This post reminded me of another article I read recently (also in the scmp I think) concerning the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum.

The reporter described seeing a young schoolgirl (there with the rest of her class) almost in tears, banging her little fists against a glass display which held a life size dummy of an imperial Japanese soldier behind it and shouting “Kill you, kill you, kill you, Japanese
pig”.

I suppose this is to be expected considering that this poor child had been taken to look at graphic
photographs of executions, rapes, mass murders, corpses piled up and being throw into a pit etc. and god knows what else.

All of course absolutely necessary because taking young schoolchildren to the required number of approved “Sites of National Humiliation” is part of the compulsory national curriculum and a vital part of their Patriotic Education.

The issue here is NOT about Japanese atrocities, I repeat it is NOT ABOUT JAPANESE ATROCITIES, it’s about young children being spoon fed hatred, xenophobia, vengence and the ‘eternal victim’ view of recent history before they are mentally mature enough to fully understand and appreciate these very sensitive issues.

Teaching a child to hate is the polar opposite of what responsible parents and a responsible government should be doing and if that’s not stating the obvious then I don’t know what is.

In my book this is also a crime against humanity.

July 7, 2005 @ 5:08 pm | Comment

Amen to that, brother. Of course, if you posted that on a China Daily BBS they’d rip you apart and feed the scraps to the dogs.

July 7, 2005 @ 5:33 pm | Comment

..if I was lucky.

July 7, 2005 @ 5:37 pm | Comment

Not so fast. It’s not a perfect analogy, but why do American Jews keep on telling their children about past atrocities against Jews, especially during WWII? One can argue American Jews are one of the most successful ethnic groups in America right now, and the Germans, in this case, actually DID apologize for their acts in the past.

I DO agree that the “patriotic education” is too extreme and fanning too much hatred against the Japanese. This is nothing new. This is China where media is controlled.

But in your comfortable American chairs, with 9/11 being the only big direct attack on American soil, I’d suggest you all do keep some different perspective in mind – do not brush aside so easily a national sentiment. If anything, China right now is undergoing a dramatic shift in how it perceives the world (with a hundred years of colonial repression in mind). Sarcasm will only breed more antagonism.

July 7, 2005 @ 7:23 pm | Comment

The teaching of the Holocaust is never done in a manner to encourage active, violent hatred against Germans. As a Jew and someone who grew up constantly hearing about the Holocaust I can say this with inside knowledge and experience. The Holocaust is perceived by most Jews as the culmination of a long history of persecution, and it is taught not to instill rage or protest but an awareness that we must never again passively accept wanton persecution, let alone wholesale slaughter. It is also taught to remind us we must never forget our Jewish heritage and must strive to preserve it. I haven’t heard of Holocaust stiudies being used to incite hatred or violence; have you? The same cannot be said about the cultivation of hatred of the Japanese in China.

July 7, 2005 @ 7:30 pm | Comment

Anonomous

I never reply or even really read anonomous comments. Sorry.

July 7, 2005 @ 8:02 pm | Comment

He won’t be back. His argument is a tired one, and he can’t back it up.

July 7, 2005 @ 8:17 pm | Comment

Why wouldn’t I be back?

Once again, I’m not arguing that the Chinese government is doing a good job teaching about China’s past. What I found excessive are sentences like “But this obsessive need to keep these images fresh and the emotions raw only breeds hatred for a generation of Japanese that had nothing to do with this atrocity.”

All I’m objecting to are easy answers and sweeping conclusions. I would think that decades of PC education in the States would have brought more sensitivity.

And two reminders:
-Japan has never officially apologized;
-Taiwan is reacting as strongly to Japanese government’s recent actions, and the Koreans are even more violent than the Chinese in this regard.

Japan had inflicted a lot of pain in Asia which hasn’t healed. So my points are

1. The Chinese government is manipulative
2. Easy criticism of the national reaction to Japan’s actions is condescending
3. I hope, and PRAY, for a solution to this heated emotions between nations. I have Korean friends, Chinese friends, Korean friends and American friends whom I all hope can life in peace.

But before that, let’s do some more hearing and understanding. Criticism is all too easy.

