On January 23, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who was attending the Geneva II Conference in Montreux, Switzerland refuted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent argument in Davos for his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.

Wang Yi said that there is an old saying in China: the more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed. Abe's argument only shows that he is still obstinately sticking to an erroneous view of history which goes against both human conscience and the universally acknowledged truth. Even today, the Yasukuni Shrine still openly justifies Japan's aggression against other countries, describes the Pacific War Japan launched as self-defense and the trial at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East illegitimate and honors the 14 Class-A war criminals.

Wang Yi pointed out that the real intention of Abe, who visited the Yasukuni Shrine and paid tribute to Class-A war criminals in disregard of objections from other countries, is to overturn the trial of Japan's aggression and defend the war criminals. This is unacceptable to anyone with a conscience and any country that upholds justice. Historical lessons should be learned. We call on the international community to work together and put an end to such behavior which attempts to set back the wheel of history.