Viewpoints Worldwide Protest against the Japanese Denial | Worldwide Protest against the Japanese Denial |
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Wai Lam On Wednesday 15 August 2001 a protest took place around the world concerning the Japanese Government's endorsement of the new history textbook which not only makes no mention of the war crimes of the Japanese soldiers during the Second World War but goes a step further to deny any killings ever took place. The London protest was organised by The Promotion of China Re- unification Society UK. It started from Green Park station at 11:00am and protesters marched down to the Japanese Embassy. Participants were chanting slogans in Chinese and English whilst holding up banners with English and Chinese phrases. There were around 40 people protesting, the majority of whom were 50 and over with a handful of twenty- somethings. After half an hour, the committee leaders stood outside the front of the Embassy to present protest letters and signatures. They were greeted by an official but the Japanese Ambassador was nowhere to be seen. Following on from the successful Foot and Mouth protest, the question has to be asked why this protest was so ineffectual. Has the Chinese Community really progressed and learnt anything? What factors are still affecting this apparent lack of unity? Unlike the Foot and Mouth protest, there was no divide here along the lines of whether people were from the catering industry or not. Nearly all Chinese people resident in Britain will have had family who were killed or persecuted as a result of the Japanese invasion in South East Asia. But why has the Japanese Government not been required to admit their mistakes in the same manner as the Germans in the Second World War? Jewish activists have been far more successful and it seems long overdue that the Chinese Community must learn from their example. This protest was and continues to be about our history, the suffering of our families and the continued suffering of those with first hand experience of the atrocities without acknowledgment. But the demonstration was inadequately organised leading to people being poorly informed of the day's events bringing together less than 1% of the Chinese population in the UK. Somehow we need to unify, somehow we need to care and somehow we must not be fearful to stand up for what we believe in. None of these traits are traditionally "Chinese" but it is only until we face the "somehow's", that we can be taken seriously for anything we do. This could have been a huge protest and in something like this, strength truly lies in numbers. Why should the Japanese Embassy have treated the matter any more than trivial? Surely any other ambassador would have ignored only 40 people protesting about something outside their Embassy. However as with most things, there is hope. It has been very recent that such demonstrations by Chinese people have even taken place in the UK. Time will bring change. With the up and coming second generation Chinese, who embody both Eastern and Western values, the tide is beginning to turn. Let's hope we can have a bigger impact next year on this and other matters and indeed make some ground on making our voices heard. We live in a democratic society, we should use it for its purpose. |
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