In recent years, many Chinese victims of the Japanese aggression during the World War II and their relatives have attempted to sue the Japanese government for compensation and an admission of their troops' role in various atrocities.

But the validity of these civil lawsuits has been questioned from the very beginning. Two different interpretations of international law give two very different conclusions.

Wang Xuan has spearheaded the campaign for the victims to get compensation via civil lawsuits and has no doubt that their claims have a firm legal basis.

At an event on December 21 at the School of Social Development in Nanjing Normal University, she described the ninth session of the second trial of the Germ War Compensation Lawsuit in Tokyo, which took place over the first 10 days of December.

During this session, Guan Jianqiang, an associate professor at East China University of Politics and Law, stated the legal grounds of the validity of their case.

The Chinese government signed the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement in 1972, renouncing any claim for compensation from Japan for good. This has been the main stumbling block for civil suits so far.

Guan said this has been a misinterpretation of the facts for three reasons:

First, since 1945, most postwar treaties have divided compensation rights into state and civil components. Guan said the joint statement pertained to the Chinese state's right to compensation -- not the civil rights of its citizens to claim compensation.

Secondly, according to China's constitution, for the government to relinquish these rights on behalf of its citizens, it must get approval from the National People's Congress (NPC), which has never passed such a resolution.

Thirdly, with social development, individual rights protection has increased rapidly. Many believe that some rights, including that for war compensation, cannot be signed away by anyone at anytime.

According to Wang, previous civil claims have focused on politics, national spirit and emotions but rarely on sound legal argument. She said that a rational attitude is needed, despite some Chinese scholars trying to dissuade her from pressing further for the claims.

Guan has written a book entitled The Legal Basis of the Claim for Compensation Rights for Chinese Victims of Japanese Aggression based on his research, which is currently being reviewed for publication.

(Modern Express, translated by Li Shen for China.org.cn, December 27, 2004)