A Stale Invitation

Chinese president Mr. Hu Jintao is to officially visit Japan, the first of such level in a decade due to the obstacle of the Japanese premier admiring WWII war criminals in official capacity. The visit is seen by many on both sides to be the start of a new era in Sino-Japanese relationship, a relationship of two neighboring countries separated by "a waist-belt of water", as ancient wisdom says.

However, the date picked up by the Japanese government is troublesome. April 17th is the anniversary of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed by then Chinese and Japanese government on April 17, 1895, after China lost the war assisting Korea to defend Japanese invasion. The treaty states:
* China withdraw military from Korea; Korea no longer a part of China;
* China surrender Taiwan, Penghu, and Shandong to Japan;
* China pay Japan 200 million liangsilver on military expenses;
* China can not detain any people work for Japanese military;
On the schedule, Hu will visit Tokyo on April 17 and 18, meet with Japanese prime minister and emperor.

Japanese is known for their diligence and intelligence, but sometimes they play it too hard.