The Japanese delegation at the 31st Summer World University Games held in the Chinese city of Chengdu met with an embarrassing silence at the event’s opening ceremony on July 28, sparking widespread discussion online in China.
During the evening event, sports teams from 130 countries and regions entered the stadium one by one, with the audience giving them a welcoming applause.
It wasn’t long until the issue was a leading topic of discussion on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
“I thought the TV was on mute when the Japanese team entered in the opening ceremony,” one Chinese netizen commented.
“It’s not only the Japanese team. When the American team and South Korean team entered, the whole audience was quiet, and they were left there to enjoy themselves,” another commented.
Netizens with opposite opinions debated fiercely.
Those who support the audience’s approach suggested that everyone learn about the history of China and Japan.
Those opposed believed that all comers are guests and that the audience’s attitude was inappropriate.
‘Impoliteness as a So-Called Patriotic Act’
Li Yuanhua, a former associate professor in history education at Beijing’s Capital Normal University, said what happened to the Japanese team was due to years of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.“In a normal society, this would be considered ridiculous and ignorant. However, in China, under the brainwashing of the CCP’s propaganda, they regard this ignorance and impoliteness as a so-called patriotic act,” he told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Shen, a Chinese YouTube commentator, echoed Mr. Li’s opinion.
Mr. Shen spoke of how history is taught in China with an emphasis on the atrocities that occurred during Japan’s invasion of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945.
“In the end, the knowledge you learn from history is hatred and revenge. This is a result of Chinese education,” he said.
Mr. Shen gave an example of a Chinese netizen’s post on social media: “Even if it’s an innocent Japanese old man or baby in front of me now, I can kill him/her!!”
The post has received 19 likes, with many approving comments.
Japan Aids China
Mr. Li added that the CCP has always promoted hatred of Japan and the United States, resulting in many Chinese not knowing about the two countries’ aid to China.“For example, the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing is a large hospital that was fully funded by Japan,” he said.
“There are many other projects like this, but the CCP deliberately hid this and have constantly exaggerated the so-called hostility between China and Japan.”
With the COVID-19 outbreak, the Japanese provided relief materials to its neighbor.
What drew the most attention at the time was the poems printed on the boxes of donated materials from Japan: “Lands apart, sky shared,” “Don’t say no wear, my coats I share,” which reflect the two countries’ affectional ties in history.
The poems have received a warm response in China, with many Chinese netizens moved by their message.
In the 10 years after the earthquake, Japan has provided assistance and guidance to the disaster areas in Sichuan, and in addition to the Japanese government, Japanese citizens and enterprises also launched donations for relief activities.
