BEIJING, April 24(Xinhuanet)-- Audience who listened to lectures given by a group of former Chinese diplomats in the past few days on the Sino-Japanese relations all agreed that reason was needed in showing patriotism.

Liu Xiaojuan, a graduate student of history with Sichuan University, said," We must clearly understand that our country is at a crucial stage of fast development with hard-to-find opportunities, therefore it is necessary for us to turn patriotic enthusiasm into the impetus of study, instead of being simply radical."

Liu was one of the 1,400-odd students and teaching personnel representatives from 26 colleges of higher learning in southwest China's Sichuan Province who listened to a lecture given last Friday by Xu Dunxin, former vice-foreign minister and Chinese ambassador to Japan.

Xu was on a national speech tour organized by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China(CPC) Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help make Party and government officials and students of higher learning institutes correctly understand the current international situation, the history and present situation of the Sino-Japanese relations as well as China' s policy toward Japan.

The lecture tour began last Tuesday, with stopovers in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Qin Wenzhen, a student with Southwest Jiaotong University, saidXu's lecture helped improve his understanding of the Sino-Japanese relations.

"We could by no means let enthusiasm and radicalism disrupt our country's normal diplomatic work, and should express our views through legal ways instead," he said.

Xu moved to Sichuan after briefing 1,500 civil servants on the Sino-Japanese relations in Guangzhou, an important city in south China, last Thursday.

Yang Zhenya, and also a former Chinese ambassador to Japan and now honorary president with Chinese Association of Asian-African Development and Exchange, addressed 3,000 Party and government officials, college students on the Sino-Japanese relations in two separate occasions in Hangzhou, one of the most beautiful cities in east China, last Friday and Saturday.

Hu Wei with Zhejiang Provincial Health Bureau said Yang's lecture made him understand peace benefited both Japan and China, but fight would hurt both sides.

While echoing calmness and reason were needed in showing patriotism, Xie Bin, a junior student with the architecture and engineering college of Zhejiang Polytechnic Industry University, said"stability and unity are China's orientation, as Chinese nation could thrive in the world by national strength only."

Before his speeches given in Hangzhou, Yang lectured 1,100 Party and government officials, and military officers in Shanghai about topics ranging from international situation, Sino-Japanese relations and China's policy toward Japan last Thursday.

Wu Jianmin, president of China Foreign Affairs University and former Chinese ambassador to France, last Thursday gave two lectures to inform audience from the Medical Science Department of Beijing University and the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC) about the history and current situation of the Sino-Japanese relations.

Zhang Gehui, a teaching personnel with the Medical Sciences Department of Peking University, said Japan and China were closely linked by economic ties, so"it won't have a positive significance to boycott Japanese commodities".

Lu Cong, a graduate student with Public Health College of Beijing University, said Wu's speech gave him much to ponder.

"It is an act of insanity to boycott Japanese commodities. As a young people, we need to combine patriotism with calmness and reason in order to properly treat problems arising in the Sino-Japanese relations," said Lu. Enditem