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Rio
Post Boaster
Joined: Dec 04, 2004
Posts: 4724
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 Posted:
Apr 20, 2005 - 05:34 PM |
 
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| Post subject: China's Selective Memory |
China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has made clear that it doesnt think Japan is deserving of similar status.
You might wonder why not. After all, Japan is one of the worlds largest contributors of foreign aid and most generous backers of the UN, a successful democracy for more than a half-century, with a powerhouse economy and a constitution that forbids aggression.
But here's the problem. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao explained last week: "Japan needs to face up to history squarely." After another weekend of anti-Japanese prοtests and riots in China, China's foreign minister yesterday amplified that "the main problem now is that the Japanese government has done a series of things that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people....especially in its treatment of history."
Truth in history is an interesting standard for great power status. One intriguing response would be for Japan to embrace it and suggest politely that, if China wants to keep its Security Council seat, it ought to do the same.
There's no doubt, as Premier Wen implied, that some Japanese have trouble admitting the terrible things their troops did in China, Korea and other occupied Asian countries before and during WWII. Apologies sometimes seem mumbled, and some textbooks minimize past crimes.
Recently, for example, Japan's education ministry approved a textbook that refers to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre as an "incident" during which "many" Chinese were killed, though some estimates of civilian deaths run as high as 300.000. News of these textbooks helped spark the anti-Japanese riots in Chinese cities.
But put the issue in some perspective: Many textbooks receive ministry approval in Tokyo, and no school is forced to use any particular one. Issues of war guilt or innocence, and of proper historiography, are debated endlessly and openly in Japanese newspapers, magazines and universities. Some Japanese demonstrate against politicians who wont go to the Hasukuni Shrine, where Japans war dead, including some who were judged war criminals, are honored, other Japanese demonstrate against politicians who do go.
Compare this to the situation in Premier Wen's China. There is only one acceptable version of history, at least at any given time; history often changes, but only when the Communist Party decides to change it.
For example, according to a report in the NYT last December, many textbooks dont mention that anyone died at what the outside world knows as the 1989 massacre of student demonstrators near Tiananmen Square. One 1998 text notes only that "the Central Committee took action in time and restored calm." Anyone who challenges the official fiction is subject to hars punishment, inculding beatings, house arrest or imprisonment.
Anf if the 300.000 vicitims of Nanjing Massacre are slighted in some Japanese textbooks, what of the 30 million Chinese who died in famines created by Mao's lunatic Great Leap Forward between 1958 and 1962? No mention in Chinese texts; didnt happen. As the Times found in its review of textbooks, Chinese children do not learn of their nations invasion of t¡bet (1950) or aggression against Vietnam (1979). They are taught that Japan was defeated in WWII by Chinese Communist guerillas; Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Midway dont figure in.
"Facing up to history squarely" isnt easy for a ny country. Americans dont agree on how to remember the Confederacy. Russia cant yet admit to Soviet depredations in the Baltic republics. And, yes, Japan too often sees itself purely as a victim of WWII.
But in countries that permit open debate, historical interpretations can be constantly challenged, revised, maybe brought closer to the truth. In dictatorships that use history as one more tool to maintain power, there's no such hope. |
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fukuman
Wonder Wit
Joined: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 3699
Status: Offline
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Apr 20, 2005 - 06:00 PM |
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i cant help but wonder what is the issue of the 22 year old university students that get-off on this. the prοtest was 85% chinese university, mnale students.
its not the xiang xia ren or countryfolk. its the university stusednts who r pissed off because 70 % (* i joke u not, my gf at SISU, ) r nailing foreigners or rich , middle aged men.
jamiejah was 100% right. the peeps there were 85% 22 year old chinese uni8 students. male
they should look more at chinese girls and y they r so absolutely dedicated to money. women here r trash. lament them, not Japan.
sorry to reinforce it, but , as edgewood said (truth be known) " all chinese girls r whores" |
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Nick-la
Wonder Wit
Joined: July 19, 2003
Posts: 3675
Location: Wasted on this site
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Apr 20, 2005 - 06:56 PM |
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So so true. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 20, 2005 - 07:29 PM |
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Excellent post Rio. What strikes me is the extreme hypocrisy of the the Chinese argumentation. As the saying goes: If you are sitting in a glass house, you shouldn't throw stones. |
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Mr_L
Talker
Joined: Apr 02, 2005
Posts: 122
Status: Offline
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Apr 20, 2005 - 07:59 PM |
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How about the permanent seat in the UN security council?. I'm sure everybody wants it; i.e. in. Who are the veto folks willing to let in? Japan? Big no-no from China. Germany? We don't think so from the USA. Brazil? India? Everybody's got their reason why not to let more countries have permanent seats. Let alone permanent seats armed with veto power.
