(no subject)
In continuation of the post I made earlier, while the earthquake in Japan has shown the good side to things, it has also brought up an ugly side which I really wish wasn't happening. I was reading this article: http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/stories/2011-japan-sendai-earthquake-chinese-netizen-reactions.html
and well, if what is listed in the article is true, then I can say that as a Chinese, I'm ashamed of my fellow Chinese. Thoroughly and completely ashamed. It's not a matter of nationalism and pride anymore, a disaster is a disaster no matter where you place it, and the malice and arrogance found in some of the comments by the Chinese truly makes me question whether I really want to be linked with such people? Definitely there are some people who are attempting to rebuke those who make heartless comments, yet all this devolves into insult-throwing and swearing all over the place.
First and foremost: it's a disaster. Please don't say it's karma on Japan. Japan has already received much flak for the horrible war crimes she committed more than 60 years ago. From failing political relations with its closest neighbours (Koizumi, anyone?) to the rapidly aging population to the stagnant economy, Japan has not exactly been the most fortunate of nations these past two decades or so. In contrast, as Japan fell, China rose, and overtook Japan's place as the no.2 economy in the world. All very well, but the vindictiveness and malice shown in the comments here is something which shocks me thoroughly, because no matter what, individuals cannot and should not be considered 'payment' or justice for all those lives lost during World War II.
Secondly, bearing grudges for such a long time is incredibly ugly. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as some of them say, but I can throw back the other side of the coin: Love your enemy, and turn the other cheek for them. Many of the Chinese who have been celebrating the Japan earthquake have gone so far as to call those who tell them to have some compassion that they are not worthy of being Chinese. Yet, in your vindictiveness and malice, and refusal to show compassion and love for people in times of disaster, are you then worthy of being human? I'm not going to judge people here, but I am sorely disappointed at the comments of people who are supposedly of my race, whom I am grouped together with. You may never forget the horrors of the war, but are you willing to forgive?
Now definitely not all Chinese continue to hold fast to the mentality that Japan is their mortal enemy. The popularity of anime and Japanese pop groups in China attests to that. (that is, at least, there is a segment of the Chinese population unwilling to boycott all things Japanese). But the ugliness shown here is something which tarnishes my image of the Chinese. I don't really see the Japanese hating the Americans because of the atomic bombs they dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now that not just caused the deaths of many innocent people too, but it also had long-lasting effects due to the radiation released by the bombs, resulting in deformed children and so on for many years afterward. Yet when the American subprime crisis happened, I don't think there were Japanese going: "WOOHOO AMERICA, THANK YOU FOR BEING SO STUPID, payback tiemzzzzz is so sweet". Admittedly there was an impact on the Japanese economy as well, but somehow, of the many countries in the world, China (and sometimes Korea) are some of the few countries who bear such long-lasting grudges, which often results in stubborn refusal to cooperate and regression rather than progress. And that gives me an incredibly ugly picture of China.
In contrast, in the past years Japan has really made a significant effort to repair relations with its neighbours, in particular the aforementioned China. The outpouring of humanitarian aid in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, as mentioned in the article, was tremendous from the Japanese side. Knowing all too well the devastating effect of earthquakes, the Japanese were willing to give and show compassion. The release of the captain of the boat which started the whole Senkaku/Diaoyu crisis, while seen as weakly acceding to the demands of the Chinese by many Japanese (and seen as victory over those vicious, vicious, mean nasty Japanese by some Chinese), to me appears to be a gesture of goodwill, a desire for reconciliation and not to fight over such trivial matters. Well, to me, anyway. Many may beg to differ.
And I just read in the newspaper today, from the Life!section of all sections - that Korean stars are donating big bucks to help with the humanitarian efforts going on in Sendai and the other tsunami-stricken areas. The article mentioned that such donations were rare due to the undercurrent of resentment in Korea as a result of Japan's occupation of Korea, again about 60 years ago. YET, they are donating! And that's something Korea has learnt, but China seems unable to learn. Maybe I'm judging by different standards - after all, Korean celebrities and the average Chinese guy are on totally different levels financially and so on - but beyond mere donating, I think the Korean celebrities are showing compassion. If this happened anywhere else in the world, they seem to be saying, we'd do the same.
