Halcyon
後輩
- 8 Aug 2004
- 20
- 1
I'm Chinese, but I don't really agree with jim83's logic (plus I didn't have the patience to read his long-*** thread). No, China is not a "better race" than Japan. Technically, we both belong to the mongoloid race and genetically speaking, the Japanese and Chinese people probably have more in common with each other than with anyone else. What a lot of Chinese people DO feel angry about, though, is the Japanese government's seeming lack of remorse for their wartime aggression towards China and other Asian countries. I know that many Japanese people probably do regret the actions of their ancestors, grandparents or great-grandparents, so I wouldn't lump them together with the likes of Junichiro Koizumi.
Yes, Japan needs to apologize and this need to be done with sincerity. Some people argue that Japan has already faced up to its past by having to confront with the anguish of their past and the harsh words of critics, but that's hardly an apology in the truest sense of the word. To this day, Prime Minister Koizumi still visits the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial that honors the war dead and so-called "heroes" who, only decades ago, were responsible for the slaughter, torturing and sexual slavery of thousands and thousands of Chinese people as well as Korean, Philippinos, etc. I don't know about anyone else, but when a country thinks it's OK to worship soldiers who used to bayonet children, disembowel pregnant woman, rip out their unborn baby, subject innocent villagers to germ experimentation, hold public beheadings and bury people alive, you know that country is pretty screwed up. Japanese soldiers used to hold "contests" to see how many Chinese men they could behead. The last queen of Korea was allegedly sexually molested, raped and burnt alive. Sounds fun, eh? There's more but the gruesome details are making me vomit my lunch already. Christ, if I were Japanese, I'd bow my head in shame. If mass genocide like that is denounced and abhorred today, why aren't we making Japan "pay" for their crimes? When jim83 said "pay", I'd like to interpret that as apology and compensation as opposed to vengeful violence. I don't condone violence and I don't think that solves anything.
When all the Chinese football fans at Chongqing thought back to these memories, no wonder they pelted the Japanese fans with garbage and booed the Japanese anthem. Anger and violence are never solutions to a problem, but sometimes, they're justified. How would any country feel if an entire generation of their citizens were butchered and maimed? They'd be pretty pissed.
I know what some people are thinking though. "China doesn't exactly have the best reputation in the world, does it?" No, it does not. No country is perfect, but two wrongs don't make a right. Using Tibet, Taiwan and any other lame China issue as a counterargument is just lame. Tibet was annexed way before the 20th century, so it's not like China properly "invaded" them. In fact, the Chinese government have built roads, schools and whatnot for Tibet. They're free to practise their religion or follow their culture as long as they don't become subversive. Same with Taiwan. This whole Taiwan issue is such a joke. Taiwan has always belonged to the Chinese and always will be. Why do you think it's called the Republic of China? And yes, I know China's human rights record isn't exactly squeaky clean but I'll admit. China is a huge and complex country. Their government is easily provoked and very, VERY paranoid. After being trashed and screwed around by 8 foreign forces in the past (UK, US, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, etc), any country would be paranoid and jail anyone they suspect of being a "Han traitor". I acknowledge that China has many corrupt officials and its government may very well be corrupt, but again, none of this means that the Chinese people aren't entitled to an apology.
This leads me to another thing. The attitude of some Japanese scholars and historians is beyond belief. Some deny the "Chinese Holocause" ever happened. They say that those documentaries are fake, and that they never invaded China. The government has also made sure that their history books are whitewashed so that every last trace of their shameful past is wiped away. They don't want their younger generation to learn of their crimes, nor for them to know that their ancestors were a bunch of heartless savages. On that subject, they also say that the Pearl Harbor attack was not instigated by them. Talk about self-denial. If the past generation was savage, then the least the present generation can do is to stop acting like a bunch of cowards and acknowledge their responsibility. No wonder so many Japanese kids are utterly clueless about Japan's war crimes.
In order to understand WHY Japan could carry out such atrocities, it's important to understand their national traits. Back when Hirohito was Emperor in the Showa years, he was worshipped like a God. People today probably still treat the present emperor Akihito like a god as well, except he holds no political power. To a certain degree, the country did think of itself as superior. They considered all other Asians to be inferior and "subhuman", as one website puts it. They argued that the invasions were for the good of Asia, and saved us from Western colonialism. They envied the resources of China and of course, they probably had some inferiority complex due to the fact that China is geographically bigger than Japan. All this put together was just a slap on their national ego. Secondly, Japan is arguably more aggressive than any other Asian countries, probably due to the fact that they never took up Confucianism like the Chinese and Koreans did. Hence, Korea, despite being a smaller country, has always been peaceful and had friendly relations with China. Japan is a small country with big ambitions, and when that happened, tragedy struck for the rest of Asia.