To some extent it's a punishment for having different opinions. But does anybody seriously believe that the USA or China will ever let anybody else pull another chair to the table? History overhaul or not. Imagine some fine day the Japanese on their knees begging for forgiveness from the Chinese. Is the KP going to say "now that you apologized, come on in"?
The UN is just one example.
Will the EU ever let Turkey join their circle? Cypress, Armenia, Kurds? Very convenient reasons not to.
Are the Jews ever let go WW2 Germany? Of course not. And why should they? In remembrance we make sure it does not happen again. (Well, in theory)
My point: Everybody has got skeletons in their closet. Admittedly or suppressed. And if A doesn’t like B, A will make sure nobody ever forgets the unpleasant history of B. (A of course being China, B of course being Japan) But if you already have the upper hand you don’t care about what others say about your past. Winner’s justice.
So what other reason than human decency (it’s politicians we’re talking about here, not people) would Japan have to apologize to China? Nothing will change if they do. What reason other reason than human decency would China/Russia/USA have to admit to their wrong-doings?
Maybe in the distant future some important enough economical decision is contingent on an apology? Just wondering who might be “clean” enough to demand it. The one who is free of guilt should definitely throw the first stone. Aim for the glass house! |
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I sense insecurity in this question... It bores me. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 20, 2005 - 08:14 PM |
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You have valid points there. In the end it's all about power and with that politics. Nobody gives a rats a$$ about the wrongdoings of past generations (otherwise most of NW Europe would be smashing in the windows of the Italian embassies now). As to the violence of the past weeks against Japanese interests, well I see no difference with the football hooligans in Europe. Only difference is that here the police looks the other way. |
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If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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Apr 21, 2005 - 03:25 PM |
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Yeah. Same as hooligans. Or french farmers destroying GM plantations or else. Same bunch of uneducated, manipulated people. We are a little sad human race aren't we? |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 21, 2005 - 08:06 PM |
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Yep HC, sometimes it seems hard to be optimistic about our future as the human race. But I still try... |
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If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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Apr 22, 2005 - 11:43 AM |
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Yeah. Not giving up is what matters.
Friday.
I need a Sangria.
Have a nice weekend you all. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 22, 2005 - 11:58 AM |
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Same to you !  |
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If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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Mr_L
Talker
Joined: Apr 02, 2005
Posts: 122
Status: Offline
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Apr 22, 2005 - 02:37 PM |
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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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Apr 22, 2005 - 02:51 PM |
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Well well well. That changes things a bit doesn't it?
Let's see how long it's gonna take for this link to be put offline if accessed from China.
I would like to see this link posted in some chinese nationalistic websites too.
Very good stuff Mr_L Sangrias on me.
The article:
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has apologized for Japan's wartime activities in Asia during his speech at a summit in Jakarta on Friday.
Koizumi expressed Japan's ''deep remorse'' and ''heartfelt apology'' for its wartime past when he addressed the Asia-Africa conference, which was opened on Friday by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Koizumi's remarks appear to be aimed at smoothing relations with China and South Korea in particular, where there have been anti-Japan demonstrations recently.
Koizumi is also expected to have a fence-mending meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the summit -- possibly on Saturday because of scheduling problems on Friday, according to Japanese sources.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, arriving in Jakarta for the Asian-African summit, said earlier this week he believed a "meeting will be realized."
In his speech, Koizumi said: "In the past, Japan through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.
"Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility and with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind," he said.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have soured in recent weeks, with a string of violent anti-Japan demonstrations in China provoking demands from Japan for an apology.
China has refused, instead blaming Japan for not facing up to its wartime history.
"The first purpose of such a meeting (between Koizumi and Hu) is for the leaders of the two countries to confirm the importance of friendship between Japan and China," Reuters quoted Machimura as saying in Jakarta.
On Wednesday, CNN's Tara Duffy in Beijing said the Chinese government was still studying the question of whether such a meeting would take place.
One potential sticking point for the meeting could come in the form of a visit by Japanese lawmakers to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Friday.
The shrine honors about 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including executed criminals such as World War II-era prime minister Hideki Tojo.
Close to 50 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine Friday morning.
