egyptian side is deeply concerned about the current situation, he said that if energy and power facilities are attacked and paralyzed, it will lead to chaos throughout the region.
To cool down the situation, Egypt is communicating with all parties and actively promoting negotiations, he said.
Noting that Egypt and China are comprehensive strategic partners, Abdelatty said that Egypt is willing to maintain close coordination with China and jointly enhance diplomatic efforts to prevent the region and the world from falling further into turmoil.
For his part, Wang said that both China and Egypt are responsible countries that both oppose military operations without authorization from the UN Security Council, oppose attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, and do not approve of the conflict spreading to the Gulf countries.
The situation in the Middle East is changing rapidly, Wang said, pointing out that both the United States and Iran are signaling their readiness to negotiate. A glimmer of hope for peace has emerged, he said.
If this war continues, it will only bring more casualties and unnecessary losses, leading to further spillover of the situation, Wang said.
Stressing that as long as there is dialogue, there is hope for peace, Wang said that the actions of the Security Council should help ease the situation and promote dialogue, and help prevent the expansion of the war instead of giving a pass to the use of force.
Noting that China supports Egypt in continuing to play a mediating role in promoting the resumption of peace talks and the cessation of the war, Wang said that China is also willing to continue with its constructive efforts to this end.
Chinese FM calls on world to promote dialogue among parties to Mideast conflict
