Let WWII History Provide a Warning against Japanese Militarism

 Let WWII History Provide a Warning against Japanese Militarism

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

A Translation

July 8 2015

Executive Summary:

This year marks the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, when Japan surrendered to the Allies. It is also the 70th anniversary of China's victory in its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Yesterday was the 78th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The commemoration of war-related events has only just begun. But already many controversies have erupted. Beginning now and extending until October 25, when the ROC accepted Japan's surrender in Taiwan, these controversies on Taiwan, between Taipei and Beijing, Beijing and Tokyo, and Taipei and Tokyo, will only increase.

Full Text Below:

This year marks the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, when Japan surrendered to the Allies. It is also the 70th anniversary of China's victory in its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Yesterday was the 78th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The commemoration of war-related events has only just begun. But already many controversies have erupted. Beginning now and extending until October 25, when the ROC accepted Japan's surrender in Taiwan, these controversies on Taiwan, between Taipei and Beijing, Beijing and Tokyo, and Taipei and Tokyo, will only increase.

First take controversies on Taiwan. Lee Teng-hui promoted "Taiwanese nativization". Chen Shui-bian promoted de-Sinicization. Substantial changes to primary and secondary school textbooks were made. People gradually lost interest in the history of the Republic of China prior to 1949, which of course included the history of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Ignorance about the war emerged in the Department of National Defense and military units when they sponsored events in commemoration of the war. This year, five military academies of the armed forces held a joint graduation ceremony at the Military Academy. They commemorated the 70th anniversary of China's victory in its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, as well as the 91st anniversary of the Huangpu Military Academy. These events were originally of enormous historical significance, highlighting as they did the nation's military history. Organizers printed and distributed souvenir folder of commemorative stamps. Alas, the result was a farce. The caption to one photograph reads "Eight Hundred Heroes Jump into the Yellow River" [which is not in Shanghai]. One photo of the "8/14 Chien-Chiao Air Battle" did not show the Hawk III fighters then in use by the Chinese Air Force. Instead, it showed Russian made I-16 fighters that had yet to be introduced. These ridiculous blunders committed by the generation Taiwan youth revealed their distance and alienation from the war, their lack of understanding, and their lack of interest. They also revealed the shortcomings of history education in Taiwan.

The Department of National Defense showed pilots in flight suits and accessories not used during the war. The flight helmets were not the ones used in WWII, and goggles shown appear to be items used only after the CCP founded the PRC regime. In fact, the military has long included units responsible for the research and display of military history. These include the well-known Republic of China Armed Forces Museum. The Department of National Defense also has a unit responsible for military history. Military history is an important link in military education. Education of military history not only teaches military strategy and tactics but also stresses awareness of one's heritage, one's faith, and one's struggles. This is not dogma. Armed forces the world over attach the greatest of importance to such moral armament. Sadly, the history of the Republic of China has been perverted by de-Sinicization. This countercurrent has obfuscated and distorted military history.

The second form of controversy on Taiwan involves clashes between differing historical memories and interpretations. Green camp TV talk show host Cheng Hung-yi said his father was a soldier drafted into the Japanese military during the war. He said the high-profile commemoration of the war "hurt the feelings of his father and the Taiwanese people." The DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) government in Tainan organized a series of events commemorating the "70th Anniversary of the End of the War." Taiwan was a Japanese colony during the war. Colonized and oppressed people on Taiwan naturally have their own historical memories. This fact should be acknowledged, recorded, and commemorated. The problem is how one interprets history. These commemorative exhibits were sponsored by the Tainan City Cultural Affairs Bureau. Based on nativist perspective of history, the City Hall stated that since Taiwan was a Japanese colony, the end of war should have been defined as a “defeat for Taiwan.”

The Tainan City Cultural Affairs Bureau and Cheng Hung-yi hold outlandish views of history. Former colonies the world over make a point of clarifying their history upon achieving independence and liberation. They reflect upon and reconstruct their history and culture from the perspective of colonized peoples. This reflection and reconstruction help them overcome and transcend the version of history instilled in them by their colonial overlords. Former colonies never rationalize colonialist aggression and oppression. The version of history held by Cheng Hung-yi and the Tainan City Cultural Affairs Bureau is pseudo-nativist, pseudo-Taiwan centric history. It is a perversion of history that the public on Taiwan must subject to historical review and correction through presentation of historical materials and pluralistic dialogue.

Two other controversies plague the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. One. Taipei and Beijing differ on who led the war effort and on who had the right to interpret the war. Two. China and Japan differ on their understanding and evaluation of historical facts on aggression and war. Beijing has long maintained that "The CCP led the Chinese people's war effort against Japan". In recent years, however, film makers, television producers, and scholars on the Mainland have become more willing to credit the Nationalist government and the KMT. Mainland official narratives no longer claim that "the KMT failed to resist the Japanese", or "only passively resisted the Japanese". They now stress that "victory during the war was a great victory for the whole nation. Hu Jintao even said that both played important roles whether they fought "behind enemy lines" or "on the front lines".

On the matter of history issues, Taipei and Beijing have much to discuss during future exchanges. The history of the war has far-reaching significance for mutual understanding, and the overcoming of "de-Sinicization".

Passions over the Diaoyutai sovereignty dispute have temporarily abated in Sino-Japanese relations. But the Abe government has not actually changed its militaristic mindset or strategic goal of containing China. How the two countries deal with the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, will be the key to Sino-Japanese relations. Taipei and Beijing must send the right signals to Tokyo. They must remind the Japanese of the lessons of the Second World War. They must remind them of the dangers of militaristic thinking. Only the recognition that "a mountain may accommodate two tigers" can ensure a peaceful future for the two peoples.

Commemorating the war victory has nothing to do with boasting. The key is learning the lessons of history, eliminating conflict, and enabling people to live in peace. We must be more aggressive in a history education in which historical materials may be allowed to speak for themselves. Dialogue and cooperation in historical research should be conducted not just on Taiwan, but also through exchanges between Taiwan and the Mainland, and between East Asian countries. From the private sector to the government, from academia to society, and from a limited scope to the whole, we must come together to dialogue and cooperate on a solid foundation. Only that can assure permanent peace in East Asia.

Attachment : none