By Huang Qing
At the ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Co-operation in mid-November, Chinese and Japanese foreign
ministers reached a consensus on conducting joint research on
history relevant to both countries.
To begin, the two parties decided on the principles on which the
joint historical studies will be carried out. These are principles
laid down by the China-Japan Joint Communique, the Treaty of Peace
and Friendship between China and Japan and the China-Japan Joint
Declaration, or "three political documents" as it's known in
China.
Second, the two sides clarified the targets of the joint
historical research promoting mutual understanding by studying the
2,000 years of Sino-Japanese exchanges, sorrows and sufferings
brought by wars in more recent history and the journey of the
Sino-Japanese relationship over the last six decades since the end
of World War II.
The current China-Japan relationship is laden with factors that
trigger conflicting morals and interests, or that have the
potential to touch off clashes, including how to understand and
interpret history. Disputes over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu
Islands and controversy over the East China Sea exclusive economic
zone are also included.
Other questions seem to involve purely internal affairs but are
actually diplomatic and international issues. For example, the
definition of one country's character and its orientation is likely
to affect its neighbors, especially when past unhappy experiences
are taken into account.
Still other questions involve the real interests and rights of
the countries and the disputes seem to be uncompromising. But they
could translate into situations that benefit both parties, on the
condition that ideas and values are altered and a hostile mentality
discarded.
On the other hand, the experience of the last 60 years since the
end of World War II shows that China and Japan share many interests
covering wide areas and that possibilities for both to benefit
exist here, there and everywhere. In a sense, interests shared by
both parties outshine the conflict-triggering factors.
As a result, how to properly handle conflicting and shared
interests and take good care of both parties' needs constitutes a
test for the political wisdom of the leadership on both sides.
As is well known, the "three political documents" pass judgement
on the unjustifiable nature of the wars launched by Japan in recent
history. This constitutes the vitally important political basis for
China-Japan rapprochement. If this judgement is not clarified, the
historical issues will only deteriorate bilateral relations and
poison the feelings of the two peoples.
The two sides agreed to approach history from a deeper and
broader perspective. In the past 2,000 years, Chinese and Japanese
cultures have borrowed from each other and the Sino-Japanese
relationship was punctuated by wars and conflicts starting from the
late 19th century until the end of World War II.
If we take a number of steps back from the history and frame it
in a much wider perspective, we will get a panoramic view and be
clear about its origin and direction. In this way, one will not get
too bogged down in details so as to keep the big picture of history
in one's mind.
History should serve as a mirror but should never be a
psychological knot. We should not forget the past, otherwise the
foolishness could be repeated again and again. At the same time,
people should show tolerance towards the hatred and woes of the
past, otherwise the human race could be borne down by increasingly
heavier historical baggage.
A number of factors are worth our consideration in carrying out
the joint historical research program.
First, the universally accepted historical outlooks and values
should be stuck to. For example, aggressive wars and colonial rule
can never be justified, as people from across the world
believe.
Some people in Japan, however, maintain that Japan simply became
a loser in the big-power war game because it was weaker in military
strength and technology than other players. As a result, they
insist, no moral right and wrong was involved.
This theory of "the loser in the big-power game" has it
wrong.
The first half of the 20th century saw two world wars.
World War I was heavily tinged with big powers' rivalry for
hegemony. However, insofar as World War II is concerned, the
atrocities committed by the axis powers and their aggressive
campaigns against other nations gave legitimacy and historical
justice to the anti-fascist wars.
Moreover, the theory does not fit the China-Japan
relationship.
Second, the understanding and interpretation of history and war
varies from one country to another because they have undergone
different historical processes in the years since World War II.
Germany, for example, went to great pains to distance itself from
Nazism and deal with its past. Things were, however, different in
Japan. Some old values and institutions were preserved, making
history a time bomb in its future development.
Nazism seemed to emerge from nowhere and, consequently, had no
deep roots in the soil of Germany. In Japan, bushido, or the way of
the warrior, is deeply rooted in Japanese history. All this helps
make East Asian history complex.
Third, cultural and religious traditions count for a lot in
understanding and interpreting the history and war.
Germany liquidated its past. This might have something to do
with the sense of original sin in Christianity, in the opinion of
this author. The Germans, therefore, found no psychological
barriers to express their profound remorse over the crimes
committed by the Nazis. In Japan, however, there is a tradition of
"sense of shame." People could take their own lives just for the
sake of "decency."
Swayed by such a frame of mind, some Japanese are simply unable
to bring themselves to face squarely the feeling of humiliation
brought by the war crimes. Others, though harboring no hostility
towards the Chinese, try to offer various explanations in the hope
that the images of the Japanese of the war generation would not
look that bad.
This psychology will not change easily for a long time to come.
This means that the questions involving the history connected to
China and Japan will go through a long period of time before all
the matters get straightened out.
Japan's war of aggression against China ended more than six
decades ago and the majority of today's Japanese were born after
World War II. They should not be held responsible for the war waged
by their fathers' or grandfathers' generation. But on the other
hand, the Chinese demand for correctly interpreting the history is
also justified because the Chinese want history to serve as a
mirror so that historical errors can be avoided in the future.
In summary, the joint historical research program will be a
process of reconstructing values and cultural and psychological
communication, as well as a journey through which historical facts
are sorted out and studied. It is expected to have a positive
impact on China-Japan relations.
The author is a council member of the China Foundation of
International Studies.
(China Daily November 24, 2006)
