Delegation of “Zhou Enlai and Japan” Exhibition Visits Japan

At the invitation of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA) and the Japan Foundation， the delegation of the “Zhou Enlai and Japan” exhibition with Wang Xiao- xian， Vice President of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， as its head， and Zhao Wei， Secretary of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao， as its advisor， paid a visit to Japan from October 27 to 30， 2009. During its stay in Tokyo， the delegation attended the opening ceremony of the “Zhou Enlai and Japan” exhibition and participated in other relevant activities.

On the afternoon of October 28， the opening ceremony of the exhibition and a forum were held at Waseda University in Tokyo. Tomiichi Murayama， former Japanese Prime Minister; Katsuhiko Shirai， President of Waseda University， and Kazuo Ogura， Director General of the Japan Foundation， were among more than 200 personages of various circles of Japan present.

In her speech， Wang Xiaoxian said the late Premier Zhou Enlai was not only remembered by the Chinese people of all ethnic groups， but also enjoyed high prestige in the world. Premier Zhou had paid special attention to the cause of China-Japan friendship. He had exerted great energy in the cause and made many Japanese friends. Wang hoped that the exhibition would not only express a profound memory of Premier Zhou， but would also become a great impetus for the further development of China-Japan relations.

Katsuhiko Shirai said the relationship between Waseda University and China， as well as Zhou Enlai， had a long history. Relations had experienced several changes. Young people today tended to ignore the fact that the current good situation in bilateral relations had been achieved through the efforts of an older generation who underwent many hardships under difficult conditions. The exhibition was aimed at letting more young people know about the history of that period and about Zhou Enlai and other great leaders of that generation. Mr. Shirai hoped young people would treasure today’s good situation sufficiently to exert efforts to become the successors and mainstay of the cause of Japan-China friendship in future.

Kazuo Ogura said he was very happy to see many new precious historical photos at the exhibition. Many of them would show Japanese visitors not only the charisma of Zhou Enlai， a great man of the world， but also his affability as an ordinary person， helping shorten the distance between the Japanese people and their Chinese counterparts. Ogura expressed his appreciation of the efforts made by the CJFA and the Research Center of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao for the exhibition.

Liao Xinwen， Director of the Research Center of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao， and Kazuko Mori， a professor with Waseda University， made keynote speeches at the “Zhou Enlai and Japan” forum. Liao Xinwen systematically and vividly reproduced the touching scene of how Zhou Enlai had made extraordinary efforts to restore and develop China-Japan friendly relations during the time when he studied in Japan and later when he became Chinese premier. Wang Xiao- xian， Zhao Wei， Li Aihua who is deputy curator of the Memorial Hall of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao in Tianjin， and Kazuo Ogura also spoke at the forum， recalling Premier Zhou’ personality charm and outstanding contributions to world peace and the development of China-Japan relations.

A reception was held following the opening ceremony and the forum. Wang Xiaoxian， Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai， former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama， Vice President of the JCFA Ayoshiyasu Sato and former Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami were among over 200 people of various circles of Japan who attended the reception.

In her speech， Wang Xiaoxian said that， today， 37 years after the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations， the two countries had entered a new stage of promoting comprehensive strategic and mutually beneficial relations. She hoped that， by taking the opportunity of this exhibition， friendly contacts between the two peoples， particularly the youth， would be further strengthened so as to enhance mutual understanding and trust.

Ambassador Cui Tiankai reviewed Premier Zhou’s heroic life. He stressed that everyone should highly treasure the hard-won development of today’s China-Japan relations. He hoped the exhibition would help more Japanese people， particularly the young， know more about the extraordinary history of that period， and attract more people to work actively for the cause of China-Japan friendship.

Ayoshiyasu Sato and Koreshige Anami expressed their congratulations on the success of the “Zhou Enlai and Japan” exhibition. Sato said that， through the exhibition， one should not only cherish the memory of Premier Zhou’s great contributions to the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and their further development， but also let the younger generation know about Premier Zhou. He said that， in its future work the JCFA would give priority to strengthening exchanges between the youth of the two countries.