Thanks for another very interesting story about Chinese history.
Rich
]]>A very good summary of the historical background that led to the 9/18 Incident as far as how foreign powers were involved.
It would be more enlightening if it were accompanied by an analysis of why the foreign powers so easily got to impose their influence on China and the role of the Chinese governments. After WWII the majority of Germans (more precisely the West Germans) didn’t turn their attention to search for the reasons why they have lost the war, instead, they have set out on a journey to look for the reasons why they could have started such a war. It’s a self-critical way of looking history which few nations until now are able to adopt, including us the Chinese people. The Germans call it “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” or “Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit” which may be translated as „self-critical way of coming to terms with the past”.
An example is the speech by the former president of West Germany Richard von Weizsäcker in the West German parlament commemorating the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe and of National-Socialist Tyranny. In the speech Richard von Weizsäcker articulated the historic responsibility of Germany and Germans for the crimes of Nazism. In contrast to the way the end of the war was still perceived by a majority of people in Germany at the time, he defined the 8th of May 1945 as a day of liberation. Weizsäcker pointed out the inseparable link between the Nazi takeover of Germany and the tragedies caused by the Second World War. Although Weizsäcker stated that “there is no such thing as the guilt or innocence of an entire nation” because “guilt is like innocence not collective, but personal”, he called it necessary for the post-war generation to accept the grave legacy of their past and to keep alive the memories. http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/TCEH/Weiszacker.html .
Best regards
Zushu