Foreign diplomats attend Beijing war exhibition

BEIJING - Hundreds of foreign embassy diplomats visited a Beijing exhibition on the Anti-Japanese War on Wednesday.

Accompanied by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming, they viewed exhibits in the "Great Victory, Historic Contribution" collection at a museum dedicated to the war.

The 184 diplomats from 101 countries included 37 ambassadors to China. Though the Chinese government invited all ambassadors to China, no embassy staff from Japan or the United States attended.

"The truth will out about World War II. Any attempt to falsify history is doomed to fail," said Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov, referring to Japan's reluctance to acknowledge its wartime actions.

"We are here for the sake of peace and security. We cannot change the past but the past can prepare for the future. We can forgive, but we can't forget," said Victor Sikonina, Madagascan ambassador to China.

"China made a tremendous contribution to defending world peace through its own sacrifice within the very long struggle against fascist forces, especially those represented by Japan," said Nepalese ambassador to China Mahesh Kumar Maskey.

A counselor to the Republic of Korea's embassy in China, who asked not to be named, described the exhibition as "a very good place to experience and see atrocities the Japanese imperialists committed".

"[Japan] should learn from history, understand what they have done and safeguard world peace," said the counselor.

The exhibition is being held ahead of the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders were present for its opening on July 7.