Topic: China's Ambassador to Britain Says Japan is Like Lord Voldemort

[Mooning Freddy]

Oy vey.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/02/liu-xiaoming-lord-voldemort-china-japan_n_4531813.html

In a bizarre diplomatic move, China's ambassador to Britain has likened Japan to the Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort. The invocation is the latest escalation of a tense standoff between the two countries over the Japanese prime minister’s recent visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo.

Citing Britain's wartime pact with China, Xiaoming wrote: “China and Britain were wartime allies. Our troops fought shoulder to shoulder against Japanese aggressors and made enormous sacrifices.

“Sixty-eight years have passed since that horrible war. Yet there are always some incorrigible people in Japan who show no signs of remorse for war crimes. Instead, they seek to reinterpret history. They pose a serious threat to global peace. The Chinese will not allow such attempts. I am sure British and all other peace-loving folk will not remain indifferent."

It's actually quite scary how accurate South Park is.

South Park How Chinese People view to the Japanese

[Ratty]

Yeah there's a lot of bad blood between China and Japan, has been for a long time. There's a reason the treatment of occupied China in WW2 has been called "the forgotten holocaust". This newest fight over possible oil/natural gas around some disputed islands is bringing it all to the surface. The Voldemort comparison seems funny until you realize that politicians are often given to emphatically spouting silly hyperbole, "Axis of Evil" anyone?

[X]

Last time I checked Japan renounced war but are allowed to have a defense force. And so far they've concentrated virtually all their efforts into economic growth. And China considers them a serious threat to global peace?? What about North Korea ya douche bags!? They are far, FAR worse! Bad blood is a bulls**t excuse. Right now Japan has it's own problems to worry about (the tsunami and nuclear reactor accident). They don't need some moron breathing down their necks because of bad blood that happened over half a century ago.

[Ratty]

Last time I checked Japan renounced war but are allowed to have a defense force. And so far they've concentrated virtually all their efforts into economic growth. And China considers them a serious threat to global peace?? What about North Korea ya douche bags!? They are far, FAR worse! Bad blood is a bulls**t excuse. Right now Japan has it's own problems to worry about (the tsunami and nuclear reactor accident). They don't need some moron breathing down their necks because of bad blood that happened over half a century ago.

I'm not making excuses, merely explaining why the animosity is so quick to come to a boil between the two. But like I said the real issue here is disputed islands/waters that are believed to be rich in oil and I think natural gas. China, Japan and the Philippines have all been getting angrier and angrier over the last year or two each claiming they are the ones who have a legitimate claim to the area. That's what this is about. This is just another way of China sending a "we might go to war over this" message to Japan. Personally I hope it's found that no such resources exist around these islands and the whole thing blows over.

PS- Also you should understand that there are conservative elements in Japan who do want to white wash the atrocities their country committed against the Chinese people during WW2, there was a big flap about censored history textbooks to this effect a few years ago. And I believe a high ranking Japanese official a short while back tried to justify the systematic abduction and rape of Chinese women during the war as "comfort women" saying it was seen as essential to the war effort. Needless to say this didn't sit well with some of these former "comfort women" who are still alive. Much like the genocide of Native Americans in the US (or indeed the after effects of the Atomic bombs the US dropped on Japan) there's a large part of the population who like to pretend these things never happened. This kind of denial doesn't help descendants of victims think kindly of descendants of abusers.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Asia is boiling for the past few years and I hope things don't escalate further.
Aside from all the stuff Ratty said about the region, I just noticed (personal observation, don't kill me if I'm wrong), China is always fond of shouting war when they get to be rich and recognized. They were silent before when they were still called the sleeping giant.

[X]

I'm not making excuses, merely explaining why the animosity is so quick to come to a boil between the two. But like I said the real issue here is disputed islands/waters that are believed to be rich in oil and I think natural gas. China, Japan and the Philippines have all been getting angrier and angrier over the last year or two each claiming they are the ones who have a legitimate claim to the area. That's what this is about. This is just another way of China sending a "we might go to war over this" message to Japan. Personally I hope it's found that no such resources exist around these islands and the whole thing blows over.

No problems there Ratty    It was the China's ambassador to Britain that the douche bag comment was directed to. In all seriousness though they need to move on. Live and let die.

PS- Also you should understand that there are conservative elements in Japan who do want to white wash the atrocities their country committed against the Chinese people during WW2, there was a big flap about censored history textbooks to this effect a few years ago. And I believe a high ranking Japanese official a short while back tried to justify the systematic abduction and rape of Chinese women during the war as "comfort women" saying it was seen as essential to the war effort. Needless to say this didn't sit well with some of these former "comfort women" who are still alive. Much like the genocide of Native Americans in the US (or indeed the after effects of the Atomic bombs the US dropped on Japan) there's a large part of the population who like to pretend these things never happened. This kind of denial doesn't help descendants of victims think kindly of descendants of abusers.

