Opinion | China and Japan try to move away from the past - while holding on to it
Frank Ching says China's intent to repair its frayed ties with Japan may well be undermined by its remembrance of past hostilities
This past spring, almost 70 years after Japan invaded China, the National People's Congress designated two days for commemorating historical events. September 3 was designated "War Against Japanese Aggression Victory Day" and December 13 was designated a day of remembrance for victims of the Nanking Massacre of 1937.
It isn't surprising that a country should wish to mark such dates. But it is unusual to have so many decades elapse before taking action.
China was responding to much more recent events, including the continuing dispute with Japan over ownership of a group of tiny islands in the East China Sea and the Japanese leader Shinzo Abe's visit in December 2013 to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals, are honoured.
China was using the commemorative dates to teach Japan a lesson today.
By putting these dates on the calendar, China has created an opportunity to regularly remind its populace of Japan's aggression during the war. At the same time, Japan will have little choice but to conduct itself especially carefully around these sensitive dates so as not to provoke its powerful neighbour.
On December 13, President Xi Jinping went to Nanjing to participate in events to mark the 77th anniversary of Japan's invasion of the city. Some people in Japan deny that a massacre occurred while others question the number of victims. Xi, in a speech, said no one could deny that it had occurred. "Anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, the souls of the 300,000 deceased victims, 1.3 billion Chinese people and all people loving peace and justice in the world," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