Takeo Hiranuma, a former trade minister, and Tamisuke Watanuki, a former speaker of the lower house, were among those paying their respects.
There were no Cabinet ministers among the group, which visited the shrine in observance of an annual spring festival, the Associated Press reports.
Another 119 lawmakers were represented by their aides.
The visit could further anger Beijing's mood, though as CNN's Atika Shubert in Tokyo noted, the annual visit to the shrine was scheduled well before the recent deterioration in China-Japan relations.
Deteriorating relations
Chinese demonstrators in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have rallied in recent weeks against Tokyo's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
They are also protesting over a textbook approved by Japan's education ministry that China says whitewashes Japanese wartime atrocities.
On Tuesday a Japanese court turned down a lawsuit filed by the Chinese survivors of Japanese atrocities during World War II, a court official told CNN. (Full story)
China has rejected Japanese demands for an apology over the damage caused by Chinese demonstrators, claiming instead that it is Japan that owes the apology for not facing up to its wartime activities.
Japan has apologized on numerous occasions for its wartime actions -- most notably in August 1995 when Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama expressed his "deep remorse" and "heartfelt apology" to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
But visits by Japanese prime ministers to the Yasukuni shrine -- where war criminals are buried along with other Japanese war dead -- continue to cast a cloud over these apologies, and countries such as China and the two Koreas doubt Japan's sincerity.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura proposed the Jakarta meeting during his visit to China that began Sunday. He left Beijing early on Tuesday, expressing "deep regret" that China would not apologize for the violent prοtests.
Annan, who will attend the Jakarta summit, said he would encourage Koizumi and Hu to meet.
Japan has warned of economic consequences as relations slump to their lowest since the two resumed diplomatic ties in 1972.
China is Japan's biggest trading partner, but Machimura has warned that bilateral ties, "including on the economic front, could decline to a serious state."
Trade between China and Japan last year was worth about $167 billion. According to Chinese government statistics, Japan has invested in more than 20,000 projects in China with total actual investment of more than $32 billion.
However, Merrill Lynch Japan chief economist Jesper Koll told CNN on Tuesday that there would be "minimal economic impact" from the tensions, because both sides needed each other.
"It is a well-integrated economic relationship," he said.
Japan has received support from staunch ally the United States in its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, one of the key friction points in its relations with China.
On Monday, the new U.S. ambassador to Tokyo, J. Thomas Schieffer, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying: "We believe that Japan speaking with a louder voice in the world will actually increase the chances for peace and security."
Large anti-Japan prοtests raged through half a dozen Chinese cities on Saturday and Sunday, for the third weekend in a row. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 22, 2005 - 03:41 PM |
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The Japanese apologized so many times already and it never made a difference to the dimwits here, and the criminals who (mis)lead them. So it won't make a difference now. China needs to foster an enemy image, just like the Nazi's needed the Jews.
As to the Yasukuni shrine, it's all this hypocrisy again. The country that at every slightest bit of criticism whine and moans that nobody has the right to interfere in their 'internal affairs', tries to tell another country not to honour their war deaths. The nerve and arrogance of these people has no limit.
And what is a war criminal anyway ? In my opinion every war is a crime. Funny enough "war criminals" are always only found in the countries that lose the war. Strange isn't it ?
Some criminals killed tens of millions of their own countrymen, and are lying in a glass box now, being honored for that glorious fact. The irony of life ..... |
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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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Apr 22, 2005 - 04:02 PM |
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That is the RATIONAL approach, but when it comes down to wars, rape and murder, things are not rational, they are emotional. A rational approach is hence INNEFECTIVE, specially with the Ordinary Joe out there, the guy that you will not control when a million of them are running in your direction, and nobody wants that.
Whitewashing happens in both sides (Japanese whitewash Nanjing, Chinese whitewash CR), so, I guess China is no better or worse then Japan. China is both the victim and vilain, which makes the whole thing tricky. It is hard to discuss the discussion and focus SOLELY on the Japan issue, but it would be easier to solve the problem WITHOUT involving CR, GLF, ...
As for war criminals and considering the emotional nature of the topic, I would think it would be pretty difficult to ignore or to not feel at least a stingy feeling when you know the guys in Japan did head chopping competition and textually said hey we are just killing animals and are being honoured. Obviouslly the interpretation that just because you are honouring war death you are specifically and specially honouring war criminals that did this savagery is of course pretty much something only a big victim would do, a skewed perception of reality. But hey, you can control your action, but you cannot control the reaction it causes.