In closing, the only way the Japanese people can atone for their sins is by making a formal and sincere apology to the countries they've invaded and occupied, to the families of the victims, and lastly, by offering a substantial amount of compensation to said families. To this day, people are still suffering. Bombs and stuff left behind by Japanese troops in WW2 that have remain unexploded are exploding now. Many people have had to be admitted into hospital for treatment as they're suffering some diseases akin to the Bubonic Plague. The media here in the West never reports it, but it's true. Some of the victims are now very old, so what can they be offered apart from financial compensation? What hope have they got?
Another thing..comfort women. As history indicates, many Asian women were enslaved and forced to have sex with Japanese soldiers in WW2. These women are now scarred forever, and when they brought their case to the Japanese high court, they were instead bribed with money, telling them that they would be paid a lot of money if they'd keep quiet. Is this the attitude of a country that is supposedly facing up to its past? What's a more respectful and dignified approach? To hide away in cowardice, or face up to the consequences and admit that you're wrong? I wouldn't have blamed the Japanese if they were to apologize and compensate. On the contrary, I'd figuratively pat them on the back for having the courage to own up. Yet, as some Japanophiles here may know, the Japanese are very afraid of "losing face". They don't want to hurt their national pride. They don't want to admit they were wrong. Saying "sorry" just doesn't get any harder than this.
Having said all this, you'd be amazed at how little I hate the Japanese. I know..that everyone makes mistakes. There's good and bad in every race and it's arguably unfair to hold an entire generation responsible for the shortcomings of their predecessors. I know that some Japanese feel remorse, and thankfully, some have even taken action to help the Chinese people gain an apology from the Japanese government. I always separate the bad from the good and when it comes to Japan, I prefer to judge its people by their individual merits rather than make sweeping generalizations. I still hope to visit Japan someday because I've always been interested in their culture. Japan is in some ways a wonderful country with a fascinating culture and some very hospitable people. They should be proud of this, and not always try to envy their neighbours or lap up Western trends like a dog would lap up water. Their war crimes has caused many wounds which, to this day, are still unhealed. Even those that have healed, leave behind scars that won't fade. But i think the Japanese people can speed up the healing process by offering an apology. I'm a Christian, and I believe nothing is more powerful than forgiveness and repentance.
The Japanese government, with one word, one gesture and one token of respect, can ease the sadness of many Asians whose minds are flooded with horrific memories whenever the word "Japan" is mentioned. They have the power to change things. It's only up to them whether they want the anger and violence to perpetuate, or if they want everlasting peace.
I'd really like feedback on what I've written, especially from Japanese people themselves if there are any on this forum. I'm a newbie (this is my first post lol) and guess what..? I'm a Japanophile too.
Yes, Japan needs to apologize and this need to be done with sincerity. Some people argue that Japan has already faced up to its past by having to confront with the anguish of their past and the harsh words of critics, but that's hardly an apology in the truest sense of the word. To this day, Prime Minister Koizumi still visits the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial that honors the war dead and so-called "heroes" who, only decades ago, were responsible for the slaughter, torturing and sexual slavery of thousands and thousands of Chinese people as well as Korean, Philippinos, etc. I don't know about anyone else, but when a country thinks it's OK to worship soldiers who used to bayonet children, disembowel pregnant woman, rip out their unborn baby, subject innocent villagers to germ experimentation, hold public beheadings and bury people alive, you know that country is pretty screwed up. Japanese soldiers used to hold "contests" to see how many Chinese men they could behead. The last queen of Korea was allegedly sexually molested, raped and burnt alive. Sounds fun, eh? There's more but the gruesome details are making me vomit my lunch already. Christ, if I were Japanese, I'd bow my head in shame. If mass genocide like that is denounced and abhorred today, why aren't we making Japan "pay" for their crimes? When jim83 said "pay", I'd like to interpret that as apology and compensation as opposed to vengeful violence. I don't condone violence and I don't think that solves anything.
When all the Chinese football fans at Chongqing thought back to these memories, no wonder they pelted the Japanese fans with garbage and booed the Japanese anthem. Anger and violence are never solutions to a problem, but sometimes, they're justified. How would any country feel if an entire generation of their citizens were butchered and maimed? They'd be pretty pissed.
