Taiwan ex-leader in shrine visit

[SunWuKong]

am i the only one who thinks that this is just a political show to tell the world just how different Taiwan is from mainland China?

and this certainly isn't the first time that Japan's WW2 atrocities somehow sneaked into the picture in cross-straits relations. back when the PRC was seeking international recognition, it basically sold out its people in agreeing with Japan to not seek reparation as a nation so that Japan would switch recognition from the ROC to the PRC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6729067.stm

Taiwan ex-leader in shrine visit

Taiwan former President Lee Teng-hui has visited the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo in a move likely to anger China.

Mr Lee, 84, said it was a private trip to pay his respects to his elder brother, who died fighting for Japan in WWII when Taiwan was a Japanese colony.

Yasukuni is seen by China as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

The visit could lead to tensions between China and Japan's leaders who are preparing to meet on the sidelines of the G8 summit.

But Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he would not prevent Mr Lee's pilgrimage and said he did not expect it to harm relations with Beijing.

The shrine honours 2.5 million war dead, including soldiers from Taiwan and Korea who were drafted in to Japan's military.

Controversy over Yasukuni centres on the fact that 14 Japanese war criminals are venerated at the shrine, alongside other World War II dead.

'Strong dissatisfaction'

"It is completely personal, please don't think of anything political or historical. As family, to show respect to my elder brother by visiting the shrine is something I must do," Mr Lee said before the trip to Yasukuni.

The ex-leader has been a strong critic of Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that it has vowed to retake - by force if necessary.

On Wednesday, Beijing accused Mr Lee of using his trip to push for Taiwanese independence, and for trying to undermine China-Japan relations.

Mr Lee began an 11-day cultural tour of Japan last week. Prior to his visit, China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with Japan for allowing the trip.

Japan has official diplomatic relations with Beijing, but not with Taipei.

[yoMAMA]

other than the few war criminals in the shrine (they should be moved somewhere else), i don't really see what's the big fuss about yasukuni.

[Dimeron]

other than the few war criminals in the shrine (they should be moved somewhere else), i don't really see what's the big fuss about yasukuni.

It is because of the few war criminals that everyone got so worked out.

If they were not there, there wouldn't be a big fuss. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there bunch of people at Taiwan that also dislike Japan's shrine visits? or is the general anti-PRC feeling so strong that Taiwan is willing to forget WWII.

[bluemonq]

Yes, there are people in Taiwan who dislike the shrine visits; these are mostly the Nationalists. A mitigating factor is that, by WWII, Taiwan had been a Japanese colony for about 40 years; around two generations under Japanese rule. The Japanese was also responsible for much of the early modernization of the island: establishing schools, setting up industry, and building other infrastruture. In general, locals who cooperated with the Japanese saw a significant improvment in their standards of living.

During the second half of the occupation prior to WWII, the Japanese government moved towards assimilating the Taiwanese population, granting them many of the rights - and responsibilities - of Home Island citizens. During the war, legislation was even drafted to allow Taiwanese toindividuals be elected into the Diet. So, Taiwan is overall somewhat more ambivalent towards Japan.
other than the few war criminals in the shrine (they should be moved somewhere else), i don't really see what's the big fuss about yasukuni.
Imagine, if you will, a world where the Germans buried Hitler, Himmler, Goering, et. al. in a national cememtary alongside all the other German soldiers, and the government would not acknowledge the Holocaust. Furthermore, the German Prime Minister would visit said cemetary every year. How pissed do you think Israel would be? As for being moved somewhere else, that would be a tacit admission of those officers having done something wrong, and therefore accepting responsibility for said war crimes. Conclusion? It won't happen any time soon.

[kimpossible]

am i the only one who thinks that this is just a political show to tell the world just how different Taiwan is from mainland China?

One, it's former prez. Two, he's from a generation that was a bit Japan immersed. I heard a rumor, and it's therefore frightfully important and accurate, that he's actually half-Japanese. I think he's bilingual Japanese at least.

It would surprise me if it were another figure besides him. Saying he's doing it on behalf of Taiwan is a BIG stretch. Trust me, China + Taiwan would reunite before Taiwan truly embraced Japan. Makes for some hot nights with the mister.

[SunWuKong]

One, it's former prez. Two, he's from a generation that was a bit Japan immersed. I heard a rumor, and it's therefore frightfully important and accurate, that he's actually half-Japanese. I think he's bilingual Japanese at least.

right. but the guy is also practically a fatherhead of the Taiwanese independence movement. when he does something controversial like this, it's hard to remove him from that context.

[bluemonq]

The PRC pretty much considers anything Lee Teng-hui would do - short of dying - as an inflammatory action. In their defense, he's the de facto leader of the TSU and a Deep Green.

Lee-Teng Hui does speak Japanese... as does nearly everybody else from his generation. The rumors concentrate around a statement he made about once being an Imperial Japanese citizen, which was only possible if at least the father was of Japanese descent.

He does get a few points in my book for doing cosplay:
http://img.search.com/2/2a/Leejapan.jpg

[haplesshobo]

I heard a rumor, and it's therefore frightfully important and accurate, that he's actually half-Japanese. I think he's bilingual Japanese at least.


You mean the one where his mom was a prostitute, and his dad was a japanese client. My family knows a million of them. :biggrin:

[yoMAMA]

The PRC pretty much considers anything Lee Teng-hui would do - short of dying - as an inflammatory action.

LOL

[AngryABCGirl]

One, it's former prez. Two, he's from a generation that was a bit Japan immersed. I heard a rumor, and it's therefore frightfully important and accurate, that he's actually half-Japanese. I think he's bilingual Japanese at least.

It would surprise me if it were another figure besides him. Saying he's doing it on behalf of Taiwan is a BIG stretch. Trust me, China + Taiwan would reunite before Taiwan truly embraced Japan. Makes for some hot nights with the mister.

I don't know if he's Japanese or not, but there's a famous interview from the 90s talking about the colonial era in which he stated that up until he was an adult he believed he was a Japanese. It says something about the how deeply Japanese colonialism penetrated people's hearts and minds back then.

There's no way he did it for completely non-political reasons, but it wouldn't be a representative whole at all about how people feel about Japan's imperial past.

It should be noted that the indigenous people of Taiwan (usually referred to Taiwanese aborigines) forced to fight for Japan's forces have protested to have the names of their family members removed from some Japanese shrines or another and a prominent indigenous leader had criticized a shrine visits by Koizumi and by another member of the deep green green (TSU) party. Oh the irony.

[bluemonq]

Well, he's been backpedaling these days, saying how he didn't <i>really</i> want Taiwanese independence, that the entire thing was a misunderstanding, honest.

[yoMAMA]

Well, he's been backpedaling these days, saying how he didn't <i>really</i> want Taiwanese independence, that the entire thing was a misunderstanding, honest.

sounds like a typical politician.