I've read about this too. Stomach-turning and rage-inducing to say the least. Even one of the Nazi commanders whom was stationed in China while this was going on was disgusted beyond belief and tried to request help from Hitler to put a stop to it. But nothing ever came of it. However going to war over it now will just repeat the same pattern over and over again. China needs to understand this once and for all.

[Ratty]

No problems there Ratty    It was the China's ambassador to Britain that the douche bag comment was directed to. In all seriousness though they need to move on. Live and let die.

In an ideal world grudges like this wouldn't be held, but moving on is easier said than done. How many Japanese have died of cancer thanks to the nuclear bombs even generations after they were dropped, leaving behind distraught and angry relatives? What if your own grandmother had her life ruined by being forced to be a "comfort woman" during a war? To say nothing of other forms of death and cruelty. Sadly for humans it seems anger and resentment can last generations while gratitude is the most fleeting of emotions.

However going to war over it now will just repeat the same pattern over and over again. China needs to understand this once and for all.

Yeah but like I said none of that history is what this is really about. The history of conflict is just being used by the governments to whip up the populaces to be at each others throats. It's really about Oil. The people are being manipulated as an expendable resource in pursuit of a more valuable resource, oil.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Yes, they are fighting over oil and fishing territory.

But for the future I think the more pressing need would be fresh water rather than oil.

[Mooning Freddy]

"It's said that Fremen drink the blood of their dead. Isn't that so, Dr. Kynes?"
"Not the blood, sir. All of a man's water. A necessity when one lives in the deep desert. The human body is sixty percent water. Surely a dead man no longer requires it."

.....The spice controls the universe. He who controls Dune, controls the spice.

[Neobelmont]

Japan and China well this goes back way back... Like when the mongols came and tried to take over Japan way back in the year 1000 something from what I hear. These countries have and will never get along but from what I understand the thing that China does not like is more so the events like the rape in nanking right? Sorry for misspelling but I recall something like this in world history back in HS and political science 2.

[Ratty]

Yes, they are fighting over oil and fishing territory.

But for the future I think the more pressing need would be fresh water rather than oil.

I don't think we're quite there yet. But I wouldn't be surprised if in 20 years wars over clean water become at least as common as wars over oil if not more so.

"It's said that Fremen drink the blood of their dead. Isn't that so, Dr. Kynes?"
"Not the blood, sir. All of a man's water. A necessity when one lives in the deep desert. The human body is sixty percent water. Surely a dead man no longer requires it."

.....The spice controls the universe. He who controls Dune, controls the spice.

If I recall correctly Frank Herbert said that both water and oil were inspirations for "the spice" melange. The mind enhancing drug which is essential to space navigation, and to which billions are hopelessly addicted.* Political strife and ecology are central to Dune. Religion, war and culture in general are merely outgrowths from the interplay between the two. So it's a fair comparison.

*One of the major ironies is that on the planet Arrakis (aka "Dune") water is highly prized while the much more rare spice is everywhere, with the Fremen wanting to turn the planet into a green paradise. But the only thing that makes Arrakis worth a damn is the spice, produced by "the makers" (sandworms) and water kills the makers.

Japan and China well this goes back way back... Like when the mongols came and tried to take over Japan way back in the year 1000 something from what I hear. These countries have and will never get along but from what I understand the thing that China does not like is more so the events like the rape in nanking right? Sorry for misspelling but I recall something like this in world history back in HS and political science 2.

Yeah it's a very old rivalry even though a lot of Japanese culture (like Buddhism and at least one of their alphabets iirc) were direct imports from China. But since WW2 is still within living memory that's the biggest thing right now.

[X]

China's Ambassador to Britain Says Japan is Like Lord Voldemort

I can't even begin to understand why the ambassador would make such a claim as to condemn an entire people, many of which don't have any relation to what had happened to China in the past. The man is acting like a Nazi by making such a statement. If I ever met this guy in person I'd probably give him a good old fashioned disciplinary smack upside his head...with a plate male gauntlet for good measure. I'd also tell him he's acting like a spoiled little bastard child and that he needs to 'grow up' like the rest of us. The ambassador needs to back to kindergarten and learn how to properly function in a free society 

[Shiroi Koumori]

I'd also tell him he's acting like a spoiled little bastard child and that he needs to 'grow up' like the rest of us. The ambassador needs to back to kindergarten and learn how to properly function in a free society 

China is not a free society. 

[Mooning Freddy]

What the hell, X? Are you new to politics? 
Politicians make statements like this all the time. It's all part of the game.

[X]

What the hell, X? Are you new to politics? 
Politicians make statements like this all the time. It's all part of the game.

Politics piss me off. I'm more of the type who'd rather force politicians to their knees and watch them suffer under the yoke of their own stupidity and immoral disregards to the rest of us. At least that's how a very large part of me feels about them. If a politician acts like a prick then he should be treated in a way that much reflects his idiocy.

China is not a free society. 

While China is not, the ambassador himself is in a position that gives him more freedom then most other Chines people.  Rather then dishonor himself further he should learn more about responsibility instead of being a high school bully with a superiority complex and a need for vengeance.