BEIJING, Nov. 28 -- A Chinese mainland spokeswoman urged the Japanese government Wednesday to deal with the payment of German Mark bonds held by Taiwan residents more quickly and with greater effort.

Addressing the question concerning the German Mark bonds held by Taiwan residents at a regular press conference, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the Japanese government is responsible for paying back the German mark bonds issued in the 1920s.

Many Taiwan residents were forced by the then Japanese colonial government on the island to buy the bonds in 1923, and the Japanese government promised that it would pay back the principal and interests of the bonds in 50 years, said Fan.

She said that officials with the Chinese Foreign Ministry have recently met with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisting that Japan pay back the bonds. In February of 2004, China's Foreign Ministry indicated the country's attitude toward this issue to the Japanese Embassy in China.

"The Japanese government should spare no time and make greater efforts to deal with this problem, which affects hundreds of thousands of people in Taiwan," said Fan.