In recent weeks, on anniversaries marking the war of resistance against Japan and the Japanese defeat of Aboriginal fighters in the Wushe Incident, as well as in his Double Ten National Day address, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has not missed the opportunity to rub a little dirt in the wounds left by World War II. From the horse’s mouth, we heard how Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops defeated the Japanese. Ma touts the KMT “victory” over the Japanese as a turning point in history.
In what history book did the president read that the KMT defeated the Japanese? Yes, the Japanese lost World War II, but their defeat was brought about by the Allied Powers, and mainly the US. Chinese troops played a role against the Japanese, but as the KMT had retreated as far inland as they could go, there wasn’t much they could do to stop the bulk of the Japanese imperial army. Some academics even say the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in between skirmishes with the KMT, did more to resist the Japanese than the KMT, thus winning the hearts and minds of the Chinese populace.
So, why is Ma rewriting history?
Could it be because the enemy of your enemy is your friend? Many Chinese, and especially the CCP, have never forgiven the Japanese, in some cases rightfully, for the atrocities the imperial army brought down upon their country. The Rape of Nanking is just one horrible instance in which even Nazi officials stationed in the city were flabbergasted by the bloodshed.
It’s not uncommon in China to hear or see open hostility toward Japan. Many popular movies portray the Japanese as dogs. Just take a look at the Bruce Lee (李小龍) movie Fist of Fury for an example. However, in this type of popular portrayal, even worse than the Japanese themselves are the Chinese who work for them. They are considered traitors to their motherland, worse than worms and worthy of complete destruction.
That sentiment is alive and thriving in China.
In Taiwan, however, there is a much different view of the Japanese. Despite taking Taiwan as the spoils of war in 1895, Japan quickly worked to build the island’s infrastructure, seeking to turn it into an integral part of the Japanese empire. Even though Ma dismissed the Japanese building efforts in a speech at Taipei Zhongshan Hall on Monday to mark Retrocession Day — a day marking the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan — the rest of Taiwan remembers it differently.
The Japanese built roads, railroads, schools, hospitals, ports and government buildings. In fact, many of the KMT’s early development projects were simply continuations of work begun by the Japanese, such as the Central Cross-Island Highway. The Japanese unified the island, which had been divided by simmering conflict between Hoklo-speaking Taiwanese and Aborigines, established industries and educated the populace. This is something that the Chinese had never done for Taiwan. The Japanese brought modernity, even if it was at the point of a gun.
Ma wants to forget all this in the rush to cozy up with his anti-Japanese bedfellows, the CCP. But Taiwanese are smarter, and their memories go deeper than that. Some people here, especially the ones who identify themselves fully as Chinese, will jump onto that bandwagon and trumpet the Chinese “victory” over the Japanese. However, most will remember their grandparents singing Japanese songs, take their shoes off at the doors to their house and appreciate their Japanese connections.
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
India is not China, and many of its residents fear it never will be. It is hard to imagine a future in which the subcontinent’s manufacturing dominates the world, its foreign investment shapes nations’ destinies, and the challenge of its economic system forces the West to reshape its own policies and principles. However, that is, apparently, what the US administration fears. Speaking in New Delhi last week, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau warned that “we will not make the same mistakes with India that we did with China 20 years ago.” Although he claimed the recently agreed framework
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday last week announced it is launching investigations into 16 US trading partners, including Taiwan, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether they have engaged in unfair trade practices, such as overproduction. A day later, the agency announced a separate Section 301 investigation into 60 economies based on the implementation of measures to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor. Several of Taiwan’s main trading rivals — including China, Japan, South Korea and the EU — also made the US’ investigation list. The announcements come
Taiwan is not invited to the table. It never has been, but this year, with the Philippines holding the ASEAN chair, the question that matters is no longer who gets formally named, it is who becomes structurally indispensable. The “one China” formula continues to do its job. It sets the outer boundary of official diplomatic speech, and no one in the region has a serious interest in openly challenging it. However, beneath the surface, something is thickening. Trade corridors, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation, supply chains, cross-border investment: The connective tissue between Taiwan and ASEAN is quietly and methodically growing
RSS