China
and Japan : Prisoners of the Past
By Antony
Peyton
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Hate is a very powerful emotion,
but in the last few weeks here in China, it has manifested itself in a
disturbingly vitriolic manner. The target of this outpouring of negative
feelings was predictably Japan, for reasons that lie in the past, present
and, safe to say, in the future.
This enduring feud recently bubbled
to the surface again as the Japanese approved new history textbooks that
completely ignore the war crimes carried out by the Imperial Japanese Army
in China from 1937-1945. Even though history shows a whole list of incidents
that are bound to upset the Chinese, such as the use of biological weapons
or keeping women as sex slaves, it is specifically the Nanjing massacre
of civilians in 1937 that is often cited by China to keep its population
united and focused against the common enemy. .
While the Chinese government is
keen to control the Internet and all its trappings of freedom and creativity,
it encourages websites that spread hatred, propaganda and graphic images
highlighting past Japanese cruelty. The words ‘massive’ and ‘hypocrisy’
spring to mind.
It is understandable that the Chinese
feel outraged at the Japanese insensitivity, but a closer look at the facts
reveals that the offending textbooks actually only account for less than
1% of all the books used in Japanese schools, and many teachers in that
country agree that the new texts are wrong.
But China remains
stubborn, once again pointing to the lack of apologies from Japan for its
past activities—completely ignoring that Japan has apologized several times
for its wartime misconduct (albeit sometimes in a less than sincere manner)
and that it also has heavily invested in China to provide the funds for
its rapid economic development. Beijing accepted money as a form of apology,
but conveniently forgot to tell its people about it. Many Chinese are still
unaware that much of their infrastructure has been built with Japanese
money, which begs the question: Where do they think it all comes from?
China wants
Japan to face up to its past, but is astonishingly unable to do the same
regarding its own history, which has seen an invasion and annexation of
Tibet in 1951; the disastrous Cultural Revolution 1966-1976 that lost a
million lives as the revered leader Mao Ze Dong attempted anarchic totalitarianism;
and of course the Tiananmen Square massacre of protesting students in 1989.
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Some
older and more radical-minded Chinese have decided to forego purchasing
Japanese products altogether, which means that most electronic goods, computer
games, and cosmetics are off limits to them. China’s youth would find it
difficult to follow suit, as it seems that most boys are surgically attached
to the latest computer game, and most girls are devout in their application
of make-up and other beauty products… all made in Japan. Aside from
the passive business boycott, there have been much more active displays,
involving “spontaneous” demonstrations as people took to the streets to
voice their disapproval of Japan’s latest behavior. Here in Tianjin, many
college students were rudely woken up in the morning, taken by bus to a
designated site, given banners and “encouraged” to participate in protest
marches. If the rest of the country were as organized as these orchestrations
of hate are, then it would run considerably smoother. |
Across China, some Japanese have been
beaten up by enraged mobs, there have been riots, the Japanese embassy
in Beijing was attacked, and many other unpleasant incidents, all goaded
on by the government, which has done nothing to control the situation but
in the contrary has inspired and stoked the fires of antagonism. It reminds
me of “Hate Week” in George Orwell’s 1984, where citizens deprived of basic
liberties are coerced by the Party to vent their fury against elusive enemy
Emmanuel Goldstein. Amazing how life imitates art.
While Japan’s past actions undoubtedly
represent the dark side of its national character, the present actions
of China reveal its own shadow and show just how dangerous this country
can become. On a daily basis, life is chaotic but reasonable and certainly
not violent, but it’s apparent (and worrying) how easily a mob can form
in this part of the world.
| A road accident brings
a crowd of sightseers to gawk at a dead or injured body lying in the street.
The police (corrupt to the core, it should be added) arrive, hands in pockets
with a disdainful and arrogant manner. They make no effort at crowd control
as the mob swells, thus creating more traffic problems on the road, and
a sense of macabre madness.
An argument in the street or a vehicle
collision transforms itself into theatre as the audience takes sides and
listens to the combatants’ verbal sparring. Here in China, the mob rules,
and with a population of 1.2 billion, they feel that safety in numbers
counts. |
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The implications
of all this hostility won’t simply lie down and die. Japan seeks a permanent
place on the UN Security Council which, unsurprisingly, China opposes.
China’s military expenditure is increasing dramatically, which worries
Japan and pushes it closer to the U.S. in an alliance. Japan’s Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi hasn’t visited China since October 2001, even after repeated
requests, and without constructive dialogue it will be difficult to make
progress. The list of outstanding issues goes on and on, but ultimately
China can’t seem to forgive and forget, which leaves Japan scratching its
head and wondering what can it do to appease its mighty and irascible neighbor.
The recent
situation appeared to be getting further out of hand as both sides engaged
in a crude pantomime of recrimination, but then Koizumi issued another
apology on April 22, in an attempt to defuse the crisis. In the future,
China will find it increasingly difficult to maintain its air of perpetual
grievance when it gets what it wants, but as it grows stronger and more
confident, it may try to push further and raise the stakes in this deadly
duel..
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The above
originally appeared in the May 5, 2005 weekly edition of What We Now Know
distributed by Casey Research, and is used here with permission from Casey
Research, LLC. WWNK is a weekly free e-letter and the only Casey Research
publication that does not specialize in investment topics, What We Now
Know is a refreshing mix of topics—from U.S. and world politics to the
economy, health, science, technology and general interest stories. What
We Now Know has a current readership of over 100,000. Always informative
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