Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on August 1 received Nguyen Thi Binh, former vice president of Vietnam, at the JCP head office. Nguyen Thi Binh is well known for her role as the South Vietnamese Provisional Revolutionary Government's foreign minister in the peace talks with the United States in the early 1970s.
Shii and Binh talked about the Vietnam War, the present international situation relating to the Iraq question, and Japan-Vietnam relations as well as the JCP-Communist Party of Vietnam friendship.
Welcoming Binh, who heads the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation, Shii stated that Vietnam's victory over the U.S. war of aggression had a "very positive impact" on the 20th century world. "It is good to see the JCP and the Vietnamese government share opposition to the Iraq war and the view that the problems should be resolved peacefully in accordance with the U.N. Charter.
Mme Binh expressed hope that the JCP and the CPV, which have maintained good relations, will increase cooperation in the effort to solve the many existing problems.
She also stated, "Although the United Nations has not always met our expectations, it is a product of the struggle by the world's peoples. The U.N. Charter provides for principles that must be defended."
Shii replied, "The role of the United Nations is even greater in the 21st century." He stated that unlike the Vietnam War, for which no effective preventive measures were taken by the U.N., the worldwide opposition to the Iraq War suggests significant progress made in history. (end)