Grow up, say netizens as China and Japan liken each other to 'Lord Voldemort'
Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to London, compared Japan to Lord Voldemort in an article published on The Daily Telegraph
China's net users, some among the nation's most outspoken nationalists, said they were entertained and puzzled by a "childish" exchange between China and Japan in which both have called the other "Lord Voldemort", the archvillain of the Harry Potter novel-and-movie franchise.
"If militarism is like the haunting Voldemort of Japan, the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux, representing the darkest parts of that nation’s soul," Liu wrote in his article.
In the fantasy books, a horcrux is a magical object that can keep a portion of a person's soul, and is created through an evil act.
"East Asia is now at a crossroads. There are two paths open to China. One is to seek dialogue, and abide by the rule of law. The other is to play the role of Voldemort in the region by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions," Hayashi wrote.
This fiercely fought war of words, carefully followed by the Chinese media including the state-owned Xinhua and the Global Times, have attracted mixed reaction from netizens.