China opposes Japan's bid for world heritage of industrial sites

China on Thursday voiced opposition to a bid by Japan to list some of its 19th century industrial complexes as UNESCO World Heritage sites, a move also criticized by South Korea because many Koreans were forced to work there.

Japan is seeking to gain world heritage status for 23 industrial sites, where about one million Korean people were brought to such coal mines and shipyards. The Korean Peninsula was a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945.

South Korea has expressed concerns about the Japanese bid, urging Japan to fully disclose the Japanese mobilization of Korean forced laborers during the colonial era.

Asked about the Japanese bid and South Korea's criticism, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied, "We have noted such reports."

"Applications for the World Heritage need to comply with the principle of the UNESCO and should not glorify history of colonization," Hua said.

Japan's unrepentant attitude over its wartime past has caused tensions with its neighbors, including South Korea and China.

Earlier this week, a group of 187 internationally renowned history scholars urged Japan to acknowledge and apologize for its wartime sex slavery, saying "denying or trivializing" it is "unacceptable."

The joint appeal came a week after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to offer a clear apology for the sexual slavery or other wartime atrocities when he delivered an unprecedented address at a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.

In response to the appeal by international scholars, Hua said, "We hope that Japan can sincerely heed to the international call for justice, reflect upon its history of aggression, properly deal with relevant history issues and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community." (Yonhap)