- Fri
- May 24, 2013
- Updated: 2:06am
Trending topics
China must shed 'victim' mentality
In Pictures
Editor's Pick
Man of the moment Riccardo Tisci's dark, sensual designs for Givenchy come straight from the heart, writes Jing Zhang.
I refer to Philip Bowring's column ("The other tale, of Han expansion", December 2).
He wrote, "With the 18th party congress behind us and Xi Jinping now installed as leader, can China ease off on the narrative of victimhood which has been so apparent in recent months?"
Beginning with the first opium war (1839-42), China had to endure more than 100 years of humiliation at the hands of the Western powers and Japan.
Of course, China was partly to blame for this state of affairs, first through a mistaken sense of its own superiority, and then because of military ineptitude.
Now China finally has become a world economic and military power, and is a key player in global politics. But somehow Chinese people cannot get away from the "victim" mentality, especially when it concerns Japan.
If we cannot overcome this hurdle, and always act as an aggrieved child, we will not gain the respect of the world. When China was a weakling, it was bullied by others; now that it is a strong country, its citizens need to act in a way that befits the nation's international status.
The Diaoyus/Senkakus dispute with Japan is a case in point. The anti-Japanese demonstrations on the mainland were a disgrace.
To wreck Japanese restaurants and department stores, and to put at risk the safety of innocent Japanese citizens, is not an act of patriotism, but simply thuggery.
On the political front, although Beijing has a near watertight case to prove that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China, instead of going through the proper legal channels to reclaim sovereignty of the islands, it took to patrolling the islands as if they were already Chinese territory.
It is incomprehensible that China, in wanting to be a key player in the world, seems to think it can make up its own rules and the world will follow.
What is worse is Beijing's stance in the South China Sea dispute with various countries. It seems to want to use muscle and dictate to the other countries involved to abide by its terms and its terms alone.
These disputes are still unresolved because of unclear historical records.
Our government needs to approach the countries concerned with reason and with respect.
Muscle flexing through a display of our military prowess by our government, and blind patriotism coupled with Chinese people's victim mentality, will get us nowhere.
Alex Woo, Tsim Sha Tsui
After reading this article, people also read
2:47pm
1. "Mistaken sense of its own superiority"
The state of affairs was that China indeed was superior at the time when Qianlong dismisses the offer from the first British diplomat for economic exchange at his arrival at the imperial court. In terms of warefare, culture and economics the British couldn't offer much more the Chinese already had. Please read his dairy and comment letters to the British Government.
It was only until the invention of the first steam machine 100 years later, which brought the strategical military advance to the British invaders to blackmail the imperial court. Sorry that Qianlong was not a fortune teller to see this coming 100 years before.
2. "Military Ineptitude"
Once you have an military advantage and superiour weapons, because of your more developed inventions against many of your enemies, would you freely share those weapons with your opponent? No, as that would be the same if today the US is sharing the development of mass destruction weapons with the Iranians. Furthermore, during the colonial times of the western powers China was already weakened by domestic instabilities, turmoils and foreign powers with their disputable policies, political schemes and military actions against the China. No time for developing weapons, improving military and lack of money led to the downfall of the power of the Qing Court.
It is too easy to blame it on the naivety of the Chinese at that time. A lot of factors were playing a big role.
10:39pm
The first commercially successful steam engine was built by Thomas Newcomen in about 1712, not 100 years after the British envoy went to Peking - which was in 1793. Britain's technology was indeed superior in most ways. The only thing in which it did not match up to China was racial arrogance.
2:54pm
What an outrageous comment! In other words, "I have the right to attack you, invade you, kill you and assimilate you if you are weak and it is all your own fault because of your weakness".
Meaning, if China wants this never happen again, she is right and entitled put everything into warfare and become a very strong military power. Showing the world that China now can defend her country and territories and everyone will be doomed if they try to proof otherwise.
>>"But somehow Chinese people cannot get away from the "victim" mentality, especially when it concerns Japan."<<
Mr. Alex Woo, I am very disappointed by your statement. As an commentator for the Post you should show more ....(you can chose the words - maybe journalist skills?). Let's put it in this way, that behind this "victim mentallity" there is an urge and lust for revenge. Bloody revenge if referring to Nanjing and other war crimes committed by Japan military during the war agains civilians, women and children. Crimes they now and today the majority of Japanese deny happened. China will get back everything they lost during the 100 years humiliation and will defend those then with its strong military power. Japan is without the help of the USA no match for China anymore.
9:08am
By chance China is geographically the closest powerful nation to Japan and hence has to deal with it more frequently than other former World War II enemies/victims.
Europeans understand the horrific experiments and genocide carried out by the Germans in World War II and more importantly the German nation has admitted the error of its ways and vowed never to repeat these. There has been less attention paid to the victims of Nanking and of the countless others who served as guinea pigs for the Japanese and in large part because of the Cold War and the USA''s continued reliance on Japanese military bases and it's insistence that the PRC is a threat to the region.
The blame is not with the Chinese people for expressing their mistrust and anger to Japan, Mr Woo, but is due to the continued 'Great Game' being played by the US.
5:55pm
5:37pm
But, first please amend Wiki’s entry for “victim mentality” which disagrees with your use of that term. Then, you should admonish the Japanese government not to “flex muscle”. Today, on the anniversary of Nanking Massacre, it sent eight F15’s to Diaoyu which you know is Chinese territory.
The “victim mentality” is yours, in your mind and not China's. Given their successful developmental record, their experiences in overcoming historical and political difficulties, CCP leaders can’t be bothered with the kind of VM which Stockholm syndrome projects in your mind.
June 4 is nothing compared with genocides in the imperial histories of Nippon, Britain and Uncle Sam. The VM blinkers only work with the feeble-minded, like those who obsessed with sticking that label everywhere, to make them see only the tree and miss the forest.