I know what some people are thinking though. "China doesn't exactly have the best reputation in the world, does it?" No, it does not. No country is perfect, but two wrongs don't make a right. Using Tibet, Taiwan and any other lame China issue as a counterargument is just lame. Tibet was annexed way before the 20th century, so it's not like China properly "invaded" them. In fact, the Chinese government have built roads, schools and whatnot for Tibet. They're free to practise their religion or follow their culture as long as they don't become subversive. Same with Taiwan. This whole Taiwan issue is such a joke. Taiwan has always belonged to the Chinese and always will be. Why do you think it's called the Republic of China? And yes, I know China's human rights record isn't exactly squeaky clean but I'll admit. China is a huge and complex country. Their government is easily provoked and very, VERY paranoid. After being trashed and screwed around by 8 foreign forces in the past (UK, US, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, etc), any country would be paranoid and jail anyone they suspect of being a "Han traitor". I acknowledge that China has many corrupt officials and its government may very well be corrupt, but again, none of this means that the Chinese people aren't entitled to an apology.
This leads me to another thing. The attitude of some Japanese scholars and historians is beyond belief. Some deny the "Chinese Holocause" ever happened. They say that those documentaries are fake, and that they never invaded China. The government has also made sure that their history books are whitewashed so that every last trace of their shameful past is wiped away. They don't want their younger generation to learn of their crimes, nor for them to know that their ancestors were a bunch of heartless savages. On that subject, they also say that the Pearl Harbor attack was not instigated by them. Talk about self-denial. If the past generation was savage, then the least the present generation can do is to stop acting like a bunch of cowards and acknowledge their responsibility. No wonder so many Japanese kids are utterly clueless about Japan's war crimes.
In order to understand WHY Japan could carry out such atrocities, it's important to understand their national traits. Back when Hirohito was Emperor in the Showa years, he was worshipped like a God. People today probably still treat the present emperor Akihito like a god as well, except he holds no political power. To a certain degree, the country did think of itself as superior. They considered all other Asians to be inferior and "subhuman", as one website puts it. They argued that the invasions were for the good of Asia, and saved us from Western colonialism. They envied the resources of China and of course, they probably had some inferiority complex due to the fact that China is geographically bigger than Japan. All this put together was just a slap on their national ego. Secondly, Japan is arguably more aggressive than any other Asian countries, probably due to the fact that they never took up Confucianism like the Chinese and Koreans did. Hence, Korea, despite being a smaller country, has always been peaceful and had friendly relations with China. Japan is a small country with big ambitions, and when that happened, tragedy struck for the rest of Asia.
In closing, the only way the Japanese people can atone for their sins is by making a formal and sincere apology to the countries they've invaded and occupied, to the families of the victims, and lastly, by offering a substantial amount of compensation to said families. To this day, people are still suffering. Bombs and stuff left behind by Japanese troops in WW2 that have remain unexploded are exploding now. Many people have had to be admitted into hospital for treatment as they're suffering some diseases akin to the Bubonic Plague. The media here in the West never reports it, but it's true. Some of the victims are now very old, so what can they be offered apart from financial compensation? What hope have they got?
Another thing..comfort women. As history indicates, many Asian women were enslaved and forced to have sex with Japanese soldiers in WW2. These women are now scarred forever, and when they brought their case to the Japanese high court, they were instead bribed with money, telling them that they would be paid a lot of money if they'd keep quiet. Is this the attitude of a country that is supposedly facing up to its past? What's a more respectful and dignified approach? To hide away in cowardice, or face up to the consequences and admit that you're wrong? I wouldn't have blamed the Japanese if they were to apologize and compensate. On the contrary, I'd figuratively pat them on the back for having the courage to own up. Yet, as some Japanophiles here may know, the Japanese are very afraid of "losing face". They don't want to hurt their national pride. They don't want to admit they were wrong. Saying "sorry" just doesn't get any harder than this.
Having said all this, you'd be amazed at how little I hate the Japanese. I know..that everyone makes mistakes. There's good and bad in every race and it's arguably unfair to hold an entire generation responsible for the shortcomings of their predecessors. I know that some Japanese feel remorse, and thankfully, some have even taken action to help the Chinese people gain an apology from the Japanese government. I always separate the bad from the good and when it comes to Japan, I prefer to judge its people by their individual merits rather than make sweeping generalizations. I still hope to visit Japan someday because I've always been interested in their culture. Japan is in some ways a wonderful country with a fascinating culture and some very hospitable people. They should be proud of this, and not always try to envy their neighbours or lap up Western trends like a dog would lap up water. Their war crimes has caused many wounds which, to this day, are still unhealed. Even those that have healed, leave behind scars that won't fade. But i think the Japanese people can speed up the healing process by offering an apology. I'm a Christian, and I believe nothing is more powerful than forgiveness and repentance.
The Japanese government, with one word, one gesture and one token of respect, can ease the sadness of many Asians whose minds are flooded with horrific memories whenever the word "Japan" is mentioned. They have the power to change things. It's only up to them whether they want the anger and violence to perpetuate, or if they want everlasting peace.
I'd really like feedback on what I've written, especially from Japanese people themselves if there are any on this forum. I'm a newbie (this is my first post lol) and guess what..? I'm a Japanophile too.