Japanese nationalists to make own Nanjing movie) f! t- |% ~4 C8 k$ I: G
- d# A, `+ `0 t$ b0 `1 t TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese nationalists have announced plans to producetheir own film on the Nanjing Massacre to counter a series of movies comingout this year on its 70th anniversary.0 j1 p7 W! Z( k; e
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The project is certain to infuriate many Chinese, for whom Japanesetroops' December 1937 massacre of the captive city remains a source of deepbitterness.$ \9 A; i1 ~: h0 ~9 _' I1 S
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The film, tentatively called "The Truth of Nanjing", will be directedby Satoru Mizushima, the head of a nationalist television satellite channel.' s0 |1 t2 L% y! p
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"If we remain silent, anti-Japanese propaganda will spread across theworld," Mizushima told a news conference Wednesday flanked by dozens of supporters,including members of the Japanese parliament. & @& ^7 @8 ]& l& ?7 F P1 z 9 F; U: L" g* Y) ~4 P' o7 r9 f# m5 E"What is important is to correct the historical record and send right messages," he said. " n0 z" N) J1 i % x" Q; C6 W, V5 s3 N He announced a committee of conservative scholars and politicians tosolicit public donations to make the movie, which they hope to finish bythe year's end. 8 V" g' a0 T" A( U- ^! X0 K, L5 N3 u' E S% @9 n
Chinese historians say some 300,000 civilians were slaughtered in anorgy of murder, rape and destruction by Japanese troops in the eastern city. 8 x# h" q" ?* n- m% J+ ~ K- Z3 I, F: B
Allied trials of Japanese war criminals documented 140,000 dead. SomeJapanese historians say the toll was less or deny the massacre altogether,alleging that victims were soldiers and not civilians.* k, D( R) O% i3 Y# ?* K8 m
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Mizushima said a total of seven films on the massacre were slated for release this year.& }4 `( ~6 p3 E4 r
0 s; E+ _6 Y6 _, q) i& x" @; `$ _ A US production entitled "Nanking", after the city's old name, is currentlybeing screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It features actors, includingWoody Harrelson, who read accounts of the massacre interspersed with footageand interviews with survivors.- I; h$ P' C/ }( q5 @( l( c
. h7 B' y' i9 e/ T* w+ i8 H Chinese state media have also announced a movie based on the best-sellingbook "The Rape of Nanking" by late American author Iris Chang, which Xinhuanews agency last year called China's "Schindler's List", referring to StevenSpielberg's Oscar-winning 1993 Holocaust film.; Q6 ?" N6 \) s
0 x! R3 P, l% \7 X% QFriction over history continues to haunt relations between Japan and China./ `( H& l3 z2 {+ [
China saw rare street protests in 2005 after Japan approved an avowedly nationalisthistory textbook that made only a passing reference to Nanjing.% x2 `8 L/ P0 c. l! P
8 v- _2 F! P( {; Y2 p9 j) h Film director Satoru Mizushima speaks during a news conference at aTokyo hotel Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007. When Japanese troops conquered thethen-capital of China in 1937, historians agree they slaughtered tens ofthousands of civilians in an orgy of violence known since then as the Rapeof Nanking. Mizushima, president of a rightwing Internet broadcaster 'ChannelSakura, announced he is working on a documentary with a very different message:the massacre never happened. The film, to be called 'The Truth about Nanking'and completed in August, will be based on testimony from Japanese veterans,archival footage and documents that proponents say prove accounts of thekilling are nothing more than Chinese propaganda. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) : B1 r" Y/ @5 }7 Q8 i 0 _* n# t) I! l% m 4 }+ i, {( i/ s4 H5 s
! x, A% R" R( A9 ?6 m2 Y Japanese nationalist film director Satoru Mizushima, front row left,and Japanese historian Shudo Higashinakano, front row right, applaud duringa news conference on Mizushima's new film, based on Higashinakano's work,to be called 'The Truth of Nanking,'at a Tokyo hotel Wednesday, Jan. 24,2007. When Japanese troops conquered the then-capital of China in 1937, historiansagree they slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians in an orgy of violenceknown since then as the Rape of Nanking. Mizushima, president of a rightwingInternet broadcaster 'Channel Sakura, announced he is working on the documentarywith a very different message: the massacre never happened. (AP Photo/ItsuoInouye)% `7 o; ~; f$ U; p
中评社香港1月25日电/外交部发言人姜瑜今天在记者会上回答记者提问时表示,中方认为南京大屠杀铁证如山,国际社会对此也早有定论,日方以正确和负责任的态度来妥善处理历史问题,有助于它真正取信于亚洲邻国和国际社会。 8 N) i' z+ H2 G8 Q7 N( m$ M$ Z, g8 Z: R& B" }
