Quote:I note...
As for why (some of) the Japanese assisted the Chinese, my take on that was simple greed. Stupid men will let ethnic hate overcome greed; smart men let greed overcome their ethnic hate. And while I didn't think this through at the time, it might've been the Japanese who leaked the fact that the Chinese were guilty -- stabbing their partners in the back.
It's also questionable whether the People's Republic of China would deal with the Japanese. Not a matter of principle, mind you, but rather a matter of pride and contempt.
You see, Chinese enemity towards Japan is a rather complex thing. It's not merely a grudge over WWII (or Manchukuo, or any assorted atrocities and bullying in past history). It's also a deliberately engineered political stance, and a fair bit of cultural indroctrination.
For Beijing, Japan's a...convenient whipping boy. A nice target to rally people around. Having an enemy is good for bringing folks together. They encourage similar sentiment towards Taiwan and sometimes the US (depending on which day of the week it is). But Japan's always there, y'know?
Compare the China/Japan relationship with, say, Korea/Japan. The Koreans and Japanese get along a lot better. Or, heck, how about Malaysia/Japan? Indonesia/Japan? Singapore/Japan?
There's similar history. The Japanese did really really bad things during WWII. But there's nowhere near the same amount of resentment...
...because most nations are willing to forgive, if not forget. That's certainly the case in Singapore, where I'm from. Beijing encourages the hate. There's a certain Machiavellian dimension to this.
Mind, I'm not saying other countries are better than Beijing in taking a more forgiving stance - Singapore, f'instance, simply doesn't want old hatreds to get in the way of trade with Japan. But in the case of China, fueling the mortal rivalry suits their purposes better.
On the flip side, mind you, Japan doesn't have the same sort of deliberate policy of hatred towards China. It's just that the Japanese largely refuse to acknowledge all the stuff they did in the war. That sorta thing annoys everybody, really. It's just Beijing that makes the most fuss.
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Which isn't to say the notion of Japanese collaboration with Beijing doesn't fly. It's a compelling idea. I just think the dimensions of that, and the implications, need to be explored a little. I'd imagine, for example, Beijing might have tried to blame the Japanese. Or at least they'd have said 'HEY JAPAN TOO' when folks started attacking Chinese soil. Or something.
-- Acyl