Japan to send chemicals task force
( 2003-08-28 07:10) (China Daily)
A special Japanese Government-appointed task force is to come to North
China's Hebei Province next week to search for chemical weapons abandoned by
Japanese troops during World War II.
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A victim lies on the bed at a hospital in
Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province. At least 36 Chinese people were injured by
the chemical weapons left over by the Japanese army in World War II at a
construction site in Qiqihar on August 4. [Xinhua]
| The 40-strong team will work in the
provincial capital of Shijiazhuang from September 6 to 19 to search for chemical
weapons, Japanese Embassy staff in Beijing said yesterday.
Fifty-two toxic gas bombs are believed to have been buried underground in
Shijiazhuang when Japanese troops withdrew.
The team will be the fourth task force since 2000 sent to China by the
Japanese Government to search for abandoned chemical weapons, embassy staff
said.
The previous three task forces went to cities in Northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province and East China's Jiangsu Province between 2000 and last
year.
Li Guizhen, a 31-year-old construction worker, died on August 21 from
sustained serious burns caused by highly toxic mustard gas that leaked from
containers found in the Heilongjiang city of Qiqihar.
The chemical weapons were discovered on August 4 at a Qiqihar construction
site. The chemicals were stored in five metallic barrels, one of which was
broken by the workers, causing oil-like material to leak out and infiltrate the
soil, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.
China has strongly urged Japan to shoulder full responsibility for Li's death
and the losses suffered by the other victims.
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