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Japan

Japan Releases 14 Chinese Activists To Ease Diplomatic Tensions

NHK, ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan), CHINA DAILY (China)

Worldcrunch

TOKYO - Japan announced on Friday that it will send back the 14 Chinese activists who were arrested after landing on a disputed island, in an attempt to defuse the diplomatic feud between the two countries.

The activists were arrested on August 15 after sailing from Hong Kong to the Senkaku islands (or Diaoyu in Chinese) in the East China Sea to assert Chinese sovereignty.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura admitted to reporters that the decision is in line with domestic law, reports NHK.

Clear that Japanese PM Noda uninterested in escalated showdown over Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Tokyo lost the last staring fight in 2010...

— Mark MacKinnon/马凯 (@markmackinnon) August 16, 2012

The Asahi Shimbun reported that the group has attempted to sail to the islands numerous times in recent years, even spending $63,000 to repair their boat for the journey.

China Daily reported that demonstrations were taking place outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday morning.

Chinese newspaper, Xiamen Economic Daily, made another diplomatic blunder when it retouched a photo of the activists to avoid publishing the Taiwanese flag, even though the original photographs clearly show the group carrying both Chinese and Taiwanese emblems.

Internet users on China's social media website Weibo widely condemned the photoshopped image, forcing the newspaper to later apologize for its actions.

Japan is also locked in a diplomatic conflict with South Korea over the territorial claims to the Takeshima islands, or Dokdo in Korean.

NHK reports that Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has appealed to the South Korean government on Friday, suggesting that the two parties should resolve the conflict through the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands.

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Society

Is Disney's "Wish" Spreading A Subtle Anti-Christian Message To Kids?

Disney's new movie "Wish" is being touted as a new children's blockbuster to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary. But some Christians may see the portrayal of the villain as God-like and turning wishes into prayers as the ultimate denial of the true message of Christmas.

photo of a kid running out of a church

For the Christmas holiday season?

Joseph Holmes

Christians have always had a love-hate relationship with Disney since I can remember. Growing up in the Christian culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, all the Christian parents I knew loved watching Disney movies with their kids – but have always had an uncomfortable relationship with some of its messages. It was due to the constant Disney tropes of “follow your heart philosophy” and “junior knows best” disdain for authority figures like parents that angered so many. Even so, most Christians felt the benefits had outweighed the costs.

That all seems to have changed as of late, with Disney being hit more and more by claims from conservatives (including Christian conservatives) that Disney is pushing more and more radical progressive social agendas, This has coincided with a steep drop at the box office for Disney.

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