Protest letter against the China nuclear test (June 8, 1996)

June 8, 1996

The Honorable Jiang Zemin
The President
People's Republic of China

His Excellency Mr. Wu Dawei
Charge of Affairs at Interim of the
People's Republic of China
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan

Letter of Protest

The nuclear tests your country has willfully conducted this time run contrary to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty negotiations now underway at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament. I hereby vehemently protest.

Your country insists that developing and possessing nuclear weapons are for defense, however nuclear weapons by no means assure the security of your country. Your country's nuclear tests amount to a violent act that discourages the efforts of the international community, and intensify the danger of nuclear proliferation.

We demand that your country sincerely heed international opinion that overwhelmingly favors the abolition of nuclear weapons, immediately halt all nuclear testing, and fulfill its duty as a nuclear power by working in good faith toward nuclear disarmament and contributing to world peace and stability.

Takashi Hiraoka
Mayor
Hiroshima City