YUAN CHEN
TOKYO, Aug. 23
Throughout history, there have always been conflicts between neighboring countries. Russia seized land from China; India always regarded China as a potential enemy. If we take into account all past conflicts China has had with Korea, Vietnam and other countries, it would be endless and difficult to clear away all the debts left by history. The result would be that we would hate other countries or other countries would hate us.
Many countries grew large by attacking and invading others' lands. China is no exception. After fighting for hundreds of years, China secured its current borders as a united, multi-ethnic country.
Every country's history inevitably contains blood, tears and hatred. Rather than seeking revenge against each other, we should acknowledge each other and accept the current situation. We need to forget the hatred in order to establish a harmonious world which serves our mutual interests.
Actually, even when the war with Japan had just finished, China, under Chiang Kai-shek, already returned good for evil. So why can't we do it today? Today's situation has changed and we seem to have the opportunity to establish a more reasonable and just world. The European Union is an example of this.
Between China and Japan, Japan does not harbor hatred; only China does. If the Chinese people can abandon their hatred, there will be no emotional barrier between the two. Japan had reason to hate the United States because of its disastrous air attacks and atomic bombs. Japan had reason to hate the Soviet Union because it broke its treaty, kept Japanese prisoners of war, and invaded four Japanese islands. But Japan only has debts to China, for the 14 years of invasion, the Nanjing Massacre and the chemical experiments it conducted in China. Yet China treated Japan with grace, giving up indemnity payments, raising Japanese orphans and returning prisoners of war.
All the historical hatred was created by Japan. China did not bomb Japanese territory. Although it is natural for the Chinese to hate Japan, I still think it's better to let the hatred go. This is because hatred is not productive and cannot last forever. It is not wise for us to rigidly focus on a few dead people, the war criminals.
When the Manchus invaded China, they were much crueler than the Japanese, killing 70 to 80 percent of the Chinese people at that time. They never apologized for that. But what has happened now? The Manchus are part of the big family of China.
Hatred is like firewood; once it is sparked, disaster could follow. In this sense, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe's ambiguous attitude toward visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which prevents fire from breaking out, can be seen as a helpful strategy that will allow both sides to seek a compromise.
Regarding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere proposed by Japan, the concept is not bad. The problem is that Japan has always wanted to be the leader of such a scheme and forced others toward this goal. Now regional integration and globalization have become world trends. Whether or not this can happen in East Asia depends on the relationship between China and Japan. It only hurts both sides if diplomatic issues are handled emotionally.
To untie the knot between China and Japan, some have suggested a policy of "remembering the past and looking toward the future." However, I don't think this mindset will work. This is like the situation of a husband who discovers his wife has had an affair, but both want to keep the marriage. To prevent it from happening again, the husband continually reminds the wife by saying "remember the past and look ahead." Do you think the couple can live happily? Such a slogan may be useful and necessary domestically. But as the victim in its relationship with Japan, I don't think it's wise for China to remind Japan of this unhappy history too often.
It has been more than 60 years since China and Japan have been dealing with this knotty history. Sixty years after the Manchu invasion an era of prosperity under Emperor Kangxi began in China. The people leading Japan now are the generation born after the war. Whatever views they have of the war, they are not themselves responsible for it. If China wants to make friends with Japan, China needs to be a friend first. If we constantly remind a friend of the debts his grandfather or ancestors owed us, the friendship will not develop. Even if he apologized, would it come from the heart?
It has been 20 years since I immigrated to Japan in 1987. At first I felt most Japanese were very friendly. Then Sino-Japan relations began to worsen when a Chinese official requested the Japanese people to "remember history and look ahead." His scolding tone made the Japanese sound like criminals and the Chinese their victims, as if the Japanese people should bow their heads in front of the Chinese indefinitely. If we look ahead like this, there will be no future at all.
Japanese people have good memories; they don't need to be reminded of history. Every year, on the anniversaries of the atomic bombs or the end of the war, they hold grand ceremonies, much more serious than those the Chinese have. It is the Japanese people's business to decide what they want to remember. When relieved of outside pressure they will come to their own conclusion.
Under current circumstances, it is not difficult for Chinese people to be patriotic. But to consider the country's problems objectively is not necessarily easy. Those who have smashed Japanese shops and thrown tins at Japanese sports teams are not open-minded. Such people prefer the safe route of sticking to the conventional "standpoint," thus choosing less freedom. My views may subject me to criticism from such Chinese patriots, but in this instance I welcome it.
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(Yuan Chen is the pen name of a Chinese scholar who has lived in Japan for 20 years. He is also a freelance writer on China's politics and current affaires. This article is edited and translated from the Chinese by UPI Asia Online; the original can be found at www.newcenturynews.com. ©Copyright Yuan Chen.)
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