The 4th Ryukyu-Okinawa Frontier Academic International Symposium is held at Peking University on October 28, 2023. Photo: Xing Xiaojing/GT

The 4th Ryukyu-Okinawa Frontier Academic International Symposium was held at Peking University on Saturday with nearly 100 experts and scholars from China and Okinawa participating. Some scholars noted that Okinawa must uphold a peaceful anti-war stance to grasp its own destiny as the place has become the forefront of military confrontation and the hub of Asian peace cooperation.

Tang Liguo, the executive chairman of the symposium and deputy director of the History Department of Peking University, said in his speech that the friendly exchanges between China and Ryukyu [the Ryukyu Islands were annexed by Japan and renamed Okinawa in 1879] have lasted for hundreds of years, and Ryukyu studies are an important academic topic with practical significance.

The symposium was jointly organized by the History Department of Peking University, the Aisixiang website, the Northeast Asia Research Institute of Peking University, and the Institute of Chinese and Foreign Relations History of Peking University.

Yang Bojiang, director of the Japan Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in his speech that Okinawa has become the forefront of military confrontation and the hub of Asian peace cooperation. Okinawa must uphold a peaceful anti-war stance in order to firmly grasp its own destiny.

The Ryukyu people and their nearly thousand-year-old civilization maintain a precious existence. For the Ryukyu people, the right to self-determination is the greatest humanitarian concern, said Guo Qionghu, editor-in-chief of the Aisixiang website, at the symposium.

Matayoshi Seikiyo, a visiting professor at the University of the Ryukyus, said in his speech that a new era is approaching, and it is the mission of the Ryukyu people to create Ryukyu's future.

The Ryukyu-Okinawa issue involves a wide range of topics, and it is hoped that through this symposium, we can think about how to build a peaceful world of shared historical and cultural development in the era of major powers, said Seikiyo.

During the Saturday symposium, more in-depth discussions were held on topics such as "Okinawan Social Politics and Asia-Pacific Regional Relations," "Okinawan Social Politics and Academic History Research," and "Ryukyu History during the Kingdom Period and Asia-Pacific Regional Relations."