It is not acceptable to keep wounds open by demanding that top Japanese officials apologise for war atrocities inflicted on China some 60 years ago.
Columnist Philip Yeung ('Why Japan shouldn't criticise Chinese fans', August 10) thinks the wounds should be kept open.
Unlike Germany, Japan has never apologised for the war, but when it comes to the bottom line of 21st-century China, many people already benefit from jobs created by Japanese companies in mainland factories. Also, many young Chinese follow Japanese trends, just like Asian youth in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
If Germany also never had apologised, would it be a pariah state today? I am not defending Japan for the atrocities committed by its wartime leaders and its invading forces. My family suffered greatly during the war too, and I am glad that Japan is no longer a military threat to the region.
However, China's authorities do not deserve praise for the mistreatment of their own citizens, in the past and now. Jesus Christ put it best: 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'. Even if Japan had apologised for the war, would the Chinese really forgive and forget? Or would they keep demanding reparations? If the Chinese did not have other nations to blame for historical wrongs, they would surely turn on each other with the blame game.
HARRY CHEN, Mei Foo Sun Chuen