China marks 70th anniversary of war with Japan

Asia-Pacific Features

By Bill Smith Jul 7, 2007, 14:06 GMT

Beijing - When former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Beijing's Lugou Bridge in October 2001, his laying of a wreath and his 'heartfelt apology' for Japan's wartime atrocities in China received a lukewarm response from Chinese leaders. As China marks the 70th anniversary of the July 7, 1937 'Luguou Bridge incident,' which started Japan's full-scale invasion of China, relations between the two nations remain troubled. 'There are still many problems between China and Japan which are not being solved,' Song Chengyou, a historian at Beijing University, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Song gave the examples of territorial disputes in the East China Sea and Beijing's objection to Japanese history textbooks that it says sanitize Japan's wartime atrocities. 'Although experts from the two countries are making joint research on the history textbooks, I do not have high expectations,' Song said. The dispute over history is a key element in diplomatic relations. Formal ties have improved since Koizumi's successor, Shinzo Abe, visited Beijing in October. But many Chinese experts see Abe as a more pragmatic version of his predecessor. 'Abe is contained a lot by the rightists,' sad Liu Jiangyong of the International Relations Institute at Beijing's Qinghua University, 'but he needs to consider the overall image of Japan.' 'Abe does not act as tough as Koizumi but fundamentally they stand for the same points,' Song said. Abe was heavily criticized for saying in March that there was 'no evidence' of Japan's military forcing thousands of women in East Asia into sexual slavery. But he has so far refrained from making a public visit as prime minister to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The shrine honours nearly 2.5 million Japanese who died in wars since the mid-19th century, including 14 class-A war criminals convicted after World War II. Bilateral ties had been soured by Koizumi's annual visits to the shrine, and Chinese leaders had refused to meet him since 2001. Like many ordinary Chinese people, Liu contrasts Japan's attitude with Germany's greater willingness to atone unconditionally for its wartime past. Visits by Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni shrine do 'huge harm to Chinese people's feelings', Liu told dpa. It is 'unimaginable' that German leaders would pay homage to Nazi war criminals in a similar way, he said. Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday said 2007 was a 'sensitive year' for bilateral relations because of the 70th anniversaries of the Lugou Bridge battle and the Nanjing massacre. The Japanese attack on Nationalist guards at the bridge in 1937 'marked the long-premeditated launching of all-out war on China' and the start of the 'largest imperialist invasion ever experienced by China', according to an official history. It led to a loose alliance between Nationalist and Communist troops in what is now known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan. 'Lugou Bridge symbolizes the beginning of national disaster, and also the beginning of the awakening of the Chinese,' Song said. The Japanese forces had seized much of northeastern China in 1931 and placed it under the puppet government of Manchuria, which was led by China's deposed last emperor, Pu Yi, the following year. Japan fully occupied Beijing and nearby Tianjin by the end of July 1937, then moved its troops south to attack Shanghai and other major cities. The year ended with the Nanjing massacre, in which Japanese troops are estimated to have killed up to 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians. The Chinese government this week allowed the first showing of the new Hollywood documentary film 'Nanking,' which takes its title from the old Western name for the city. According to the official publicity for the film, 'Nanking' shows how the 'Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale' that left 'more than 200,000' dead in and around Nanjing in December 1937 and January 1938. Some Japanese historians and politicians claim Chinese and international experts exaggerated the death toll in Nanjing, but Song accuses them of 'playing tricks' by questioning the number of victims. 'We all know that there are lots of rightists in Japan now. They do not look back at history properly and try to beautify this history,' Liu said. Anger over Japan's alleged failure to admit the full extent of its wartime atrocities in China were one of the reasons behind a series of large-scale anti-Japanese protests in Beijing and other cities in early 2005. The government has allowed several small-scale, highly controlled protests outside the Japanese embassy since 2005. One activist who helped to organize recent protests said he expected 'simple memorial activities' to be held 'mainly at Lugou Bridge' on Saturday, but he did not rule out the possibility of more protests. Li Hanmei, another expert on international relations from Beijing University, concedes that it might be useful for both governments to maintain the 'mild tension' between the two nations. 'Japan is trying to be an international political power and China is a fast-developing economic and political power,' Li said. 'There are fundamental conflicts between the two.' © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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WesternJul 7th, 2007 - 19:09:22

The West Won World War I and World War II!
Third's a charm, and it will be very charming for iran and it's islamics when we get starting. But not now, since they're no opponent worthy of our 'War Effort!'

