Hi CB,
<<On the other hand, Maxine Hong Kingston, an American writer - do I have to say Chinese-American? - writes that Chinese look down on whites, say we are ugly, stupid, and smell bad>>
Some do, no doubt, though I do not personally know of any, given that most of my better friends are "sunburnable" easily:0)
<<The war is over. The good guys won, the bad guys lost. What more does anyone need?>>
On this, take my word for it that, out here, the war never ended, and there is still the business of making sure it never again happens in exactly the same way. This urge for get even will likely drive Asian geopolitics for at least another generation, if not longer.
It is not that the region will go to war, it is more that in any given event and issue, the Japanese will not be cut any slack, as it would be political suicide for any politician to do.
Each year, in HK, we still got old and young folks demonstrating in front of the Japanese consulate, wanting redemption ... of Japanese war bonds. HK is money, and for the HKers, the debt, literally, is still overdue.
Again, just is, that the Japanese are foolish to keep the feud alive in a region where the memories are long to begin with.
Chugs, Jay |
