via: the international herald tribune
an article fairly summarizes the sino-japanese relationship.
i might add a few comments after lunch ...
8/25/2005 10:51 AM by
Wang / IHT said: "Today's Japan is what China should and can aspire to become."
I beg to differ. It appears to me that Japan has institutional obstacles of facing up to her history. I am not convinced that China can become a decent and respectable country without learning from the ugly past.
Bingfeng, I look forward your comment.
true, no matter how much we disliked each other, china and japan are in many ways so similar, even in those mistakes we have made in the past. one trick favored by japan apologist is to play the Cultural Revolution card, as if china's failure to apologize for CR could alleviate japanese sin in the WWII. the chinese government has issued an open document in early 1980s, denouncing CR a "complete crime and disaster to the nation". although there is still a long way to go before we learn the full lessons of the CR, both chinese people and the government realize that denying and learning from CR only prevent china from making similar mistakes again in the future, therefore making china a better place. i think this is the first and most important reason for us to face up the ugly past.
the so-called "anti-japan" sentiment in china has not only moral justifications, but also real-world geopolitical benefits to both countries. needless to say as a victim country and unfortunately japan's neighbor, china must open eyes on japan's any move towards right, even for japan's sake, it need outsiders like china to remind japan that there are no zero-sum games anymore in the 21st century and japan won't become a winner if china loses. a right wing japan means it will re-take the bankrupt win-lose attitute towards other game players and becomes a potential danger to china in the future, on the other hand, a japan that could learn from its war past, creates a virtuous cycle between the two countries and benefit all of us.
japan is in many areas a nation that china should aspire to become, but certainly not include their self-feeding politician-veteran voting mechanisms towards right wing.
One thing I would like to ask Bin(g)feng is: what about the danger of a nationalist and "right wing" China?
the danger is there but not in a real world sense or in the near future, i think. what troubles me is that some chinese, especially those young ones, are adopting a world view of "the law of the jungle" towards other nations. the real headach will appear as they grow up and are given more decision powers in a more democratic china.
however, i expect peace-loving chinese culture could work as a kind of antidote and with china fully engaged into the established international business and politics settings, nationalist moves won't do china any good but only harms our national interests.
in fact, i won't take it too seriously since china's "natinoalism" was more like US's "patriotism", an national sentiment that is inward-looking and try to defend national interests in a restrained way. in this regard, japan is a totally different case. the 1937 sino-japanese war wouldn't break out if japan didn't take such an offensive nationalist attitute to pursue its interests. as usual, i suggest you learn somthing from the prinsor's dilemma and think about what japanese track record tells us and why china developed an "instinct" to be more "natinalistic" when dealing with japan.