Taunting the Chinese

The relationship between China and Japan is tenuous at best. The Chinese hate the Japanese, somewhat justifiably, and the Japanese think the Chinese are barbarians and treat them subhuman (as do the Koreans and the Taiwanese). It is an interesting dynamic to watch.

Much of modern China's anst toward the Japanese stems from World War II and the atrocities at Nanjing. Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking is a good place to start for background on the Japanese invasion of Nanjing. Japanese treatment of Americans in the Pacific wasn't much better (see James Bradley's Fly Boys).

That may be history, but the Japanese can't help sticking it to the Chinese when the opportunity presents itself. When I arrived in 2005, a big stink was brewing about a large building being erected by the Japanese in Pudong near the Jin Mao Tower. Jin Mao is currently the largest building in China, and the new World Finance Centre promises to dwarf it. A large hole at the top of the building appears to be a rising sun. This went over like a lead balloon. I believe the plans have been modified.

More significantly, the Japanese consistently engage in revisionist history, apparently unaware that the winners determine what history ultimately survives. This gripes the Chinese.

Recently, Tomohiko Taniguchi, deputy press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry suggested that China's economic boom will fuel nationalism which predictably prompted backlash from China.

"We are surprised and dissatisfied with the Japanese comment. The comment that China's economic development leads to nationalism is illogical and should not become a reason to criticize China," said a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The truth is that the Chinese are nationalistic. We don't have to wait for further economic development. But occasionally it would behoove the Japanese officials to "give their jaws a rest" as my secretary frequently suggests.