Flame War
Now this is getting interesting … China and Taiwan are fighting over the route that the olympic torch will take on its way to Beijing. It’ll also be going through Japan and Tibet, both of which are causing some stir both here and abroad.
If you didn’t know, China and its people claim that both Taiwan and Tibet are part of China. Many people around the world disagree emphatically. And many Chinese people simply hate Japan and its people.
Let’s get rrrready to rrrrumble!
April 26th, 2007 at 8:34 pm EST
You know why some Chinese hate the Japanese, right?
April 26th, 2007 at 9:09 pm EST
The Chinese have a very good reason to hate the Japanese. The Japanese started WW2 and lost. For that, they were rewarded by having the US rebuild their economy, and lots of American tourists visiting their historical areas.
The Chinese won, and all they got was Mao, 5 Year Plans, and the Cultural Revolution..
You’d be mad, too.
Maybe that’s why much of the world hates the US. We’re nice to the losers and make the winners tote their own bales.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:13 pm EST
When I ask, they usually either say something about a war or say “mei-shen-me” (no reason). I then ask them if they hate my friend, who is half-Japanese. Their answers vary pretty widely on that one. Then I always conclude the conversation by saying, “That’s silly. I think China and Japan should be friends again.”
Chinese children are conditioned by their parents, government, and even pop idols to hate Japanese people. Most of them don’t really know why, they just do because they are “supposed to”.
It makes me sad.
April 27th, 2007 at 5:49 pm EST
I am a chinese ,and I also hate Janpanese .The reason is simple ,they hurt us ,but they can not face their mistake .Maybe the war have passed for a long time ,but i could not forget ,our nation lose so many pepole and come through so much pain .But as long as the Janpanese apologzige sincere desire ,i believe most of us could forgive them ,and become friends .
April 28th, 2007 at 4:48 am EST
Yes, there’s certainly the economic background. But then the military atrocities from the 1930s are really hard for the elderly to put behind them. Especially consider the Second Sino-Japanese War and try typing Nanking or Nanjing Massacre into Google. There’s plenty of ugly stuff to read on that topic…
It’s not an excuse for racism and holding grudges against entire nationalities, but there is some historical background to the whole mess.