And hey, let's not forget the Jews today still need the nazis TODAY, so, again, Chinese are not better or worse than anybody else are they?
The entire discussion should be taken in a different, higher framework. It is not about China x Japan, Jews x Nazis. It's about VICTIMIZATION and the compensations for it. It is a great relief to be a victim. You can manipulate that in so many ways. The Jews used their victimization to try to extract as much as they could from as many people directly or indirectly related to their issue as possible. Apparently here victimization is being used to drive the focus out of internal problems.
So, to me Japan holds the key to solve the problem. It is hard to argue with someone emotional, and that's what is happening here. To avoid confrontation (which i believe is the objective) the best alternative is not to stand firm is it?
If Japan apologizes or even if it just prevents the whitewashing, what is it losing? NOTHING. Japan doesn't lose ANYTHING by preventing the books from containign something that WE ALL KnoW is crap.
And what does Japan gain by letting this bullshiat be in their textbooks? NOTHING AGAIN.
So, Japan, being more mature, more democratic and more advanced and less emotional, should be very careful in how it handles the heated egos here.
It looks like Koizumi realized he must play it cool a bit, and that's the key to solve the problem. |
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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025
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Apr 22, 2005 - 04:04 PM |
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I mean, does anyone here DISAGREES that there was severe barbarism in Nanjing, Harbin, ...?
That was a big assumption of my post. |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6446
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Apr 22, 2005 - 04:56 PM |
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Good post HC. I think Koizumi handled this matter in a very mature way. I hope it will be equalled.
As to those unfortunate school book texts, let's not forget that they are the product of a very very small rightwing minority. Just like you find them in Europe as well.
In a democracy also they should have a chance to be heard, how ever controversial their views are. Silencing them and driving them underground has proven counterproductive. The problem here is that this concept is still unfamiliar. Nothing to blame the Chinese people for, but more their immature leaders who misuse the sentiments of the misinformed masses. Happens everywhere. We all have seen that very recently in the case of Iraq. |
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If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
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Rio
Post Boaster
Joined: Dec 04, 2004
Posts: 4724
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Apr 22, 2005 - 05:30 PM |
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I have stated quite clearly enough what I think of this issue. I still think the problem lies with China. Koizumi has handled this matter in a very mature way, like Andreas said. But it is not enough to use words only. Koizume needs to follow his words up with deeds. And, ofcourse, no one disagrees with the severe barbarism HC, I dont think there are sane people who disagree.
The Japanese voiced their apologies many times, but not on such a big occassion in front of a big part of the world. Koizumi should direct his apologies more specifically on the particular countries. "Sorry China, we did this", "sorry Vietnam, we did this", etc. And the Chinese have to realise that apologies need to be accepted in order to advance to the next stage, friendship. Although thats a dream that will never come true, still it is an objective to reach for.
My point is that its not only about Japan and its apologies, its also about China and its dictatorship and selective way of using history in order to misuse their power. That is what's annoying me, more than the Japanese bashing (people are ignorant, they read and watch what they are being shown). |
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Mr_L
Talker
Joined: Apr 02, 2005
Posts: 122
Status: Offline
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Apr 22, 2005 - 08:31 PM |
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Agreed. It takes two for an apology. However, considering how long it took J to come up with it, it would not surprise me if it took just as long for C to accept. Kind of brings up the question just how much humble pie will J have to eat for that to happen. Look at it this way: If someone killed some million of your people and then takes decades to admit to it and then mumbles a half-ass “sorry” would you invite them over for your dinner party the next day? I would make sure it is actually a heart-felt apology and not just lip service.
Think of the Israel/Germany example. 60 years after, countless unreserved apologies later, loads of reparations, and annual pilgrimages to Canossa of every significant official in the country, Germany still snaps to attention when Israel calls. And look at what a good relationship the two have built despite their less than glory history. But it did not come overnight either.
I don’t think China’s being whatever-form-of-state has anything to do with their reservation towards J’s recent actions. Why not let those guys suffer for some time? I would. J has done the right step but will not get away so easily. There will have to be many more statements of unreserved apologies before the Chinese should accept the sincereness of the act. Given the number of hardliners in the Japanese government it would not come as a surprise if they revise the recent statement later (Apologize? Us? Where did you get that?). Or get a new PM who will not get out of line again.
