What the Heck?! Thread (Closed)

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Equation

Lieutenant General
To be fair, that could be said about pro-China writers too. In fact, it applies to advocates of pro-con arguments all over the world.

Actually no it does not. Most "pro China" writers are the ones trying to correct the massive in-correction made by the anti-China writers who doesn't even bother to study the subject or the country they're writing about. If you want balance than all you need to read are from academia's and historians. Yes they may be boring to many but they are far more consistent with facts than say journalism writers.
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
Wrong, I did not imply I agreed with you. What I meant was the Chinese government's reaction was as normal as the general Chinese's.
Do you give any credence to the theory CCP might stoke anti-Japanese nationalism to increase its legitimacy with the 1.3 billion Chinese it rules by the gun?
 

plawolf

Lieutenant General
I asked because I wasn't sure if I was dealing with a reasonable poster, with balanced views of the PRC, or a fanboi, and now I'm sure.

That's a rather unreasonable position to take - "if you do not agree with my view, you are a fanboi" Really?!

While we do not always agree on things, I always respected your maturity and reasonableness. Such sentiment is unlike you.

The charge of the Chinese government "stoking anti-Japanese sentiment" is by itself a highly loaded one to start with. And to be honest, I see little evidence to support it.

In almost every single instance where China has been accused of "stoking anti-Japanese sentiment", all China did was react to things done by Japan.

Is the Chinese government not allowed to express their strong dissatisfaction when the Japanese government and or prominent Japanese politicians does or say something pigheaded, incendiary and frankly, stupid?

And note, it is not just China who have such reactions, if anything South Korean reactions, both officially and on the streets, are usually more extreme than those seen in China. Yet amusingly, South Korea is never accused of stoking anti-Japanese sentiment. That alone should speak volumes towards the validity of the charge levied against Beijing.

The other often trumpeted evidence that China is "stoking anti-Japanese" sentiment is all the war films made. That is as stupid as it is ridiculous. There are plenty of Hollywood WWII films, is anyone moronic enough to suggest they stoke anti-German sentiments?

Yes, many of the atrocities depicted in those war films are brutal, inhuman and disgusting, but I have never heard of a single case where it was accused that what was depicted in Chinese films was fabricated. The films show what they show because that was what happened. What, is China supposed to whitewash and sanitise history like Japan is trying to do?

Many Hollywood WWII films, especially those dealing with the holocaust, also show every strong and often graphic and disturbing depictions of atrocities. Does anyone see the Germans bitching and whining about it?

To even suggest China is doing something wrong by making factually accurate and historically correct films is by itself incredibly insulting. Just as the Jews would be rightly outraged if anyone suggested films like Schindler's List, The Pianist and other classics are somehow stoking anti-German sentiment, with a strong unspoken insinuation that those films are somehow distorting history.

The Chinese government sometimes does exploit the Chinese people's underlying amenity towards the Japanese government to further its own ends, but all the major powers have done that at some point, and I see zero reason why China should be singled out for it.

Compared to democratic governments, the only thing remarkable about Beijing's treatment of Japan is how restrained it has been.

If anything, the Chinese government expends far more effort trying to rein in the feelings and emotions of the Chinese people rather than trying to inflame it. Indeed, the most common sentiment amongst ordinary Chinese people is that Beijing is far too soft on Tokyo.

If China was a democracy, you can bet your bottom dollar some hardliner would have run on a fiercely anti-Japanese platform, and with the breadth and depth of anti-Japanese feeling amongst ordinary Chinese people, he would be almost a shoe-in to win.

I think that if historians are honest, when they look back on this part of history in a hundred or two hundred years, they will remark on how backwards the West has things with China.

Far from being the great and terrible threat, the CCP is actually the moderating force keeping the pent up fury of the Chinese people in check and making sure China's rise was largely peaceful, as opposed how all western democracies got to where they are today in the world - through fire and blood and war.
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
@plawolf- I agree with many of your points, especially on the important and necessary role of the CCP to pilot China through critical reforms and development. I don't have to like the Red Dynasty to appreciate its accomplishments, nor do I have to overlook its excesses and abuse of the Chinese people to understand and applaud the many good it has done. Least we forget, there really isn't any realistic alternatives to the CCP right now, and China might descend into chaos but for their strong rule.

The vast majority of political actors want to amass and retain power, so the CCP is no different than other politi around the world. The alarming thing is CCP will impose its rule with the gun, and did so 26 years ago. Denying that fact doesn't make it go away, and the thought CCP is all good all the time is irrational. Honest brokers call them as they see them, good or bad.

So far, the only proven model to national success is to develop ones economy and create strong institutions to support the society before massive reforms in the social and political arenas. Every single developed nation, East and West, used that blueprint for success. Countries that democratize before developing the economic muscle and the institutions to run them are basket cases. Therefore, China is right to follow the winning formula for success, and ignore calls for premature democratization from the West. The proof is in the pudding, and people don't have to like that to appreciate it.
 
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