July 7, 2005 @ 9:12 pm | Comment

One more note about the Holocaust comparison. Like I said, it’s not a good analogy. Different ethnic groups interpret and teach histories differently to different goals and different ways to maintain ethnic identity and cohesiveness. And Japan is not Germany, and Chinese are not Jews.

Not all Chinese hate Japanese. The largest protest against Japan I think was in Shanghai, with NYTimes reporting 10k (or 2k?) marching. None of my Chinese friends went out of their way to hate or boycott Japanese goods.

July 7, 2005 @ 9:22 pm | Comment

“But this obsessive need to keep these images fresh and the emotions raw only breeds hatred for a generation of Japanese that had nothing to do with this atrocity.”

The problem in China is not talking too much about past crimes by Japanese, but talking too little. In CCP’s theory, the warfare is more about the struggle between classes, less about the struggle between races. When I grew up, the crime by nationlist way overshadowed the crime by Japanese. I was even taught stories how Japanese communist fought militarist.

In early 1980s, Hu Yaobao invited 3000 Japanese youth to visit China and had a propaganda that Japanese and Chinese are forever friends. I remember my grandma was cursing Japanese and CCP. I gradually realize Japan was really worse than Kumingdan nationalist.

Every year, Japanese will have national mourning about Hiroshima. When I grew up, I only had vague idea about Nanjin massacre. When I late came to know the fact, I was shocked.

It is ture that the current Japanese has nothing to do with the past crime. However, many current Japanese corporation, such as Mitsubishi, used to be part of Japanese war machine. Unfortunately, CCP never take a firm stand to help Chinese to sue them for compensation.

July 7, 2005 @ 9:31 pm | Comment

Ping Heng, you are spouting the tired Chinese slogans, like the Japanese never apologized. Of course they did. And you were the one who made the analogy to the Holocaust, and I agree, it’s very weak.

We all know about the misery Japan inflected — 60 years ago. Time to get over it, not through 3-minute hates, but through accomplishments and progress to show you are just as great as Japan and even greater. Until the Chinese do so, they will appear immature and consumed in a suffocating inferiority complex that leaves them appearing hysterical and incapable of true maturity and greatness.

July 7, 2005 @ 9:35 pm | Comment

” it’s about young children being spoon fed hatred, xenophobia, vengence and the ‘eternal victim’ view of recent history”

Have you ever read a chinese history textbook? Show me a paragraph that it taught xenophobia.

When I grew up, I was taught much more about evil american imperialism than about Japanese crime. It turns out US is the most generous foreign power. When I was in college, I adored US so much that my roommater ridiculed me as “little american”.

Personally, if I wish Japanese ill, I would wish Japanese just keep doing what they are doing. For Japanese, they are selling a lot of brand name products with a premium. What they are doing now is the best way to kill their brand name.

Recent survey shows that in china, the majority of affluent white collar prefer not buying Japanese product if they have other choices.

July 7, 2005 @ 9:58 pm | Comment

Steve, I’m not sure about the textbooks, but I can lead you to plenty of anti-Japan hate sites and interviews with Chinese who sound absolutely deranged in their hatred of the Japanese. This didn’t all happen in a vacuum. And I can show you plenty of articles outlining how the Chinese government helped organize and facilitate the recent anti-Japanese rtiots, until the publicity got to be too uncomfortable for them.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:05 pm | Comment

Richard, please provide whatever articles you have that that state the CCP was responsible for the April Shanghai demonstrations. The nearest actual involvement that I’ve had qualified was that public buses were provided afterwards to send people home.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:15 pm | Comment

Did I ever say they were responsible for demonstrations in Shanghai? Where did I say this?

Go back to my posts from when the riots started you’ll find articles about how the police helped facilitate the demonstrations and even gave the students eggs to throw. If you don’t remember these things, all you need to do is search around. It’s all here.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:19 pm | Comment

” the police helped facilitate the demonstrations and even gave the students eggs to throw. If you don’t remember these things”

Richard, you fail to recognize that the policeman share the same sentiment as chinese students. There is no need to have official instructions for those policeman.

