History Unwind
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”- George Orwell
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Communist China has been conducting a pressure campaign against Japan for over a month. This campaign includes various tactics, such as canceling Japanese films and artists’ performances in China, as well as engaging in provocative military maneuvers. For instance, last weekend, Chinese warplanes reportedly locked their radar onto Japanese military aircraft in the waters near the Japanese island of Okinawa. The apparent root cause of China’s aggression stems from recent comments made by Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, regarding her country’s potential response if China were to invade Taiwan.
Please allow me to provide some context by quoting my recent piece from the Daily Signal:
“On November 7, Takaichi was asked by an opposition lawmaker in parliament about the potential threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. She responded that such an action would pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, according to the country’s 2015 security law. In this critical context, Japan’s constitution allows for the mobilization of defense forces. However, Takaichi also emphasized Japan’s longstanding policy on Taiwan focusing on a peaceful resolution.
Takaichi’s statement echoes a decade of Japanese government policy. Her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, emphasized that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency.” This is due to the proximity of several Japan-controlled islands, including the disputed Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyu Islands in China) are located about 60 miles from Taiwan. This close distance means that if China were to attack Taiwan, Japan’s national security would likely be impacted.
Tokyo’s security concerns deepened in 2022 when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted live-fire military exercises near Taiwan in direct response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. Five PLA ballistic missiles landed in controlled waters, triggering a decisive shift in Japanese public sentiment toward prioritizing defense spending.”
Japan’s national security concerns are indeed legitimate. However, Beijing’s furious response can be attributed both to Takaichi’s statements and to a strategic attempt to test the resolve of the new prime minister. It is quite ironic that, despite X.com being officially banned in China and ordinary citizens lacking access to it, the Chinese Foreign Ministry operates an official account on the platform, and uses it to launch attacks against Japan.
A recurring theme in these criticisms is the claim that Japan lacks moral authority to talk about the Taiwan issue because Tokyo has not fully acknowledged the severe atrocities its military committed in Taiwan and mainland China during World War II. While condemning Japan, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also contends that it was the only patriotic force that united the Chinese people to defeat the Japanese invaders in WWII. Both assertions deserve careful scrutiny, as the first is a partial truth and the second is an outright lie.
The historical record clearly shows that Japan indeed committed widespread atrocities not only in China but across other nations, including South Korea, the Philippines, and various islands in the Indo-Pacific. Despite these facts, some individuals in Japan still deny the severe crimes against humanity carried out by the Japanese military during World War II. Some other Japanese also feel they and their country have made enough apologies during the 80 years and everyone else should just move on.
Despite apologies issued by successive Japanese leaders regarding Japan’s conduct in the war, many of its neighbors, particularly South Korea, feel that these apologies are insufficient. This sentiment is largely due to the absence of phrases like “war crimes” and “I’m sorry” in those apologies.
In contrast, the CCP holds a different perspective. In 1972, when Japan’s Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka expressed a desire to apologize to China for the Japanese invasion as a gesture of goodwill to normalize relations, Chinese leader Mao Zedong intervened. Mao stated that there was no need for an apology, asserting that the Japanese imperialist military had actually done the CCP a significant favor.
Mao said to Tanaka:
“We must express our gratitude to Japan. If Japan didn’t invade China, we could have never achieved the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. We could have never developed and eventually taken political power for ourselves. It is due to Japan’s help that we are able to meet here in Beijing.”
Mao expressed similar sentiments on many occasions. In 1956, when he hosted a former Japanese Lieutenant General, Endō Saburō, who was leading a delegation in Beijing, Mao prevented Endō from apologizing. He stated,
“No! Without your imperial army invading half of China, the Chinese people could not have united… The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could not have seized power… Aggression is, of course, bad, but one cannot focus only on the negative side… Japan did us a big favor… We must thank the Japanese imperial army.”
Why did Mao consistently convey appreciation for Japan’s role? Before the official invasion in 1937, the CCP was nearly exterminated by the Nationalist government forces, desperately compelled to undertake the Long March in a fight for survival. When Japan launched its attack, Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist government, sought assistance from the United States to fend off the invaders. Unfortunately, America was preoccupied with the European Theater, providing only minimal support.
Faced with this reality, Chiang turned to the Soviet Union for help. Joseph Stalin agreed to supply military and financial aid on one critical condition: that Chiang cease fighting the CCP and form a united front instead. Out of options, Chiang reluctantly accepted this deal. This crucial shift allowed the CCP not only to survive but also to gain vital financial resources from the Nationalist government.
Yet, Mao had no intention to fight the Japanese. He instructed his generals to “preserve and enlarge” the Red Army by avoiding to directly engage Japanese military in battles, and let the Nationalist troops took most blunt frontal assault.
Research shows:
“From 1937 to 1945, there were 23 battles where both sides [China and Japan] employed at least a regiment each. The CCP was not a main force in any of these. The only time it participated, it sent a mere 1,000 to 1,500 men, and then only as a security detachment on one of the flanks. There were 1,117 significant engagements on a scale smaller than a regular battle, but the CCP fought in only one. Of the approximately 40,000 skirmishes, just 200 were fought by the CCP, or 0.5 percent.”
During the eight-year Anti-Japanese War of Resistance, the Red Army was only significantly involved [meaning with one division] in the battle at Pingxingguan. Beyond this engagement, Mao Zedong ordered the Red Army to expand territory and acquire war spoils whenever the Japanese army defeated the Nationalist forces.
Following the U.S. atomic bombings that led to Japan’s surrender in 1945, the Nationalist forces had greatly weakened, while the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was able to control nearly half of China. The Red Army experienced remarkable growth in both numbers and capabilities, creating ideal conditions for the CCP to emerge victorious in the subsequent Civil War (1945-1949).
No wonder Mao felt the need to thank Japan repeatedly. The persistent narrative promoted by the CCP regarding its alleged leadership in the fight against Japan in World War II is a deliberate distortion of history. As historian Frank Dikötter notes, the CCP has an inherent tendency to manipulate historical narratives: “not only its own, but also that of its erstwhile rivals.” This tactic mirrors George Orwell’s warning in his novel “1984”: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
The most striking irony of the CCP’s accusations against Japan for not acknowledging its war crimes during World War II is that the CCP has never taken responsibility or apologized for the grave atrocities it has inflicted on the Chinese people, leading to immense suffering and loss of life.
Those of us who understand this crucial aspect of Chinese history and the CCP’s true character bear a moral responsibility to correct the historical narrative, speak the truth, and unravel the events of the past. I encourage my readers to join me in sharing this truth and ensuring that few will be fooled by the CCP’s powerful propaganda.
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