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NoharnessJul 7th, 2007 - 20:56:26

RE:'According to the official publicity for the film, 'Nanking' shows how the 'Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale' that left 'more than 200,000' dead in and around Nanjing in December 1937 and January 1938.'

Yes, yes! We all know about Nanking! When will China apologize for the Great Proletarian Revolution? When will it apologize for all those failed 'Great Leaps Forward'? Will China apologize for its sins of omission and commission prior to WWII? Will China ever acknowledge what the Chinese authorities did to the Chinese? Anyone hear ever examine a Chinese history book?

This is a case of the pot complaining about how black the kettle is.

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JimiJul 7th, 2007 - 23:32:41

Japanese imperialism? What about China's occupation of Tibet? I agree with the previous poster, China also has a lot to apologize for! I think that keeping this controversy alive after all these years is just a ruse to divert attention away from itself.

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Paul Rivers, TexasJul 8th, 2007 - 00:00:45

Noharness, are you Anti-China or something?

The post is about China marking the anniversary when Japan initiated the war against China. They are remembering this day as an dark chapter in their history when many have died.

If you should comment, it should be about the current topic at hand, not simply root digging what China has done to its people.

Even if you do root dig China in your post, I don't see you root dig what Japan done to their own people, such as the ordering of suicide of the Okinawans, which they tried to hide and dilute in the history textbook sparking outrage from current Okinawans.

Anyways, Every country will have a dark part in their history whether it is against their own people or outsiders.

The important thing is commenting things that is related to the current topic at hand.

If not, then every post would be a history debate instead commiting on the topic at hand.

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NoharnessJul 8th, 2007 - 09:05:03

Re:'Noharness, are you Anti-China or something?'

I most certainly despise the fascists running China at the moment.

RE:'The post is about China marking the anniversary when Japan initiated the war against China. They are remembering this day as an dark chapter in their history when many have died.'

And they use this as a diplomatic tool every time they get the opportunity. Nor did the article constrain itself to memorializing a sad event, it also undertook to criticize the Japanese for the way they teach history.

RE:'If you should comment, it should be about the current topic at hand, not simply root digging what China has done to its people.'

The article invited the commentary I gave it.

RE:'Even if you do root dig China in your post, I don't see you root dig what Japan done to their own people, such as the ordering of suicide of the Okinawans, which they tried to hide and dilute in the history textbook sparking outrage from current Okinawans.'

I've offered comment on Japan and invited discussion of Japanese coverage of their history under the article entitled 'Interpreting Nukes in Japan.'

RE:'Anyways, Every country will have a dark part in their history whether it is against their own people or outsiders.'

Absolutely. I agree 100%.

RE:'The important thing is commenting things that is related to the current topic at hand.'

Which I have done, Paul.

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Paul Rivers, TexasJul 8th, 2007 - 13:00:07

Noharness, good that you have made yourself clear with your post above.

I have seen many times, when China-Japan topics are discussed, most posts are Pro Japan and Anti China, this is due to the fact people tend to look at the negatives of china and silent on the negatives of Japan.

I am not Pro China, but I like to say this. As an American, I lost my grand parents at Pearl Harbor and that has always haunted me, that's why when Japan avoids taking responsibilities and denying atrocites during WW2 really makes me angry.

Sure, I understand the Japanese are our allies at the moment, but they should own up to history just like Germany did with Europe.

Thats why the deaths of other people, not necessary Americans, but the people in Asia will have the same feeling as me and I also have sympathy for them as myself have lost a loved one.

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China marks 70th anniversary of war with Japan

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