When we held demonstration in 1989, plenty of policeman help us become they simply like our action.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:29 pm | Comment

If you have nothing better to do than playing childish rhetorical games Richard don’t even bother wasteing my time. The words you specifically used were “facilitated” and “organized”. I’ve rechecked the april archives and the only mention (didn’t search through all the comments) of police providing ammunition for the demonstrators is your own statement. The articles you linked to mentioned that eggs, bottles, etc were thrown and the police not stopping the projectiles. There was no mention that the police provided them.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:38 pm | Comment

I think we all know whatever public demonstrations are permitted on Chinese main avenues with police accompaniment are done so with either the tacit or overt approval of the government. When the government had enough of the bad publicity, they stepped in and stopped it. Until then, they allowed it. The police and nearly everyone else in China learned after 1989, when you hold demonstrations you do so on the government’s terms or else.

July 7, 2005 @ 10:40 pm | Comment

Jing, we had this discussion back in April when your arguments were disproved. Must I go through it all over again? Well, okay, since you insisted. Let’s start here:

At the Japanese consulate, the crowd chanted “jia ru, jia ru” asking the police to “join us”. The police did not arrest the protesters, and stood by watching as the demonstration proceeded. The police permitted the protesters to throw eggs and rocks. Although the police provided at one point a sign which read “March route this way,” state-controlled media denied that the protesters had been given permission for their demonstration.

Then try going here, here:

Three weeks of anti-Japanese protests in China were brought to a halt last weekend when Beijing stepped in to shut them down. After giving tacit support to the demonstrations, the Chinese leadership declared that the protests had become a threat to social stability and dispatched police to prevent any continuation. A handful of protesters detained by police over violent incidents were paraded in the media as a warning to others.

Or, if your fancy strikes you, you may want to wander over here:

Saturday’s protest was the biggest in the capital since 1999 when crowds rallied outside the U.S. Embassy after three Chinese were killed when its embassy was bombed in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia.

Protests are rare in China, with the government keeping a tight rein on any public gatherings, banning most demonstrations.

But while China’s government has urged protesters to remain calm, and avoid extremist behavior, it has been tolerant of these anti-Japanese demonstrations, urging Tokyo to take a “responsible attitude” towards history

Not enough? Okay, let’s try the Washington Post:

The Chinese government rarely approves public demonstrations but appeared to make an exception for the throng of mostly college-age protesters who converged in the city’s high-tech district and for smaller groups that marched from there to the embassy. The protest occurred as relations between China and Japan have grown increasingly strained by a series of disputes over history and territory.

Oh, so you want more?

Up to 10,000 people marched yesterday morning in the southern city of Guangzhou to protest outside the Japanese consulate-general, as Chinese officials pleaded with demonstrators to express themselves in a “calm and sane” manner. A similar protest occurred outside a Japanese supermarket, Jasco, in the city of Shenzhen, on the border of Hong Kong, with paint and plastic bottles thrown at Japanese restaurants.

In Tokyo, the Foreign Minister, Nobutaka Machimura, summoned China’s ambassador, Wang Yi, yesterday to deliver an official protest at Chinese police allowing protesters to hurl rocks, bottles and eggs at the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday.

Well, I thinkyou get the picture by now. As I said, if you look, the articles are there.

I apologize for being in a snarky mood tonight. I am under a lot of strerss. But as I said in this case, the evidence of the Chinese government’s complicity in the demonstrations is incontrovertible and indisputable. I understand the rage against Japan, but I hate to see the government using it to manipulate the Chinese people , just as I hate to see Bush using 911 to manipulate my own people.

Okay, I’m going to saleep.

July 7, 2005 @ 11:00 pm | Comment

Your turn, Jing! 🙂

July 7, 2005 @ 11:19 pm | Comment

i dont want to get involved in any snootiness, but i would like to comment.

i hadnt heard about that ‘exihibit’ opening, but if i had, i probably would have made the time to go see it. i live and work very close to there. pretty poor timing for a thing like that, but as ive been seeing, the ccp loves to time things with the worst possible bad taste. what the hell is wrong with those guys? do they have some master plan, where this all makes sense? WTF!

just for the record, i was made to watch color films of the bodies from bergen belson. i was in grade 5, and i remember it very, very clearly. i’m nearly 40 now.

