China's Hu Courts Japan Public Amid Protests 
Chinese president Hu Jintao, on a symbolic visit to cement warming ties with Japan, urged the two Asian powers on Thursday, May 8, 2008, to look to the future as partners, not rivals, but Japanese right-wingers and pro-Tibet protesters held a protest against Hu's visit. In a speech at Tokyo's elite Waseda University, Hu touched on Japan's 1931–1945 invasion and occupation of part of China, saying the "unfortunate history caused not only great misfortune among Chinese people but also great suffering for the Japanese people."