THOUGHTS ON REMEMBRANCE DAY Memories of war, East and West Joyce Hor-Chung Lau | International Herald Tribune | 16 November 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/16/opinion/edlau.php?page=1 In November, the gray of the approaching English winter is briefly punctuated by a touch of color - red poppies pinned to lapels, crimson wreaths propped up in parks. Boxes of flowers appear on store counters, newspapers put out their annual war special editions, memorial ceremonies are held with great pomp and circumstance. For someone who moved here recently from East Asia, where wartime wounds are still open and raw, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in England feels very civilized indeed. Remembrance Day, known as Armistice Day or Veterans Day in other countries, officially commemorates the end of World War I. But much of the attention is focused on World War II, whose battles and bombings can still be recalled by elderly survivors in both the West and the East. Only in Europe, a clear line is drawn between the Nazi regime and today's Germany, which now stands alongside its former enemies of Britain and France as pillars of the European Union. It is a far cry from Asia, where old rivals still hiss and snap over battles fought more than 60 years ago. An underlying bitterness between nations, some of which predates World War II, has been passed down through the generations. In China, and to a lesser degree in South Korea, anger toward wartime Japan is still fresh, and perhaps growing. The distinction between the eras has not been made; conflicts have been left unresolved, and there is no closure. Images of weeping elderly women seeking compensation for wartime sexual slavery appear on newspaper covers and television screens. Commentators follow every nuance when China protests Japanese officials visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where some World War II criminals are interred. There is still heated debate over everything from disputed uninhabited islands to whether a censored version of the war is taught to Japanese schoolchildren. Some critics accuse China of deliberate effort to fan anti-Japanese sentiment. They may have a point, when official venues in Beijing have names like "The Memorial Hall of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War." According to reports in mainstream media like The China Daily, there are about 150 such "anti-Japan" museums across the country, many built in the last few decades. Similar suspicions about Beijing's manipulation of wartime tension arose when anti-Japan demonstrations appeared simultaneously in several Chinese cities in 2005. Critics said it was a way for the country to boost a sense of patriotism in face of flagging support for the Communist Party. Lingering wartime animosity is not limited to high-brow political discussions; it is manifest in everything from pop culture to sporting events. The issue of anti-Japanese sentiment came up when the Chinese authorities banned screenings of the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha." Earlier this autumn, tens of thousands of Chinese spectators booed the Japanese team at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Hangzhou, and some refused to stand for the Japanese anthem. Ironically, the other team was German. The Japanese lost the game, but won in face when they unfurled a banner thanking China and bowed to the crowd. The most egregious example I have seen personally was at a theme park in Shenzhen a few years ago, where I came across an "anti- Japanese war" game in which Chinese children - some born half a century after the end of the war - were encouraged to dress up like soldiers and shoot the enemy. The war memorials in England or France leave no doubt as to who won the war, and who were the good guys and the bad guys. But the idea of that any museum or amusement park game could be advertised as being officially anti-German in Europe is beyond imagination. By coincidence, right before Remembrance Day, I attended a lecture at Oxford about the war in Asia, and this very issue came up among a group of experts, many of whom had studied and lived in China. Being new to Europe, I asked if there was a Western parallel. Would it ever be uncomfortable for, say, a German living in England during an important war anniversary? Would anything be said? "Maybe an off-color joke in a pub," an Englishman said. "Maybe in comedy," said another, "like in one of those old Black Adder skits." But no, it was nothing like Asia, they agreed. Last summer, I visited Normandy with my family and we toured war cemeteries, memorials and museums along the D-Day landing beaches. We were taken by their beauty, dignity and sadness. We were also surprised by the large number of German visitors, who were accommodated by German-language exhibitions and tours. They joined people from the rest of Europe, and the rest of the world, in facing sometimes graphic images of the horrors of the past. I cannot imagine that many Japanese visit China's "anti-Japan war" memorials. I do not mean to overplay tensions between China, Japan and Korea. For the most part, ordinary people in the old rivals engage in normal trade and travel, and obviously not everyone shares in the lingering ill-will. But the East could learn something about reconciliation by looking West.