July 8, 2005 @ 12:57 am | Comment

History strikes back once again. I haven’t seen the exhebition so I can’t say if it is accurate or promotes hate towards Japan.

From my point of view such exebitions are a must but only can have positive effects if governments and societies at the same time try to establish a dialogue between the people. So did i.e. the Frensh and the German governments shortly after the war by sponsoring youth exchange heavily.
If there is no dialogue the nations and people are trapped in a monologue that leads nowhere.

Adam Krzeminski (a polish journalist) describes this as “historical autism” also seen in todays reunited Europe between the East and the West of Europe. I had a post in my blog some time ago dealing with his essay “As many wars as nations” absolutely worth reading (I mean the essay not so much my post)
essay: http://signandsight.com/features/96.html
my post:
http://redstarnews.org/?p=28

July 8, 2005 @ 5:32 am | Comment

“If there is no dialogue the nations and people are trapped in a monologue that leads nowhere.” – shulan

Great quote. I think that describes the situations in China and Japan perrfectly.

I tell you, the Asian, especially East Asian notion of “Face” has a lot to answer for in this situation I think.

Thanks for the link to Red Star News. Sounds interesting.

July 8, 2005 @ 6:07 am | Comment

life is hard for a ruling communist party, isn’t it?

demonstrations approved, government conspiracy. demonstrations not approved, violation of freedom of expression. i don’t like such logic.

and, it might be true that most chinese are yet to get rid of their inferiority complex. some posts here are equally telling of a superiority complex on the part of some non-chinese.

July 8, 2005 @ 1:38 pm | Comment

yi said: “some posts here are equally telling of a superiority complex on the part of some non-chinese.”

Carry on yi, we’re all ears. After all, you can’t just quietly tag that accusation onto the end of your comment without qualifying it.

July 8, 2005 @ 1:42 pm | Comment

Yi, I believe all demonstrations should be permitted (within reasonn). The party hasd a long and proven history of cracking down on demonstrations for causes it doesn’t like and is afraid of, and of facilitating demonstrations for causes they favor. It’s really that simple. I wouldn’t call it a conspiracy because it’s quite overt: they are always trying to build a sense of nationalism and superiority, probably to divert attention from their own shortcomings and failures. Bush does the same, rallying around the flag and ranting about freedom as the country goes to hell in a handbasket.

July 8, 2005 @ 1:43 pm | Comment

richard, i actually agree with you that the ccp’s track record in dealing with demonstrations has not been good. that said, according to my friends back home, accusations of a government hand in the demonstrations discussed here were not very well founded and for me revealed a somewhat paradoxical attitude and double standards in some western press. well, being chinese myself, i sometimes tend to be more sensitive to double standards (which in a way exhibits my inferiority complex).

martyn, i’m not going back through the posts to cut out those parts i felt terribly uncomfortable with. when i used the word “superiority complex”, it was not intended as an accusation. it’s a contrast to the inferiority situation i, and maybe many other chinese, am in. for me, when you and some others argue, you (in the general sense) seem to have quite some assumptions about china (one of which i mentioned in a previous comment); you seem to know what is the one and only best choice for china and chinese people; you seem to be constantly angry why the chinese cannot find the one and only correct way to happiness. these are not exactly accurate and represent only my impression when reading some of the posts (with a worldview distorted by inferiority complex, perhaps). so martyn, if you feel unhappy about that description, just ignore it. i guess it will take time for me to get rid of that impression, though.

btw, i forgot to comment on the apology matter richard and some others mentioned. the apology richard mentioned would be an apology if “i am sorry” equals “i apologise”. however, the two are not equal in chinese, nor in japanese, maybe also not in english (check out us comments after bush’s “sorry” in the aftermath of the aircraft collision on the south china sea). but i do agree that insistence on an apology is counterproductive. with nationalistic sentiments running high in all northeast asian countries, history will continue to be an issue for quite some time to come. i’m not optimistic in this regard.