据报道,有日本人士准备拍一部关于南京大屠杀的电影。姜瑜在回答关于这一报道的问题时说:“我们看到了有关报道。我们认为南京大屠杀铁证如山,国际社会对它也早有定论,日方以正确和负责任的态度来妥善处理历史问题,有助于它真正取信于亚洲邻国和国际社会,也符合日本的自身利益。” $ Q7 W; E8 B i o ; C. _$ J8 y* M/ F6 r2 r, U 姜瑜说,中方认为改善中日人民之间的感情是两国面临的共同课题。中方历来主张按照“以史为鉴,面向未来”的精神发展中日友好合作关系。今年是中日邦交正常化35周年,中日关系面临着良好的发展机遇。我们也希望通过有关纪念活动能够保持中日关系良好的改善势头,来推进各领域的交流与合作。 3 }) Q: A3 {( r+ l7 @3 M" c4 |6 ^& f
China angered by Nanjing massacre film& j# T5 H7 A7 B5 M9 j
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Thursday January 25, 2007 * W# w( T9 }; Z9 D, A: L6 t/ M6 M# [1 O/ l
China has reacted angrily to plans by Japanese nationalists to make a documentary describing as a myth the massacre of tens of thousands of Chinese civilians by Japanese troops in 1937.& Y' B- j* O' f9 R! Q: L( ~, `
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The film, entitled The Truth About Nanjing, will insist that the massacre never took place, despite evidence presented at the postwar Tokyo war crimes tribunals that Japanese troops slaughtered at least 142,000 people when they invaded Nanjing, then the capital of nationalist China. / [; I( A0 D9 q0 R# o , G. K% U* z' x% x' }0 }+ _ Chinese historians have put the death toll at 300,000 men, women and children.. a/ p* V, D9 s4 Y" G+ a
# E/ u; t8 f ]7 a, ^"We have seen the reports," said Jiang Yu, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman.7 o. ~2 U1 F$ }. y( j- c
* C% K3 P; r2 b- b( V"I think that there is irrefutable evidence for the Nanjing massacre, and international society has long ago come to a conclusion about it.' u) K; j) x4 i
$ ^" p! u, r2 j4 G* {"Japan's taking of a correct and responsible attitude to properly deal with historical problems helps it truly win the trust of Asian neighbours and the global community."5 U& f& m2 e# P2 H( F' H
4 W N. b9 @9 D4 e2 o* ZMr Jiang added, however, that the controversy would not derail the latest bilateral talks aimed at improving ties due to end at the weekend.- X! u) ]* u& s+ f6 f
3 @% r, D4 @. f a& T"China and Japan have both attached great importance to the dialogue, and the two sides will exchange views on mutual relations and issues both sides are concerned about," she said. ; q x$ s6 H \: a6 s. ^8 E) g) [: @; x" ?* Q. v5 k2 t( x
"The strategic dialogue is an important channel for the two sides to discuss face to face on how to improve and develop mutual relations." 9 ^( w6 N$ a0 J' A% _3 }3 g6 _3 L% B! S# @4 f: v4 G6 Z
Tokyo's rightwing governor, Shintaro Ishihara, is one of several leading politicians to have come out in support of the film, directed by Satoru Mizushima, who heads a nationalist satellite TV channel.. \" B g/ @- n' C% ~- B4 G1 Z L
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"If we remain silent, anti-Japanese propaganda will spread across the world," Mr Mizushima said at a press conference, flanked by about 40 supporters. "What is important is to correct the historical record and send the right message."* e# P W# j8 Z; V
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The film will be funded by public donations and should appear before the end of this year, the 70th anniversary of what many historians have described as an orgy of rape, pillage and murder by Japanese imperial army troops." |+ U* D I+ I+ ^& f
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It is one of several films about the Nanjing massacre set for release this year. Nanking, a US production featuring Woody Harrelson, won critical acclaim earlier this month at the Sundance film festival for its first-person accounts of the massacre.! M' l3 T! l4 P9 b& h! R
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In addition, Chinese authorities reportedly plan to make their own version based on Iris Chang's bestselling book, The Rape of Nanking. ' [9 \" U7 l9 T8 N3 s3 ` + _8 j! r' i7 v# D* _The row comes as the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is seeking to improve relations with Beijing after years of friction under his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, who angered Japan's neighbours with his annual visits to a war shrine in Tokyo that honors 14 class A war criminals. ! r8 l# C) Q: C; \" B& b5 Y' F& b* p- ?$ v- n9 G$ ]* g
Figures released today suggest that many Japanese share Mizushima's patriotic fervour. According to the poll, by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, almost 80% described themselves as staunchly or mildly patriotic, although 85% agreed that Japan should "reflect" on its wartime conduct. % p0 E. C9 K' j* l8 x 3 S' K4 U6 z4 Q. ]8 d& S0 NAbout half agreed with recent changes to the 1947 education law that make the teaching of patriotism compulsory in state schools.