Eric's Beijing Diary

Angry but interesting editorial in the China Daily about the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Apparently, the Japanese foreign minister made the statement that the Japanese occupation of Taiwan was a good thing for Taiwan. This, of course, angers Beijing. A few years ago, I might not have thought anything of it. But believe it or not, in the past few years, I have heard the foreign minister's sentiment echoed more than once by Taiwanese folks. I have never been to Taiwan, so I am not quite sure what the reason is, but the rancor expressed by Chinese folks here in Mainland China toward the Japanese does not match what I often hear from those whose background is rooted in the island across the Taiwan Straits.

Part of this, I am sure, is because information sources such as newspapers and television news are controlled on the Mainland, and the government has a very visible agenda. I didn't notice it that much at first, but public consensus toward Japan is clearly manipulated by the government. I have to believe that part of it is genuine, because, after all, the Japanese military was pretty brutal in their treatment of the Chinese people. But I guess what I am saying is that the sentiment expressed in the China Daily editorial is very, very different from what I hear when I talk to people from Taiwan.