July 8, 2005 @ 2:21 pm | Comment

Yi, thanks for clarifying. I don’t think our viewpoints are really that different. I understand how the Chinese view Japan’s apology (which they would call an “apology”), and as you say, dwelling on it ad infinitum doesn’t really get anyone anywhere.

July 8, 2005 @ 2:28 pm | Comment

yi, when you talk about some/most western commenters always being angry and always knowing “the one and only correct way to happiness” for China, this typifies, for me anyway, one of the differences between the Chinese view and western view.

(Incidently–I hope readers don’t confuse “China” with the “CCP”, because many westerners often talk about China when we should say “CCP”)

Rather than imposing my western ideals on China I would, above all, like the Chinese people to have the freedom to contribute to the debate concerning how they should live and what direction the future of China should be. At the moment I do not believe that they have this freedom.

Although I personally criticise China, as above, I’m always aware that many issues, such as the Nanjing Museum and WWII Memorial, come from the government, not your average man on the street.

I realise that the CCP try to govern China best they can but they also spend a disproportionally large amount of their time and effort making sure that they stay in power.

I personally believe that the Nanjing Museum and WWII Memorial have more to do with the CCP ensuring that they stay in power rather than good governance. After all, what did showing graphic pictures of people being beheaded to children ever achieve?

Anyway, superiorites and inferiorities aside, thanks for taking the time to write out the above comment as it certainly provides much food for thought.

July 8, 2005 @ 2:56 pm | Comment

richard, usually i also realise how close our opinions might have been after initial feeling of discomfort.

martyn, thank you for your clarification too. it’s difficult to differentiate the party and the state, the government and the people. i myself have been advised on many occasions not to love the government but the country, in which situation i tend to think the advisors rather i get them mixed. but i have to admit that my chinese background and education shape my way of thinking to a large extent and i’m keenly aware of that. i tend to view many social and political ills in china as management problems rather than as ccp’s ill intention. and i usually don’t blame it for trying to stay in power as long as the measures are constitutional. the consitution is not perfect but i will oppose violent and unconsitutional way to change it.

a minor point on the nanjing museum. i was chaumatised last time i was there. but revenge has never been my response. if general sentiment after visiting is revenge, the museum is a failure, both in educating the public about history and in sustaining the ccp. the high nationalist sentiments have greatly constrained the government’s room of manoeuvring on the diplomatic front.

finally (i’m quite talkative tonight), have you realised that most exhibitions in chinese museums including those for “education” purposes are poorly arranged?

July 8, 2005 @ 3:34 pm | Comment

“I don’t believe in letting others off the hook for their crimes”

Where were you in history class, Japan was besieged, bombed, nuked twice, forced into unconditional surrender and then ocucpied for decades, not to mention the billions in war reperations that it paid out an dthe international issolation that it experienced.

You are talking about the destuction and humiliation of a proud nation. This isn’t getting off of the hook, its more than Iraq and west Germany got.

Remember, China is in this for selfish reasons, Beijing needs people to remember hardships that it didn’t inflict and needs the people to have an enemy other than it. China blames outsiders for everything, blame the white colonials for Chinese difficulties in the 19th century, blame the Japanese for difficulties in the 20th century, and the America for the rest.

July 9, 2005 @ 2:10 am | Comment

Here here. Well put.

July 9, 2005 @ 3:19 am | Comment

Re ACB’s above post, we can also include the fact that Japan’s modern constitution was also imposed upon. This legal document also includes the infamous ‘Article 9’ which as everyone knows, forbids the country from waging war and a whole lot of other stuff that is nothing short of humiliating.

One thing that China lacks, particularly when it comes to Japan, is perspective. In fact, I never use the words ‘China’ and ‘perspective’ in the same sentence unless the two words are connected with ‘absolutely none whatsoever’.

You’re 100% correct that the CCP blame China’s problems on every country apart from China. Never forget that a MAJORITY of people felt that the US had something to do with planting SARS in China. Very convenient for the incompentant and corrupt buffoons in the CCP. China is full of Mel Gibson’s character in “Conspiracy Theory”.

I can understand China being angry about colonial excesses done to it because of the simple fact that it is their country but colonial excesses in China PALE IN COMPARISON to colonial excesses in, say, India and particularly Africa.

