Japanese lawmakers are calling for the removal of photographs and other exhibits on Japan's wartime atrocities in China because they don't want to own up to history and repent for past crimes, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday.

A group of Japanese lawmakers, mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, vowed on Wednesday to press China to remove photographs and other exhibits and stop screening films that show wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese invading troops before and during World War II.

"The photographs record the horrors of the period to remember history is not to continue hatred, but to prevent tragedies from recurring," Qin said at a regular news briefing.

Military spending

The spokesman denounced the US' remarks on China's defense spending as "irresponsible", and called on Washington to stop selling weapons to Taiwan to refrain from "sending any wrong signals to Taiwan secessionist forces".

Qin's remarks were in response to Richard Lawless' statement. The US deputy undersecretary for defense for Asia was reported to have accused China of concealing its spending on its weapons program.

"China sticks to its role of peaceful development," Qin said. "We are transparent on our defense expenditure."

Nicaragua ties

On reports that Nicaragua would like to establish diplomatic ties with China, he said: "We hope related countries will respect and insist on the one-China principle to make the correct and wise choice." Costa Rica established diplomatic relations on June 1 after severing ties with Taiwan.

(China Daily 06/15/2007 page2)