There is a degree of guilt that has to come with an apology. It’s something that the majority of the country (including politicians) actually have to believe it’s the right thing to do. If someone just mutters a “ok we’re sorry, but don’t really know what for” its useless, worse, it must feel like mockery and taunt in the ears of those demanding a sign of regret.
The recent advance of the Japanese PM is a positive and hopeful sign. But, Mr. PM, keep it coming and stop to whisper and start yelling. And I’m sure the Chinese will want to hear every last place and incident spelled out specifically.
BTW: I’m not Chinese and I usually don’t take their side for any reason other than to cry foul when it is appropriate. I would take the same stand for any other country, notwithstanding their own amassed guilt. The time will come for China to face the music and to come clear on a “few” of their things. |
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amega
Barker
Joined: Nov 18, 2004
Posts: 199
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Apr 22, 2005 - 10:27 PM |
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China, Japan should shuck victim mentality
By Fan Li
(Used by permission of Pacific Forum CSIS)
TOKYO - The fate of the six-party talks has been the center of attention in East Asia since Pyongyang's February 10 announcement that it was suspending participation in the talks and that it had nuclear weapons. The world holds high expectations for China and sees it as an indispensable player in helping to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis.
Spreading anti-Japanese demonstrations and a boycott of Japanese products in China, however, suggest that China may have other priorities. Two weeks ago, a Chinese student online community launched a survey of the younger generation's thinking about the world. When asked which country is least trustworthy, 73% of the 27,000 respondents named Japan, followed by the United States, Russia and India. North Korea was not even on the list.
Nuclear bombs may be hidden in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's back yard, but a revised textbook that "whitewashes" Japan's wartime crimes in Asia, Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro's annual visits to Yasukuni Shrine (he did not go this year), and a defense program that identifies China as a potential threat are visible. So why shouldn't Chinese be more concerned about the "Japan threat", especially if, judging from the old friendship between China and North Korea, it's very unlikely that North Korea would use nuclear weapons against China?
One can argue that anti-Japanese sentiment in China is not news. But the backward moves between Japan and South Korea caused by territorial conflicts over the Takeshima Islands (Tokdo or Dokto in Korean) is a big blow to the honeymoon in relations since the two nations co-hosted the 2002 World Cup soccer final, and they appear to have undone the goodwill created by the culture boom known as "Han-Ryu" in Japan. If the deadlock over the sovereignty of the Northern Territories, occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, is added, it looks as if Japan is taking the lead in a fight with three members of the six-party-talks.
It's not fair to force Japan to take all the blame. But Japan's recent behavior has complicated the atmosphere surrounding the multilateral talks on North Korea, which is unfortunate for Japan and the region. In Northeast Asia, history is not just about the past. Unresolved issues, some going back more than a century, cast giant shadows over the continent at a time of rapid economic change and shifting power balances.
Among all the conflicts, the Sino-Japanese rift is most important, and as a result can threaten the peace and security of the entire world. As Deng Xiaoping pointed out 30 years ago, the most important bilateral relationship for China is Sino-Japan relations.
The term "peaceful rise" (heping jueqi) put forward by the Hu Jintao administration sums up Beijing's goal of good neighborliness and global responsibility. However, there are doubts and concerns in Japan about how the terms "peaceful" and "rise" relate to each other, especially given China's exploratory drilling in the East China Sea, submarine incursions, and the exclusionary nationalism in China. At the same time, China considers Japan's hard work to become a "normal country" and obtain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council an excuse for failing to seriously address its historical disputes with its neighbors.
In fact, these two countries are looking in the same direction: toward a peaceful rise. China has achieved dramatic development in recent years, and as it comes to play an increasing role on the international scene, as in the six-party talks, it is only natural for the Chinese to desire to make China both rich and strong, as well as to reunite the "lost territories" with the motherland.
As for Japan, it is now represented by the Koizumi administration, which is backed by a new generation that does not feel it should be judged by misbehavior in the past. Many feel the time has come for Japan to play a more active role as the world's second largest economy, a major sponsor of the UN and other international institutions, and they say Japan deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council to justify and encourage its contribution to international peacekeeping.
So what is the obstacle? For a win-win peaceful rise, both countries need to nurture a healthy national mentality. There is no greater threat to peace than the emergence of a major power with a "victim mentality".
Traditionally, the Chinese take the 100-plus years beginning in the mid-19th century as a period of national humiliation. It was a time when the once-powerful kingdom was invaded and bullied by Western powers and Japan. It was also the time when China realized, for the first time in its 5,000-year history, that it was no longer a strong nation.