So, time to get the history books out China and wean yourself on the intravenus drip filled with lies, half-truths, distortions, exaggerations, deceit and conspiracy theories. Preferably not history books published by the CCP as quite a few of those should rightly be in the Fiction section.

Feel much better now.

July 9, 2005 @ 4:20 am | Comment

martyn, i guess a majority of people you met felt sars had sth to do with the us. but majority of chinese don’t believe in that internet bbs gossip.

July 9, 2005 @ 5:44 am | Comment

yi, I respect your opinions and I hope that you become as “talkative” as you have been on this thread more regularly! I just knew that someone would come back and say that I was either plain wrong or guilty of relying on Internet chat-room gossip to justify my above opinion relating to SARS.

Poll upon poll were carried in the mainland out both during and after SARS and they suggested that not just a majority but a large majority of mainlanders connected SARS with America.

I lived in Guangzhou from when SARS first started to when SARS finally finished and I travelled to HK about a dozen times to take advantage of the cheap hotel rooms and the views of people I met are consistent with the above polls. Even some of my former Chinese colleagues (guys earning RMB40,000 per month) expressed this SARS-America opinion to a man, every single one of them.

Go and check, it’s all still available in the media archives.

I think I know a little bit better than to base my judgements on Internet chat-rooms and message boards.

July 9, 2005 @ 7:45 am | Comment

martyn, i googled ·ÇµäÓëÃÀ¹úÓÐ¹Ø ÃñÒâµ÷²é and then ·Çµä ÃñÒâµ÷²é and had difficulty finding polls you mentioned. any further information in this regard?

i fully trust you have not based your opinions on internet chatrooms or message boards. but that gossip came from somewhere on the net. i was in beijing during the whole period and heard of the gossip. most of the people, i think i can say all people, that i knew, ridiculed it. but some of them were ready to talk about it, leading to its further spread.

your former colleague shocked me. did he really believe in that? does he still believe so?

if that type of public sentiment does exist, is it good for ccp rule? i find it not. believers of such fallacy tend to blame the government for appeasement. some non-believers tend to blame the government for allowing rampant gossips for selfish reasons.

July 9, 2005 @ 8:13 am | Comment

i remember viewing chinese characters here. why mine did not show up?

they are “sars, us, opinion polls” and “sars, opinion polls”.

July 9, 2005 @ 8:16 am | Comment

Someone might want to call the Whaaaaaaambulance for AC(J)B. Though it may surprise you that I fully agree with your assessment about Chinese blaming outsiders for the turbulence of the 19th and 20th centuries. What allowed them to occur in the first place was the inability of the Chinese state to adapt to the times and it was weakness that drew the predators. Blaming others maybe assuaging but ultimately the failure to modernize was the result of the Chinese themselves. That being said, such a mentality is hardly reserved for the Chinese alone as it is a comforting thought shared by just about everyone.

In response to the rest of ACB’s little rant, Id personally have nuked them some more and made the Japanese lick the dirt off my boots for good measure. Mercy for those vanquished is the sign of a great man, unfortunately I’m only a halfway decent one and I could care less about the woe-is-me attitude the Japanese seem to harbour over their tribulations from a war they started.

July 9, 2005 @ 3:45 pm | Comment

Jing, I am actually more with you on this one. The fire bombing of Tokyo and Dresden and Hamburg, let alone the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were horrible acts, and I wish we hadn’t done them. The human misery that resulted is sickening. The deth tolls can make you dizzy. But war is never fair or just, and while those atrocious acts weren’t just , they were justified, at least at the time they occurred.

Bottom line: The Germans and the Japanese wanted war. They craved it. The German people elected a leadership that made no secret of its obsession with finishing off the first war and getting brutal revenge.So while I believe the civilian slaughter was wrong and can be criticized and condemned, it pales in comparison to the crimes of the war’s perpetrators. They wanted war.

July 9, 2005 @ 4:04 pm | Comment

My uncle in Shanghai told us on the phone that he was told to join the protest last April by the local neighborhood committee .

July 10, 2005 @ 12:07 am | Comment