Premier Zhou Enlai of China (left)
and Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka of Japan
September 29, 1972: The Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China is signed, in the Chinese capital of Beijing. The Communique established and normalized diplomatic relations between those two countries.
It also resulted in the severing of official relations between Japan and the Republic of China, in Taiwan. This would be followed by several other countries doing so, including the United States of America in 1978.
The document produced nine articles in a joint statement, showing compromises on previously ambiguous principles enunciated by both sides. Four points are worthy of attention:
1. Stating the desire for a peace treaty between Japan and China.
2. Japan "understands and respects (the People's Republic's) stance" that Taiwan is part of the PRC.
3. An Asia-Pacific anti-hegemony clause. And:
4. Japan's reversed relations with China and Taiwan.
In the end, the document ended the "abnormal relations between Japan and China," recognized the People's Republic of China as the "sole government of China," and renounced any claim for war reparations from World War II. In addition, it concluded various administrative agreements between the two countries in trade, fisheries, aviation, and navigation, amongst others. The document firmly maintains its stance under Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration.
Furthermore, Japan's Prime Minister, Kakuei Tanaka, made this statement to the people of the People's Republic of China: "The Japanese side is keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war, and deeply reproaches itself."
It had taken 27 years after V-J Day, 35 years after the raid on Shanghai, and 41 years after the invasion of Manchuria that began the war that was absorbed into what became known as the Pacific Theater of World War II. (Since the world is still Anglo-European aligned, we tend to think of World War II as beginning with the entry of the Western democracies in September 1939, but China and Japan fought longer before that than after it.)
This statement followed, by nearly 2 years, German Chancellor Willy Brandt's "Kneefall in Warsaw" as an act of apology for the harm that Germany caused during the war.
*
September 29, 1972 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Tom Seaver pitched a 2-hit shutout, striking out 13 and outpitching Nelson Briles. The only run of the game came in the top of the 9th inning, when Tommie Agee singled home Wayne Garrett. Willie Mays did not play. Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell both went 0-for-4. The next day, Clemente collected his 3,000th career hit, a double off the Mets' Jon Matlack.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Luis Tiant outpitched Jim Palmer. Carl Yastrzemski and, surprisingly, Luis Aparicio hit home runs for the Sox. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with a walk. Johnny Bench went 2-for-4. Joe Morgan went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Tony Pérez went 2-for-3 with 1 walk, a home run and 3 RBIs. Frank Robinson, in his only season with the Dodgers, appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Braves, 12-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 2-for-5.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Lou Brock went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 stolen bases.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. This would be the last week of play for that stadium: The following season, the Royals would move into Royals Stadium, which was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993. Reggie Jackson did not play.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 5-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).
* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Rod Carew appeared as a defensive replacement, and did not come to bat.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 14-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Montreal Expos and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Jarry Park in Montreal. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Phils won the opener, 6-0. Barry Lersch pitched a 2-hit shutout. The Expos won the nightcap, 8-4.
* And the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was never made up.
There were no NFL games played, but 2 college football games were. The University of Pennsylvania beat Lafayette, 55-12 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. And UCLA, then ranked Number 15, beat Oregon, 65-20 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
No comments:
Post a Comment