Chinese pop. opinion on Japan
CULTURE APPRECIATED, GOVERNMENT MISTRUSTED
Chinese feelings on Japan mixedBy RALPH JENNINGS, BEIJING (Kyodo)
When Li Yanmei first hears the word "Japan," she thinks of rightwingers and school textbooks that sanitize wartime history.
A Chinese assistant chef stands at the sushi counter of the Japanese restaurant Shunsai in Beijing.
"They invaded us and gave China a lot of problems," said Li, 20, an international economics and commerce major at Beijing Normal University. "That's my first impression."
She thinks Japanese live in a xenophobic island and a society impenetrable by foreigners.
But Li watches Japanese cartoons. Although she objects to their violent content, she finds them more advanced than Chinese cartoons. She also appreciates Japanese music and "light" Japanese cuisine, especially seafood dishes. She said she would like to find out more about the nonpolitical aspects of Japan.
"We want to know more about the culture because we're interested in it," Li said.
This schizophrenic image of Japan is the norm in China.
Driven by peer pressure and widely publicized disputes between the two governments, Chinese of all ages say they "hate" Japan because of the modern-day fallout from its 1931-1945 occupation of Chinese territory. Citizens say they still feel insulted and question the sincerity of Japan's apologies.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and nationalist history textbooks approved by the education ministry earlier this year invariably draw fire from average Chinese.
But despite an occasional informal boycott against Japanese products, sales of the country's electronics and cars are growing.
Japanese restaurants in Beijing report full houses. One, the 50-seat Hatsune in central Beijing, says Chinese pack the place to eat sushi amid fears of diseased beef and poultry.
Chinese are not averse to reading Japanese "manga" comics or buying Japanese cosmetics. And film director Zhang Yimou will premiere a movie in China next month starring three Japanese actors.
Japanese language classes are becoming more popular at Chinese universities, where 390,000 students enrolled to study the language in 2003; 77,713 are studying at universities in Japan.
Chinese also respect the Japanese for following rules, said Liang Yunxiang, associate international relations professor at Peking University.
"There are two pillars to the (mixed) perception (of Japan)," said Keiji Ide, spokesman at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. "One is that Japanese government policy is not favored. The other is that Japanese culture, music and cartoons are OK and that science and technology are good.
"So if you ask a person, 'Do you like Japan?' and they say 'Yes,' they are talking about the second pillar," he said.
Conflicting opinions about Japan leave China's overall opinion of the country, especially that of the Japanese themselves, hanging in the balance.
"Some (Japanese) don't get their history, but some are not rightists; they're on China's side," said Peng Ting, 18, a Beijing Normal University student who likes Japanese food and Japanese fashion.
Mou Jianmin, a former magazine editor and owner of a company in Beijing that organizes cultural exchanges, said Chinese are learning that some Japanese oppose the same actions by their government that they do.
But Li Yanmei doubts she could get along with Japanese, especially if politics came up.
Most university students can separate political Japan with everyday Japan, said Liang, the Peking University instructor, but not off campus.
"There are some people (who can), but most people can't make a distinction," Liang said. "You say 'Japan,' and that's a symbol."
Certain aspects of Japanese culture also deepen doubts in China. Some see women's role in Japanese society as excessively traditional. Japanese fine art was copied from the art in the Tang Dynasty of China more than 1,000 years ago, said Zhang Qiuying, owner of a Beijing art gallery.
"Chinese people see Japanese stuff and, other than electronics, they don't really like it," Zhang claimed.
No amount of cultural exposure can offset political and historical issues, some Chinese say. Only the Japanese government can try to take action to change opinions, according to Liang.
To sway public opinion, the Japanese Embassy organizes cultural events to vie with war memorials, Internet forums and other cultural items that keep anti-Japan sentiment alive.
The Japan Times: Nov. 11, 2005(C) All rights reserved
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051111f2.htm
I'll be back tomorrow with DPRK.
Chinese feelings on Japan mixedBy RALPH JENNINGS, BEIJING (Kyodo)
When Li Yanmei first hears the word "Japan," she thinks of rightwingers and school textbooks that sanitize wartime history.
A Chinese assistant chef stands at the sushi counter of the Japanese restaurant Shunsai in Beijing.
"They invaded us and gave China a lot of problems," said Li, 20, an international economics and commerce major at Beijing Normal University. "That's my first impression."
She thinks Japanese live in a xenophobic island and a society impenetrable by foreigners.
But Li watches Japanese cartoons. Although she objects to their violent content, she finds them more advanced than Chinese cartoons. She also appreciates Japanese music and "light" Japanese cuisine, especially seafood dishes. She said she would like to find out more about the nonpolitical aspects of Japan.
"We want to know more about the culture because we're interested in it," Li said.
This schizophrenic image of Japan is the norm in China.
Driven by peer pressure and widely publicized disputes between the two governments, Chinese of all ages say they "hate" Japan because of the modern-day fallout from its 1931-1945 occupation of Chinese territory. Citizens say they still feel insulted and question the sincerity of Japan's apologies.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and nationalist history textbooks approved by the education ministry earlier this year invariably draw fire from average Chinese.
But despite an occasional informal boycott against Japanese products, sales of the country's electronics and cars are growing.
Japanese restaurants in Beijing report full houses. One, the 50-seat Hatsune in central Beijing, says Chinese pack the place to eat sushi amid fears of diseased beef and poultry.
Chinese are not averse to reading Japanese "manga" comics or buying Japanese cosmetics. And film director Zhang Yimou will premiere a movie in China next month starring three Japanese actors.
Japanese language classes are becoming more popular at Chinese universities, where 390,000 students enrolled to study the language in 2003; 77,713 are studying at universities in Japan.
Chinese also respect the Japanese for following rules, said Liang Yunxiang, associate international relations professor at Peking University.
"There are two pillars to the (mixed) perception (of Japan)," said Keiji Ide, spokesman at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. "One is that Japanese government policy is not favored. The other is that Japanese culture, music and cartoons are OK and that science and technology are good.
"So if you ask a person, 'Do you like Japan?' and they say 'Yes,' they are talking about the second pillar," he said.
Conflicting opinions about Japan leave China's overall opinion of the country, especially that of the Japanese themselves, hanging in the balance.
"Some (Japanese) don't get their history, but some are not rightists; they're on China's side," said Peng Ting, 18, a Beijing Normal University student who likes Japanese food and Japanese fashion.
Mou Jianmin, a former magazine editor and owner of a company in Beijing that organizes cultural exchanges, said Chinese are learning that some Japanese oppose the same actions by their government that they do.
But Li Yanmei doubts she could get along with Japanese, especially if politics came up.
Most university students can separate political Japan with everyday Japan, said Liang, the Peking University instructor, but not off campus.
"There are some people (who can), but most people can't make a distinction," Liang said. "You say 'Japan,' and that's a symbol."
Certain aspects of Japanese culture also deepen doubts in China. Some see women's role in Japanese society as excessively traditional. Japanese fine art was copied from the art in the Tang Dynasty of China more than 1,000 years ago, said Zhang Qiuying, owner of a Beijing art gallery.
"Chinese people see Japanese stuff and, other than electronics, they don't really like it," Zhang claimed.
No amount of cultural exposure can offset political and historical issues, some Chinese say. Only the Japanese government can try to take action to change opinions, according to Liang.
To sway public opinion, the Japanese Embassy organizes cultural events to vie with war memorials, Internet forums and other cultural items that keep anti-Japan sentiment alive.
The Japan Times: Nov. 11, 2005(C) All rights reserved
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051111f2.htm
I'll be back tomorrow with DPRK.
posted by Mirjami at 3:39:00 午前
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