中国大使車襲撃 容疑者の「英雄」扱いを憂える

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 3, 2012)
China shouldn't treat suspects in car attack like heroes
中国大使車襲撃　容疑者の「英雄」扱いを憂える（9月2日付・読売社説）

We hope the Chinese government will take appropriate actions to prevent the recurrence of an incident that insulted Japan.
　日本を侮辱するような事件が再発しないよう、中国政府に適切な対応を望みたい。

An official car carrying Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa was attacked recently in Beijing, and the Japanese national flag on it was stolen. Chinese authorities have identified four suspects, including one woman, but the authorities have just been questioning them without detention.
　丹羽宇一郎・中国大使が乗った車が襲撃されて国旗を奪われた事件で、中国当局は容疑者が男女４人であることを突き止めた。拘束せず、事情を聞いているという。

This incident seems to have been caused by rising anti-Japanese sentiment within China, which was ignited by Hong Kong activists illegally landing on the Senkaku Islands. Stealing the Japanese national flag is nothing but a blatant insult to this country.
　今回の事件は、香港の活動家による尖閣諸島への不法上陸事件を契機に中国国内で反日機運が高まっていることが原因だろう。国旗を狙ったのは、日本を冒涜(ぼうとく)する行為にほかならない。

Responding to a protest by the Japanese government, Beijing said the incident was extremely regrettable, and it would do its best to prevent similar incidents in the future and take stern actions as required by its laws.
　日本政府の抗議に対して、中国側は「極めて遺憾だ。再発防止に全力を尽くし、法に基づき厳正に対処したい」と応えている。

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Effects of patriotic education

However, an opinion survey conducted by a Chinese portal site on the Internet showed that 80 percent of respondents supported the attack on the Japanese ambassador's car. It is alarming for Japan that many people praised the attack, calling the suspects "heroes."
　ただ、中国のインターネットのポータルサイトが実施した世論調査では、大使車襲撃を支持する回答が８割に達した。容疑者を「英雄」として、事件を称賛する声が多いことは、日本にとって憂慮すべき事態だ。

There is a slogan in China that a patriotic act should not be considered a crime. However, it is certainly a problem that the destruction of Japanese cars and restaurants by anti-Japan demonstrators is virtually permitted in that nation.
　中国にはもともと、愛国的行為なら罪に問われないとする「愛国無罪」というスローガンがある。日本車や日本料理店などを壊す反日行動が、事実上容認されているのは問題である。

We must point out that the strong effects on young people of the patriotic education by Chinese authorities are behind the radicalization of the opinions they express on the Internet due to anti-Japanese sentiment.
　反日で若者のネット世論が過激化する背景として、中国当局による愛国教育の強い影響を指摘しないわけにはいかない。

Both Japan and China should understand that they are close neighbors separated only by a narrow strip of water, and that they are very important partners not only economically but also in many other fields. It should be stressed that the latest incident and repeated anti-Japanese demonstrations are simply unproductive.
　一衣帯水の日中は、経済をはじめ、極めて重要なパートナーであることを認識すべきだ。今回の事件や繰り返される反日デモは、不毛と言うしかない。

We also cannot overlook the fact that many friendship events scheduled to be held in China had to be postponed or canceled due to rising tensions over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands.
　尖閣諸島を巡って緊張が高まっていることから、中国で開催予定の友好行事が延期や中止に追い込まれているのも看過できない。

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Mutually beneficial relations

To improve bilateral relations, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda recently sent a personal letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao. Parliamentary Senior Foreign Vice Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi met Friday in Beijing with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, a political heavyweight in charge of foreign affairs who is close to Hu, and handed Noda's letter to him.
　このため、野田首相は胡錦濤国家主席に親書を出した。山口壮外務副大臣が北京で、胡主席に近い外交担当の実力者、戴秉国・国務委員と会談して手渡した。

In the letter, Noda stressed that Japan and China should deepen their strategic and mutually beneficial relations. To develop relations further, it is important to have close communications between high-level government officials, the letter also said.
　親書は、日中両国が戦略的互恵関係を深化させることが重要だとし、関係発展のためにハイレベルで緊密な意思疎通を行っていくことが有意義だと訴えている。

Noda apparently sees improvement of the bilateral relationship as a matter of urgency. How will Hu respond to Noda's letter?
　首相は両国関係の改善が急務と考えているのだろう。胡主席はどう対応するだろうか。

Japan and China will mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations at the end of this month. Tokyo and Beijing are considering arranging talks between their leaders on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum scheduled to be held in Vladivostok early this month.
　日中両国は今月末で国交正常化４０周年の節目を迎える。両国政府は、今月上旬に開かれるアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）首脳会議に合わせて、首脳会談を行うことを検討している。

Japanese and Chinese leaders must try to rebuild the relations between their nations by holding numerous discussions from a broader perspective and in a calm manner.
　日中双方の首脳が大局的かつ冷静に対話を重ね、両国関係の再構築に努めることが重要だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 2, 2012)
（2012年9月2日01時45分 読売新聞）