SOME Japanese scholars and media commentators have been advocating the containment of China recently, claiming that "China is sure to become a world power and then confront Japan and even endanger its security."
They conclude that it is necessary for the United States to keep its troops in Japan and South Korea. But who is the real threat?
China has been pursuing policies of peaceful co-existence, non-aggression and non-interference in others' internal affairs.
China's total military expenditure is just one-tenth of the US's and lags far behind Japan's.
In 1994, China's per capita military expenditure was $5, much lower than Japan's $360 and the US's $1,000. If China can be regarded as a "threat," then what about Japan?
Japan spreads the "China threat" theory in order to make an excuse for its own ambition to expand militarily, which is sure to invite doubts and disputes from other Asian countries.
To curb the "threat" from China, Japan not only increased its military expenditure to more than 1 per cent of its gross national product (GNP) but also sent its soldiers overseas, both events crossing the limits set by Japan's constitution.
For the same reason, Japan redefined its military alliance agreement with the United States last year, extending the scope of its treaty's application to the whole Asia-Pacific region. Thus exposing Japan's military ambition.
Japan's behaviour demonstrates who is the real danger.
(Chen Yali)
Help is never forgotten
LAST week, China turned over the remains of five US soldiers from a crashed World War II bomber.
On August 31, 1944, the bomber took off from a base in Liuzhou, in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to attack invading Japanese ships. While returning, it crashed in the mountains of Guangxi.
We are grateful for the sympathetic and outstanding efforts of Americans who shed their blood in China.
The handover of their remains is not so much an act of humanity as a natural overflow of the deep feelings the Chinese have held towards American people.
Chinese people have never forgotten the invaluable and generous help American people gave to China during World War II.
The profound friendship established in war is viewed as the base for further exchanges and friendship between the two peoples and countries.
In recent years, however, some people in the US have from time to time upset Sino-US relations.
A few US people have spread nonsense about rising nationalism in China and the "China threat."
Because of their narrow-minded national interests, the fabricators are unwilling to see an emerging China which may prevent the US from having its own way in the world.
What they fail to see is that their fantasy may hurt the Chinese people's feelings towards American people and hinder the healthy progression of bilateral ties.
The cultivation of such ties is in the interests of both peoples and requires sincerity and co-operation from both sides.
(Xun Feng)
Houses must be in reach
CHINA'S apparently booming real estate industry begs the question of who the would-be buyers are.
Several years ago, China launched housing reform and gradually stopped allocating free housing to urban citizens.
Reform prompted skyrocketing sales, with millions of apartments readied for sale and occupation across the country.
Giant billboards along the streets of Beijing advertise this housing at rates like "$700 per square metre, an irresistibly low price."
Maybe this price is irresistible to a few wealthy families, but for the vast majority, a $56,000 80-square-metre apartment is not only resistible, but impossible.
Developers not only erred in relying on a short-sighted and illogical strategy that concentrates on luxurious housing, they also helped contribute to the current weak housing market.
Most of China's urban citizens are still middle income earners, and many live in poverty.
What they need is relatively spacious and comfortable houses at acceptable prices, not deluxe villas and palaces.
Fortunately, the Chinese Government last year said the housing industry will target this market in its drive to become a pillar sector.
The so-called "Comfort Housing Project" has also started to help people looking for more spacious and cheaper houses. China's real estate developers also need to modify their current strategy. High-priced housing does not serve the current market demand and will bring deficits instead of profits if no changes are made.
(Yu Guoqiang)