Putting the past behind us is something humans often find difficult to do. Yet we really need to learn a lesson in forgiveness. Most of those responsible for the cruelties of the Nanking massacre and so on are long dead and buried. Need there really be unnecessary hostility and viciousness which mars the tragedy of this disaster? In another article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110315/wl_asia_afp/japanquakeimagediplomacy, the article speaks of how the Japanese' cool and calm behaviour in the midst of disaster is being greatly admired. In contrast to the chaos of say, the Sichuan earthquake, the people of Sendai are doing their best to hold themselves together, and rather than breaking down and crying, they're trying to move on with their lives. The article then mentions how this could build up Japan's image in other countries, by showing them the stoicism of the Japanese people and their mental and emotional strength during this painful, difficult time. But in contrast then, are the comments of Chinese netizens bringing down the reputation of China? China has taken many years to remove the stereotype of being stubborn, heartless and rude - but these comments seem to just reinforce that very stereotype. To me, China seems to be the big bully in the playground - bullying for the thrill of power, yet unable to realise the consequences of its actions upon itself. Hard power is highly prevalent in China, but soft power seems to be severely lacking. (Case in point: Confucius was a total flop in the boxoffice, while Japanese movies like GANTZ, Confessions and Departures are drawing crowds and even awards).
Some people may accuse me of being biased, especially since my Chinese is not too spectacular and I can be said to be somewhat of a Japan fanatic. But in the end the point of this boils down to this: people are people, whether Japanese or Chinese or Korean, and in the time of suffering, we should be reaching out to them rather than mocking them and delighting in their misery. These comments go beyond mere schadenfreude - it's just plain mean and vicious. Singapore also suffered greatly under the Sook Ching massacre by the Japanese in WWII, but few of us are going around saying, 'DIE JAPAN DIE'.
Don't let the blight of the past affect the present and the future, please. It's time to forgive and move on, to look towards the future and reconciliation, rather than stubbornly clinging to what is dead and gone.
(In a random note: the Arashi fan community has raised almost $10000! Are we awesome or what! Wish I could donate to them, but without PayPal or a credit card I can't )): Which means I'll probably try to donate through methods like Red Cross here in Singapore)
and well, if what is listed in the article is true, then I can say that as a Chinese, I'm ashamed of my fellow Chinese. Thoroughly and completely ashamed. It's not a matter of nationalism and pride anymore, a disaster is a disaster no matter where you place it, and the malice and arrogance found in some of the comments by the Chinese truly makes me question whether I really want to be linked with such people? Definitely there are some people who are attempting to rebuke those who make heartless comments, yet all this devolves into insult-throwing and swearing all over the place.
First and foremost: it's a disaster. Please don't say it's karma on Japan. Japan has already received much flak for the horrible war crimes she committed more than 60 years ago. From failing political relations with its closest neighbours (Koizumi, anyone?) to the rapidly aging population to the stagnant economy, Japan has not exactly been the most fortunate of nations these past two decades or so. In contrast, as Japan fell, China rose, and overtook Japan's place as the no.2 economy in the world. All very well, but the vindictiveness and malice shown in the comments here is something which shocks me thoroughly, because no matter what, individuals cannot and should not be considered 'payment' or justice for all those lives lost during World War II.
Secondly, bearing grudges for such a long time is incredibly ugly. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as some of them say, but I can throw back the other side of the coin: Love your enemy, and turn the other cheek for them. Many of the Chinese who have been celebrating the Japan earthquake have gone so far as to call those who tell them to have some compassion that they are not worthy of being Chinese. Yet, in your vindictiveness and malice, and refusal to show compassion and love for people in times of disaster, are you then worthy of being human? I'm not going to judge people here, but I am sorely disappointed at the comments of people who are supposedly of my race, whom I am grouped together with. You may never forget the horrors of the war, but are you willing to forgive?
