Reason Number 10 - The Builders of Myths, the Tellers of Tales

‘Fault Lines On The Face Of China: 50 Reasons Why China May Never Be Great’ - Excerpt 19
“The Party has an irresponsible approach to history as part of its modus operandi, consistently fabricating stories to glorify its own actions, often at the expense of others. The true ‘Long March,’ for example, bears little resemblance to the internationally famous version the Party gives of it, and the many mistakes of Mao Zedong, which led to the death of tens of millions, are airbrushed out of the official record, at least within Chinese history books.

The government claims that “China has never launched pre-emptive strikes against any country. It is not part of its defensive ministry strategy.” This statement, made in blustering denial of Pentagon worries concerning China’s huge military spending, is simply a lie. China’s invasion of Korea in the 1950s was clearly a pre-emptive strike, and its attack on Vietnam in 1979 was wholly unprovoked.

With its upbringing of historical falsehoods, it is perhaps no wonder that myths and lies are virtual ‘truth’ for the government of China today.”

ChinaBounder comments:

Here’s another thing I like to do in class – to play the ‘China is a peace-loving country’ card. It’s a simple enough trick, and pretty childish too. But it’s fun.

It’s easy enough to get into this game – a mere mention of America will give rise to disapproving comments about the way that nation swaggers around the world. And pretty often a student will mention Britain, yapping along like a little dog behind the States. Fair enough.

‘But China is a peace-loving nation, yes?’
‘Yes’ reply all the students.
‘So China would never attack another nation?’
‘Never!’
‘You’re sure of that?’
‘Yes.’
‘Not even a pre-emptive strike?’
‘No!’
Then I fake up a ruminative pause, before the big reveal. ‘Ah. So… what about the Sino-Indian war? The Korean War? The attack on Vietnam?’

Now this might set off a faint recollection in some people’s minds – some of them think back to high school and the single paragraph they might have read in school on some of these wars.

But really that makes no difference at all. Fact is, they do not need to have heard of any of these wars. Because the answer is always the same. ‘They’ – meaning the other country – ‘started it.’

That’s always the way. ‘It wasn’t us. It was them.’

Now, sure, the Sino-Indian War was an obscure mess on both sides. But that is not the point. The point is there is no willingness to countenance debate. There’s no willingness to even consider another point of view. No, sir! ‘They started it. They attacked first.’

The Korean War is perhaps a more interesting example, because here I can really press my students into thinking in shades of grey – something they find pretty hard when it comes to analyzing their own country.

Often I’ll begin with a potted history of that particular war. I’ll say how the North attacked the South, and here most students will agree that was wrong. They still feel they’re in familiar territory. One country should not attack another. Yes. They’re pretty sure of that. Black and white.

Then I’ll talk about the UN response, using force to drive the North Koreans out of the South. ‘Right or wrong?’ I’ll ask. ‘Right’ they will most often say. They like the UN. (I save how China has several times blocked the UN from helping stop war crimes for another class.)

Usually when I do this routine I’ll draw up a map of the Korean peninsula on the board. So now I’ll put the UN forces at the 38th parallel. ‘Should they stop?,’ I ask.

‘Yes.’

So there we are, united in righteous indignation, watching as they cross the parallel and barrel into the North.

Then I put the UN forces up against the Yalu River. ‘What happened then?’ I ask.

‘China attacked.’

‘Hmm… isn’t that a bit of a … pre-emptive strike?’

A ripple of discomfort here.

But I do not press this – instead I get the class back on-side by saying how the Chinese then forced the US Eighth Army to make the longest retreat in American military history.

That goes down well.

Next, I put the Chinese at the 38th parallel. ‘What happened?’

Here the most usual answer is silence.

Silence, or someone will tell me, ‘China stopped there.’

Because, of course, that’s the default answer. China can do no wrong.

‘Not so. China crossed the border and captured the South Korean capital.’

More discomfort here.

Then the killer question.

‘So, was China wrong?’

This they mostly cannot cope with. They know they’ve said the UN was wrong to cross the parallel. But they just can’t bring themselves to apply the same yardstick to their own nation.

The most common way they break this impasse?

‘You must be wrong. It cannot have happened. Your history books were telling lies.’

And so then to 1979. Now for most Chinese people, 1979 is a year to be proud of, for it was the year when Deng Xiaoping embarked on China’s ‘opening up and reform’ program (also known in regular language as ‘Behaving with the common sense you’d expect from anyone over the age of 10.’)

But 1979 is also the year that China attacked Vietnam. And again, I get the usual bullshit. ‘Vietnam attacked us first’ they’ll say, oblivious to the fact that this is akin to a mouse ‘attacking’ a gorilla.

And so I lay it out. How Vietnam attacked Cambodia to try to end the insanities of Pol Pot – how China had supported Pol Pot, paid him and armed him. How millions died thanks to Chinese cash. How China decided to ‘punish’ Vietnam for trying to stop the genocide.

They know nothing of it, nothing at all. They cannot accept that China does the same shit as so many other countries. Again, they tell me I must be wrong, that this must be Western propaganda. I urge them to research it themselves, to look beyond the textbooks of their own nation. But I know they never do.

Lies are comforting. Lies are honey.

Myths give a certain sort of strength. Myths are steroids for the soul.

It’s easy to believe the Party line.

Much harder to open your mind and try to consider both sides.

‘Fault Lines On The Face Of China: 50 Reasons Why China May Never Be Great’ - Excerpt 20
“China applies its culture of myths and lies not just to territories it has colonized, such as its ‘autonomous’ regions Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, but to those it seeks to colonize, such as the vast areas of maritime territory it claims sole right to.

On 25th May 2007, media reports announced ‘conducive’ talks between China and Japan concerning territory in the East China Sea which both countries laid claim to. The territory in question lies midway between China and Japan, and is the site of several large gas fields. Japan had proposed a median line giving each nation roughly half of the disputed area. China’s proposed line pushed significantly past the median line suggested by Japan, putting the gas fields in their entirety on the Chinese side, leaving Japan with nothing.

The Chinese side was represented by Hu Zhengyue, Director of the Asian Affairs Department of China’s Foreign Ministry. He said the talks were a ‘new beginning’ and said China was ready to make joint efforts with Japan to push forward consultation. In another article published on the same day, Feng Zhikai, a senior researcher at China’s Institute of Japanese Studies, said that ‘It is fair to say China’s emphasis on cooperation in energy development has been a prominent feature in the development of bilateral relations.’

The very next day Chinese media issued another report, this time quoting Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. Jiang said ‘that China wanted to promote the negotiation process and achieve a joint development plan at an early date, and reiterated China’s opposition to a demarcation line proposed by Japan, adding that ‘China has not and will never accept the median line and will not accept the median line as the basis for discussing joint development.’

Jiang Yu’s words made it clear China had no intention whatsoever of backing down from its greedy and rapacious desire to exploit the gas fields to their utmost, sharing them with no-one.”

Just a few more days until the Olympics begins. Will you be there? You know what to do, right? Make a 'T' sign for Tibet, an 'X' sign for Xinjiang.