Don Tow's Website

As China soars to become the world’s second largest economy and becomes a major player in the international scene, we marvel at her economic accomplishments in the last 35 years. What would happen in the next 35 years? Would that meteoric economic rise continue, perhaps at a slower rate? Or would China experience many serious consequences that could cripple the country in many important facets? These include social, environmental, political (both internal and external), military, moral, and economical. While we are addressing that question, because people would often just point to Western countries, especially the U.S., as a model for China to copy, it is important to provide an objective assessment of how Western countries like the U.S. have behaved. Then we may be able to find a solution for China’s problems.
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Below is the keynote speech that I presented at the recent Biennial Conference of the “Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia” (GA).  The conference was held on November 15-16, 2014 in Milpitas, California.

Good morning. First of all, I want to thank the conference organizers for organizing this important conference and for arranging such an interesting and relevant program. On the one hand, I am honored to have been asked to give the Keynote Speech. On the other hand, I am concerned that I may not be able to live up to your expectations. But I will give it my best try.

The topic I was asked to speak is “The Opportunities and Challenges of Preserving the True History of Sino-Japanese War in the 21st Century.”

Larger Implications of This Issue:  First, I think that this topic is actually broader than the words may imply on the surface. It is not just the matter of finding out what really happened in Asia during WWII. Let me explain. I think that deep down in their hearts, most historians who have studied this subject generally speaking know what happened in WWII in Asia, in particular, about the atrocities that occurred all over Asia. However, because of the political positions of their governments and political leaders, often they are reluctant to say and write what they really think since that could adversely affect their career or their ability to get research funding. When you couple that with the Western mass media which reflects closely the position of their governments, the end result is that the true history of WWII in Asia is almost never taught in high schools, and most Westerners know very little about what happened in Asia during WWII. And whatever they know may be very much incorrect or distorted. It is not just that the students don’t know, even the teachers of world history usually also don’t know. Therefore, the topic of preserving the true history of the Sino-Japanese War is very much related to the state of the West-China relationship, especially the U.S.-China relationship.
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