A Little Angry...

The Anniversary for the remembrance of the Nanjing Massacre is on December 13th. I have to admit that I did not know this fact until I opened the newspaper this morning, and that I do not follow up on this issue often. I am well aware that this topic is often a source of tension for Sino-Japanese relations. I try my best to be impartial and diplomatic when writing or talking about this, since I feel China and Japan are both guilty of heavily politicizing this issue, thus making it harder to resolve and put behind.

Japan's continued resistance at admitting and accepting responsibility for WWII atrocities leaves a bitter taste on many a tongue. Its hard for people now to imagine the conditions people back then had to endure, and therefore regimes such as Nazi Germany, Cambodia's Pol Pot and Militaristic Japan should not be forgotten, as they demonstrate a disgusting side of humanity that should be forever be guarded against.

That said, China's continued anti-Japanese propaganda has stirred up levels of hate in Chinese youth that is both unfounded and worrisome. The tactic of exploiting Chinese Nationalism against Japan as a distraction to domestic deficiencies does not help the development Sino-Japanese relations, and is diplomatically unsound as it merely backs a prideful and "face" conscious Japanese government into a corner.

Therefore, until today, I took a rather neutral stance on this topic: I agree that Japan needs to accept responsibility, issue an apology and compensate more victims. On the other hand, China needs to move on with this part of its history, tone done or abaondon nationalistic rhetoric and forge a productive and congenial alliance with Japan.

That was my stance. At least until I read an article that talked about this. And this.

I cannot explain the anger and outrage that coursed through my body when I read about it, and it took me awhile to calm myself down. First of all, let me specify I do not live in China, so my media is not censored nor propaganda-filled. Today, I read an independent (paper)publication that mentioned the story as a side-note while talking about the anniversary.

A government-recognized production of a documentary that not only refutes the massacre, but glorifies the wartime leaders (and later war-criminals) as Christ-like saviours? Question: Has the German government ever entertained the idea of a documentary that denies the Holocaust? Has America ever produced media denying the devastating effects of their Nuclear Bombs? Of course not, it is simply not kosher, even 60 years after the horrible tragedy, to joke about it, let alone refute it and create a movie discussing this refusal. My disgust lies primarily with the Japanese Government; quite frankly the fact that they haven't condemned such a production is disgusting. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they should shut the production down. I believe in upholding this director's freedom of expression; it is his undeniable right to produce this tasteless piece of garbage. However, while the Japanese Government's non-action is disturbing enough, political support from conservative lawmaker's for the film leaves me angry and flabbergasted.

It almost makes me ashamed that I'm so interested and involved in their country, and makes it difficult to justify my neutral stance to my peers. Granted, China's provocative production "The Rape of Nanking" based on Iris Chang's book regarding the massacre, isn't done in good taste either. But I hope the Japanese people - people who did not have to suffer the indignity of an unprovoked invasion or the humiliation of having woman and children raped then killed, people who did not have to witness the effects of a generation of men indiscriminately massacred, and people who have shared the trauma of having an entire city burned to the ground by an invading army - I hope these people don't blindly accept their government's perspective, and can appreciate the degree of disgust that us Chinese feel right now.

James