CRI听力:Chinese Vice President Meets Japanese Orphans Raised by Chinese Families

Meeting with around 50 representatives of the group in Beijing, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao first shares his personal experience, saying a teacher from his childhood was also a Japanese "left-behind orphan", and was raise by a Chinese worker.

Li says he believes this kind of story sets a good example for the two countries' future relationship.

"I'm very happy that you're all working actively to promote friendship between China and Japan. Just now, I've recognized some old friends who I've seen many times and have built good friendship with."

Many among the group point out that peace and friendship between China and Japan should always be cherished and upheld.

Ikeda Sumie is the director general of a Tokyo support group for the Japanese returned from China. Her Chinese still has the obvious accent of Northeast China.

"Coming back when my parents were still alive made me feel happy and warm, like being back home. Now, my parents have both passed away, but the local government's kindness has also touched my heart and made me happy. We do still feel like this is home and we want to come back more."

Abandoned by their birth parents during the hasty retreat at the end of World War II in 1945, the orphans were taken in and raised by the Chinese residents of those northeastern provinces.

Before visiting Beijing, the group reunited with their foster families in Harbin of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Many of them said Japan is the motherland, but China is the hometown.

Noting that China will mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression this year, Li Yuanchao says China is willing to push for the improvement of China-Japan relations.

"For most of the past 2000 years, China and Japan have always lived in peace and learned from each other. But the war of aggression Japan launched has made both Chinese people and Japanese people suffer. For China, in dealing with relations between us, we've always insisted on separating the Japanese people and Japanese militarism."

By the end of WWII, more than 4,000 children were left behind by their fleeing parents. Most of them returned to Japan in search of their families after 1972, when diplomatic relations between China and Japan were restored.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.