Survivors and relatives attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre in Nanjing December 13, 2007.
Posted on 12/21/2007 1:59:15 PM PST by charles m
Survivors and relatives attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre in Nanjing December 13, 2007.
Thousands of pigeons are released during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.
Chinese people attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops.
Chinese students hold candles during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre
Students light candles during a memorial event marking the 70th anniversary of Nanjing massacre in Nanjing.
People attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops at the memorial hall of Nanjing massacre, in Nanjing.
A flower rests on the altar at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre.
People look at names of victims just after a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese troops, at the memorial hall of Nanjing massacre, in Nanjing
Chinese students visit the site of a 'mass grave of 10,000 corpses' just after a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre
BEIJING - China's government has tempered this year's commemoration of Japan's notorious wartime massacre of civilians in the city of Nanjing, reflecting a drive to improve relations with Tokyo and avoid inflaming nationalist passions.
For Thursday's 70th anniversary of the massacre long known in the West as the "Rape of Nanking," the city reopened a vastly expanded memorial to the victims. Air raid sirens blared followed by a moment of silence, and new artifacts testifying to the savagery of Japan's Imperial Army went on display in the memorial's collection.
But reports on the anniversary and commemorations in the state-controlled media have avoided mention of long-standing demands for greater displays of contrition from Tokyo.
Gone are the lectures Chinese leaders have often delivered calling on Japanese leaders to learn from history. Young nationalists whose Internet campaigns helped fire a wave of anti-Japanese protests in the spring of 2005 have mostly dropped out of sight. Scholars who have documented Japan's use of chemical weapons and other atrocities are calling for reconciliation.
"I don't see a contradiction," said Sun Zhiliang, the director of a research center at Shanghai Normal University that has documented the use of sex slaves by Japanese troops.
"The event should be commemorated, but that doesn't mean ties can't keep developing," said Sun, who planned to visit the memorial along with Japanese guests.
The marked change in tone underscores China's determination to nurture recently improving relations with Japan after years of discord over territorial disputes, competition for energy resources and history. For Beijing, the rapprochement would ease a rare point of friction in a region that has largely welcomed China's re-emergence as an economic and diplomatic power.
"It makes sense that the Chinese side would be very careful about the anniversary events," said Guo Dingping, a Japanese studies professor from Shanghai's Fudan University. "There will be those commemorations that are necessary, but for sure the government does not want them to break the current atmosphere, let alone boost anti-Japan feeling."
Japan is reciprocating the Chinese effort, playing down disputes over history in hopes of putting relations on a more solid footing. Unlike his predecessor, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has pledged not to visit the contentious Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals are among those enshrined. The promise has paved the way for President Hu Jintao to visit Japan next year — the first by a Chinese head of state in a decade.
Not all is smooth in relations. Japan accused China this week of removing Japanese criticism of certain Chinese policies in a joint economic communique. China has resisted Japan's call to stop pumping natural gas from an offshore field that straddles disputed East China Sea waters.
It is unclear whether nationalist passions on both sides can be contained throughout the anniversary. The events that began on Dec. 13, 1937, in Nanjing are still the subject of debate and controversy.
Angered by resistance as they invaded central China, Japanese troops began a rampage that many historians generally agree ended with the slaughter of at least 150,000 civilians and disarmed soldiers and the rape of tens of thousands of women in Nanjing, then the capital of China's Nationalist government.
China, however, puts the number of killed at 300,000, making it one of the worst atrocities of the World War II era. The official interpretation of the event as a "national shame" is used in schools and propaganda to rally the Chinese behind their government.
Japan has fringe groups that deny any atrocity took place, saying the supposed massacre is a fabrication of the communist government. Their denials and Tokyo's more assertive foreign policy have touched off Chinese fears of a revival of Japanese militarism.
In times of tensions, Chinese leaders have frequently admonished Japanese politicians to learn from history.
With the current warming trend, however, China is trying to put the history into a more nuanced context.
"To remember the historical is to cherish the momentum of improvements so as to create a better future," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters this week.
Although many Chinese feel Japan has yet to fully atone for its aggression and atrocities, they have begun taking a more sober approach to history, said Wang Xuan, a Shanghai-based researcher who has studied Japan's use of biological agents against Chinese civilians.
"The trend is toward a more stable relationship," Wang said. "The massacre commemoration and relations between the nations are seen as separate issues."
No one should forget the monstrous crimes of the Empire of Japan. But it becomes a tad hypocritical when the chinese Communists, who are the greatest murderers in history are the ones leading the commemoration.
Only 4% of China’s total population are Communist Party members.
What relevancy does this fact have to my post? I never equated the Chinese people with their party. The fact is that China is still being ruled by the Communist Party. The Communists are murderous criminals, regardless of their percentage.
I feel with the Chinese people when they remember the horrible crimes of the Japanese. But the Communists organizing these commemorations are utmost hypocrites.
Wow, crystal clear on 70 year old events but the ChiComms are a little fuzzy on the 1989 Tiananmen Square freedom protests, and subsequent mass murders at the hands of the state.
That would leave the rest as victims of communism and enablers.
When man’s inhumanity towards his fellow man knew no boundaries.
Thanks for posting this.
Beat me to it. I agree on both points.
My dad was in the CBI. Many Nationalists were thieving, murdering brutes where their own citizens were concerned.
The other irony is that had the Japanese not invaded China, China today would not have turned Communist. Chiang Kaishek would have easily crushed Mao’s Communists by the late 1930s.
Hey Japan, what do ya think about all this?
Oh, that’s right, you guys claim you never committed ALL these monsterous crimes.
You in Japan have never admitted your crimes of using American military personnel as labor slaves, Korean woman as sex slaves, American military personnel for horrendous medical and chemical and biotech tests.
Japan also has failed to come to terms with its Rape of Nanking. the Killing of tens of thousands of citizens.
Great job there japaneese.
1937-1945.
When the whole world was one big killing field.
The numbers are staggering. One lifetime later, the scars are almost all erased. Hard ti imagine that in 1945.
As an aside, I've been to the Japanese war crimes museum in treasure Island, SF. Even I, a gung ho blood and guts guy was repulsed by what was presented. I only made it 75% of the way through the exhibit before I had to opt out.
My mother was in the Lungwha Camp in Shanghai during these years.
She rarely speaks of it though.
Um. er, those were suicides.
Yeah, that's it! Suicides.
Freedom makes you crazy and then you die. That's the ticket.
/ end sarc
Or that they are considering nukes?
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