Now definitely not all Chinese continue to hold fast to the mentality that Japan is their mortal enemy. The popularity of anime and Japanese pop groups in China attests to that. (that is, at least, there is a segment of the Chinese population unwilling to boycott all things Japanese). But the ugliness shown here is something which tarnishes my image of the Chinese. I don't really see the Japanese hating the Americans because of the atomic bombs they dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now that not just caused the deaths of many innocent people too, but it also had long-lasting effects due to the radiation released by the bombs, resulting in deformed children and so on for many years afterward. Yet when the American subprime crisis happened, I don't think there were Japanese going: "WOOHOO AMERICA, THANK YOU FOR BEING SO STUPID, payback tiemzzzzz is so sweet". Admittedly there was an impact on the Japanese economy as well, but somehow, of the many countries in the world, China (and sometimes Korea) are some of the few countries who bear such long-lasting grudges, which often results in stubborn refusal to cooperate and regression rather than progress. And that gives me an incredibly ugly picture of China.
In contrast, in the past years Japan has really made a significant effort to repair relations with its neighbours, in particular the aforementioned China. The outpouring of humanitarian aid in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, as mentioned in the article, was tremendous from the Japanese side. Knowing all too well the devastating effect of earthquakes, the Japanese were willing to give and show compassion. The release of the captain of the boat which started the whole Senkaku/Diaoyu crisis, while seen as weakly acceding to the demands of the Chinese by many Japanese (and seen as victory over those vicious, vicious, mean nasty Japanese by some Chinese), to me appears to be a gesture of goodwill, a desire for reconciliation and not to fight over such trivial matters. Well, to me, anyway. Many may beg to differ.
And I just read in the newspaper today, from the Life!section of all sections - that Korean stars are donating big bucks to help with the humanitarian efforts going on in Sendai and the other tsunami-stricken areas. The article mentioned that such donations were rare due to the undercurrent of resentment in Korea as a result of Japan's occupation of Korea, again about 60 years ago. YET, they are donating! And that's something Korea has learnt, but China seems unable to learn. Maybe I'm judging by different standards - after all, Korean celebrities and the average Chinese guy are on totally different levels financially and so on - but beyond mere donating, I think the Korean celebrities are showing compassion. If this happened anywhere else in the world, they seem to be saying, we'd do the same.
Putting the past behind us is something humans often find difficult to do. Yet we really need to learn a lesson in forgiveness. Most of those responsible for the cruelties of the Nanking massacre and so on are long dead and buried. Need there really be unnecessary hostility and viciousness which mars the tragedy of this disaster? In another article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110315/wl_asia_afp/japanquakeimagediplomacy, the article speaks of how the Japanese' cool and calm behaviour in the midst of disaster is being greatly admired. In contrast to the chaos of say, the Sichuan earthquake, the people of Sendai are doing their best to hold themselves together, and rather than breaking down and crying, they're trying to move on with their lives. The article then mentions how this could build up Japan's image in other countries, by showing them the stoicism of the Japanese people and their mental and emotional strength during this painful, difficult time. But in contrast then, are the comments of Chinese netizens bringing down the reputation of China? China has taken many years to remove the stereotype of being stubborn, heartless and rude - but these comments seem to just reinforce that very stereotype. To me, China seems to be the big bully in the playground - bullying for the thrill of power, yet unable to realise the consequences of its actions upon itself. Hard power is highly prevalent in China, but soft power seems to be severely lacking. (Case in point: Confucius was a total flop in the boxoffice, while Japanese movies like GANTZ, Confessions and Departures are drawing crowds and even awards).
Some people may accuse me of being biased, especially since my Chinese is not too spectacular and I can be said to be somewhat of a Japan fanatic. But in the end the point of this boils down to this: people are people, whether Japanese or Chinese or Korean, and in the time of suffering, we should be reaching out to them rather than mocking them and delighting in their misery. These comments go beyond mere schadenfreude - it's just plain mean and vicious. Singapore also suffered greatly under the Sook Ching massacre by the Japanese in WWII, but few of us are going around saying, 'DIE JAPAN DIE'.
Don't let the blight of the past affect the present and the future, please. It's time to forgive and move on, to look towards the future and reconciliation, rather than stubbornly clinging to what is dead and gone.
(In a random note: the Arashi fan community has raised almost $10000! Are we awesome or what! Wish I could donate to them, but without PayPal or a credit card I can't )): Which means I'll probably try to donate through methods like Red Cross here in Singapore)