The Japanese government should handle the issue of war-time forced labour properly, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday, and hoped Tokyo would deal with the victims' legitimate demands in right earnest.

Jiang's request came after a group of former Chinese forced laborers and their families demonstrated in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday morning.

The group was protesting against the Japanese Supreme Court judgment in April saying that the Chinese victims had no legal ground to seek compensation, which offered a unilateral judicial explanation of the China-Japan Joint Statement.

"The conscription of forced and enslaved laborers is a grave crime committed by the (former) Japanese militarist regime against the Chinese people," Jiang said. It is also a major issue left by history.

Talking about former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui's trip to Japan, the spokeswoman reiterated China's strong dissatisfaction with the Japanese government for allowing him to visit the country.

Jiang said: "The aim of Lee's visit to Japan is to push forward 'Taiwan independence' and to undermine China-Japan relations."

She said she hoped Japan would attach importance to China's serious concern and properly resolve the historical issue and the Taiwan question through actions.

The subject of Taiwan question was also touched upon during the meeting between Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei and his US counterpart Christopher Hill on Wednesday, Jiang said.

He Yafei was quoted as saying that the two countries are willing to consider one another's concern and enhance mutual respect to deal with the disputes, especially the Taiwan question in a proper way.

As for the situation in Sudan, Jiang said China has urged the international community to be patient and exercise restraint. Beijing opposes new sanctions against Sudan because it would only complicate the efforts to implement a UN peace plan in the Darfur regions.

Jiang said positive developments have been made on the Darfur issue through joint efforts, and appealed all parties to continue talks to resolve it politically.

(China Daily 06/01/2007 page2)