Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso sparked outrage on Tuesday after his pro-Nazi remark, even though he later retracted it. China’s Foreign Ministry responded by saying that no wrong words or deeds that deviate from the international social ethics and human conscience will be tolerated.

Aso’s comment was interpreted as defending the reasoning behind Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany carrying out the Holocaust during World War II. He later retracted it.

On Aug. 31, Japan’s national daily the Mainichi Shimbun published an editorial titled, “Aso’s Hitler remark can’t be let slide,” saying it is not something Aso can get away with by just retracting his comment because it caused misunderstanding.

The article said it was not the first time Aso made comments in support of Nazi Germany. In 2013, Aso said Japan should learn from Nazi Germany. The comment later sparked an international outcry, with a Jewish human rights group releasing a statement condemning his remarks.

The latest remarks are just proof that he has not learned anything from the 2013 gaffe, the editorial argued, emphasizing that arguments in support of the Nazis can also be seen and heard in Japan.

Japan’s daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun also criticized Aso for his incredible and disturbing thoughtlessness. Since Aso doesn’t do any serious soul-searching over his remarks, he will commit similar gaffes again, the newspaper said.

“In the West, senior government officials would immediately face strong pressure to resign if they make any remark expressing a positive view about the Nazis or Hitler,” it added.

“There is still a group of Japanese politicians clinging to the wrong perception of history,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in response to Aso’s statements at a regular press conference on Aug. 31.

“I have seen relevant reports. We always say that history is the best textbook and it is also a bright mirror. When it comes to historical issues that concern cardinal matters of right and wrong, no wrong words or deeds that deviate from the international social ethics and human conscience will be tolerated,” Hua said.

“We once again urge those forces in Japan to straighten their view on history, genuinely learn lessons from history, and take concrete actions to win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community,” she stressed.

Chinese netizens expressed their outrage toward Aso’s remarks. “A lot of common Japanese people are also victims of Japan’s militarism,” some commented on China’s social media giant Sina Weibo.

“Japan claims itself a democratic country, but what kind of democracy would choose a politician like Aso?” others questioned.

(The story is also published on People’s Daily Online)

The global publishing company John Wiley & Sons Inc recently signed a first-of-its-kind agreement with a Chinese university to co-establish InfoMat (Information Material), the subordinate academic journal of its top journal, Advanced Materials, Xinhua News Agency reported on Aug. 30.

The company, established in 1807 as the world’s leading publisher in science, technology, and medicine, hopes to build the journal into a top one in the fields of engineering, information, and materials.

Guido F. Herrmann, vice president of the company, said that the company will cooperate with the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China to establish the journal in order to present high-quality research results.

University president Li Yanrong was chosen to be the editor-in-chief, and some world top scholars will be responsible for editing.

Herrmann added that the first publication of the freely accessible journal will cover engineering, information, materials, and chemistry and will be out by the end of the year.

The university, a key one in China, has formed a complete technology and innovation chain in the electronic information field, including electronic materials, devices, components, and systems.

The nation human talents hit 175 million after steady growth in recent years, according to statistics released by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and National Bureau of Statistics, People’s Daily reported on Aug. 31.

Statistics shows that the number of human talents in China accounts for 15.5 percent of all human resources, basically attaining the planning objectives.

Talents in politics, business, and tech; and high-skilled talents, rural talents, and social work professionals reached 7.29 million, 43.34 million, 73.28 million, 45 million, 16.92 million, and 759,000, respectively, with respective growth rates of 4 percent, 45.5 percent, 32.0 percent, 57.2 percent, 61.4 percent, and 272.1 percent compared with 2010 figures.

In addition, data shows that the number of returned overseas Chinese talents totaled 2.65 million by the end of 2016.

BRICS cooperation still has a promising future given its significant contribution to the world economy and an ever-improving cooperation mechanism, despite pessimistic voices from some Western media, People’s Daily reported on Aug. 30.

Although some BRICS countries underwent economic slowdown and development problems in recent years, some Western media are still short-sighted, saying BRICS cooperation has reached its limit.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out that the BRICS economies contributed to more than half to the world economy growth in the past decade, and their average economic growth reached 5.1 percent in 2016, well above the global average of 2.4 percent.

The economic slowdown of the BRICS countries was to a great extent caused by change in international financial circumstances and economic structural adjustment in order to achieve sustainable growth, and not by cash flow problems, debt crises, and insufficient demand like in the developed countries.

BRICS countries have three long-term advantages in future development, including a large population—42.88 percent of the total world population, abundant natural resources, and a huge market.

The BRICS cooperation mechanism continues to improve, and close cooperation among members on economic and trade, politics, culture, and network security, as well as on counter-terrorism, all of which have contributed greatly to world peace, stability, and prosperity, has been established in recent years.

The establishment of the BRICS Business Council, New Development Bank (NDB), and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) all offered important impetus for development of BRICS cooperation in the future.

In addition, it is biased for some media to say that China plays a dominant role in the BRICS bloc because it has the largest economic volume and the most rapid development among the five countries.

NDB, for example, was established based on equal contribution of capital and democratic decision-making, a sharp contrast to some Western countries’ monopoly in the IMF and the World Bank.

Although NDB’s headquarters is in Shanghai, its first president and chairman of the council are elected from other member countries rather than China for the sake of fairness.

BRICS members always seek reciprocity, mutual benefit, and win-win results through cooperation based on equality, democracy, mutual respect, and common progress instead of dominance.