Fat Years - Chan Koonchung [116]
The Sino-Japanese security treaty also put a restraint on North Korea. On the one hand, it meant that North Korea could no longer practice nuclear blackmail against Japan, because if Japan was attacked China would come to its aid. On the other hand, Japan could no longer use the threat from North Korea to justify military expansion. After the stubborn South Korean regime began to feel isolated, they too considered signing a similar security treaty with China to further curb the power of North Korean militarism.
“That’s China for you,” said He Dongsheng with a smile. “All you have to do is recognize China as your friendly older brother, and everything can be easily accomplished, even if China has to give up some of its advantages.”
In the last century, Japan invaded China and the Chinese people hate the Japanese to this day, but today’s Japanese certainly do not hate the Chinese. They used to look down on us or even despise us, but now they fear us. In the past they were the invaders, but surprisingly they have no hate-China complex. This is easily understood if we think about it: if you inflicted terrible harm on us in the past, naturally you do not hate us now. The Japanese believe they were defeated by the Americans. Japanese territory had never before been occupied by a foreign power until the American postwar occupation, and there are still fifty thousand U.S. troops stationed on Japanese territory. Therefore, to this very day, the Japanese harbor a wish to see the Americans suffer a setback. This is part of the subtle but deep psychology between powerful and weak peoples, the invaders and the invaded, the victorious and the defeated in war—another war is not necessarily the only way to take revenge and wipe away the shame. A reversal in the status of the high and the low, or at least a new equality in status, might suffice.
This is why the East Asian Monroe Doctrine and the Sino-Japanese mutual security treaty actually had so many supporters in Japan—because they were a slap in the face to the Americans. The subtext of the extremely close Sino-Japanese bilateral economic-cooperation agreement was that Japan needs China’s assistance, and that also gave many Chinese a strong feeling of self-respect.
If Sun Yat-sen were alive today he would surely congratulate China on the realization of its century-old dream. “Well done! Well done!” was He Dongsheng’s proud conclusion.
The best option in the real world
“Ha! The realization of his century-old dream?” protested Little Xi. “If Sun Yat-sen were alive today, he’d die of anger. Sun’s Three People’s Principles were nationality, rights, and livelihood. Where are the people’s rights now? In the last hundred years, their rights have been trampled all over by your Communist Party. Every time we turn around, you’re cracking down, snatching people, and throwing them in prison.” She stamped her foot for emphasis.
“Right,” said Fang Caodi. “You say social order is in danger, there are great contradictions, and evildoers are running amok, but who’s really responsible for stirring up all this social unrest? Isn’t it all due to the corruption and incompetence of your Communist Party? It’s been over sixty years since the founding of the People’s Republic! Is the Nationalist KMT Party in power now?”
“According to you,” said Little Xi, “China has already entered an age of ascendancy and prosperity. If that’s so, why are you still unable to govern the country by the rule of law? Do you believe that China should