The week’s reading, straight off the razor wire:
Yet more peace:
JAPANESE WARSHIP VISITS CHINESE PORT
A Japanese destroyer docked at a heavily guarded naval base in Guangdong Province on Tuesday for a five-day port call, the first by a warship from Japan in China since World War II.
Said Gao Hong, director of the political research office of the Chinese Academy of Social Science’s Japanese Research Institute:“When a naval vessel visits, it sends a clear signal that the countries have buried the hatchet and are working for peace.”
Breaking news:
JAPANESE PEACE ENVOY BOMBED
A group of diplomats and academics visiting China from Japan to try to ameliorate friction between the two countries over their long and violent histories was shelled today, apparently by a Japanese warship.
Said a spokesperson for the Chinese: “We don’t know what happened. The peace people came, and we were waiting, and then, suddenly, bombs were falling, shrapnel was flying, it was chaos.”
A spokesperson for the Japanese said that: “Signals got crossed. Mixed messages were sent. It was supposed to be a fireworks display to commemorate this historic event, and somehow, they ended up shelling our own peace envoy. We will not fail to shame ourselves for this mistake. There will be suicides, and at least one kamikaze will strike our ship.”