These deep wounds to China's pride take time to heal. The fundamental reason lies in the Chinese belief that it was "the Middle Kingdom" for many centuries before it declined. A sense of cultural superiority has been bred in the Chinese people that makes it still harder for them to suffer the humiliations of backwardness in modern times. It seems that the Chinese care about their sensibilities and dignity more than anyone else.
As China takes a greater role in global affairs, abandoning the victim complex is a must. Shaking off that complex does not mean that the Chinese should divorce themselves from history. It only means they ought to perform on the world stage as a normal partner, and in a more open and forward-looking mode.
Japan must rid itself of this mental illness as well. Japan has accused China of harboring a victim mentality, but Japan itself is hiding in the shadows of the US nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is true that Japan was a victim as well as an aggressor, but this does not justify Japan turning its back on its history of aggression. There appears to be a trend in which all history textbooks delete facts about "comfort women" while ensuring that they include the name of Yokota Megumi, the missing hostage kidnapped by North Korea. As a great power in Asia, Japan needs the courage to face a complete version of its history and it must make concrete efforts to improve relations with its neighbors.
Nobody can tell whether the six-party talks are the best way to solve North Korea's nuclear crisis. But it is important to recognize that this is not only a process of negotiating with North Korea, but also a process of communicating among the five other countries. China, Japan and South Korea should use this opportunity to build a stronger coalition in East Asia.
Key to this process is greater grassroots exchanges. Seeing is believing. It may seem overly simple, but one of the reasons anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan is not as strong as anti-Japanese feeling in China is that more Japanese have chances to visit China than Chinese can visit Japan. The Chinese government began a Japanese visa waiver program in 2003, but it's very difficult for Chinese to come to Japan. This is something that could be worked on and improved by both governments.
A nation that forgets its past has no future. However, that nation can hardly move forward if it puts itself in the throes of past humiliations forever.
Fan Li is executive director of Global Links Initiative, a Tokyo-based non-profit organization that promotes China-Japan-UK exchanges, and is also a member of the Pacific Forum CSIS Young Leaders Program. She can be reached at fanli@glinet.org. This article was used with permission of Pacific Forum CSIS. E-mail: pacforum@hawaii.rr.com. |
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fukuman
Wonder Wit
Joined: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 3699
Status: Offline
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Apr 25, 2005 - 10:25 PM |
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"Traditionally, the Chinese take the 100-plus years beginning in the mid-19th century as a period of national humiliation. It was a time when the once-powerful kingdom was invaded and bullied by Western powers and Japan. It was also the time when China realized, for the first time in its 5,000-year history, that it was no longer a strong nation.
These deep wounds to China's pride take time to heal. The fundamental reason lies in the Chinese belief that it was "the Middle Kingdom" for many centuries before it declined. A sense of cultural superiority has been bred in the Chinese people that makes it still harder for them to suffer the humiliations of backwardness in modern times. It seems that the Chinese care about their sensibilities and dignity more than anyone else. "
progress, baby, progress
"A nation that forgets its past has no future. However, that nation can hardly move forward if it puts itself in the throes of past humiliations forever. "
well thats china f***d then, isnt it? |
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fukuman
Wonder Wit
Joined: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 3699
Status: Offline
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Apr 25, 2005 - 10:25 PM |
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"Traditionally, the Chinese take the 100-plus years beginning in the mid-19th century as a period of national humiliation. It was a time when the once-powerful kingdom was invaded and bullied by Western powers and Japan. It was also the time when China realized, for the first time in its 5,000-year history, that it was no longer a strong nation.
These deep wounds to China's pride take time to heal. The fundamental reason lies in the Chinese belief that it was "the Middle Kingdom" for many centuries before it declined. A sense of cultural superiority has been bred in the Chinese people that makes it still harder for them to suffer the humiliations of backwardness in modern times. It seems that the Chinese care about their sensibilities and dignity more than anyone else. "
progress, baby, progress
"A nation that forgets its past has no future. However, that nation can hardly move forward if it puts itself in the throes of past humiliations forever. "
well thats china f***d then, isnt it? |
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blablabla
Raver
Joined: Apr 30, 2005
Posts: 378
Status: Offline
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Apr 30, 2005 - 12:48 PM |
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uglyamerican
Barker
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Posts: 153
Status: Offline
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May 06, 2005 - 07:35 AM |
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| A sense of cultural superiority has been bred in the Chinese people |
Superiority? Why not start with daily flossing? |
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