I think no one here can deny that the nanking masacre happened and it was a mass scale brutal, barbaric and unimaginably cruel act, crueler than cruel, it was evil to its core. During that time, the japanese not only became animals in their ways, but worse than animals.
All this forgiveness thing though, this "lets state the facts and make up" is one thing, but to be honest, i do not know how anyone could forgive the japanese for what they did if you lived through that era and were chinese.
You should read through this link, it talks about what led up to nanking, what happened in nanking and surrounding areas and talks about the facts, and i warn you, it has alot of gruesome gory pics on many of the pages;
Nanjing Massacre
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It would be nice if people could forgive each of other for these things, but i don't think you should expect it of people. It is somthing that will deeply scar and shatter your entire life. Im not offering a solution, but i know if i lived through that time i would be incapable of forgiving the japanese.
What i do know though now is that nothing like it has happened since with the japanese and chinese and i deeply pray that nothing ever will happen again like that. I think that "playing down" the nanking massacre, making it seem less relevant or deep/important is a crime though, how can you expect people to forgive others when your country is desputing wether the whole thing was as bad as it realy was? Personally i don't think it could have been any worse, there was nothing good about it, it has no redeeming qualitys. Playing down the nanking massicre in front of the victums eyes and lives is the biggest insult and hurt to their lives posible.
As for the facts debate;
"From the verdict, the 200,000 number did not include victims whose bodies were disposed by Japanese (as common in the early stages of the massacre) or by individuals Chinese other than the charities groups, nor did it include those who were massacred after the first six weeks. Therefore, the 200,000 number is the most conservative number. Adding the people murdered in smaller scale killings and whose bodies had been buried by other people, over 300,000 Chinese were massacred in Nanjing."
As to the facts about how many were killed, i wouldn't be suprised if even more people were killed because how do you count the bodys of thousands of people who have been burnt to ash's?
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I realy like japan and china, i think they are both amazing and interesting countrys, most people on this forum wouldn't be here if they did not like japan in some way or another, but i cannot love japan for what it has done to china and other countrys, and china has also commited quite a few horrors throughout its history as well. Their actions scar their own country.
I would like to view japan and china as they are today, i am not running away or living in a dream world, but japan has committed a seriously evil crime and that is that. I will defend the chinese with nanking because i think it should be defended, i think it is wrong not to care about it. I cannot imagine myself living in that time, it must have been hell.
As for the Abomb, i think america could have ended the war in other ways anyways, there were very few people left in the japanese army that were in support of the war and the americans knew that when they dropped the bomb. The Abomb was a scientific experiment more than anything else, it killed too many innocent civilians. I think that is also somthing that the americans should owe up to while they critercise the japanese on nanking.
War brings out the worst in people, what is already there in us but dormant for most of the time, war turns people into barbarians and demons. The human race, no matter how many people it kills in the most aweful ways imaginable, no matter what centry you visit in our history we will always be committing such evils because i do not believe believe learn from these aweful things for the most part.
But i hope at least we would learn from nanking.
The americans have made war with iraq(isn't it jesus's homeland?), and are committing evils out there and have turned a civilised country into a hell hole for the most part. Most americans are supporting this war, maybe it is just me, but it seems to share many similaritys with vietnam. This war should not have happened, against an enemy that can barely defend itself. But im going off topic here so i should stop?
Anyways, i think the japanese should continue to owe up to nanking, i think they should give out as much compensation to the victums as truly posible, i think they should not expect the chinese to forgive the japanese though.
Such a crime is too evil to expect forgiveness for but i don't think that should be a reason not to make efforts to create an enviroment where forgiveness can be grown.
edir: for sp