Commemorating Victory over Japan Requires Self-Confidence and Ambition

Commemorating Victory over Japan Requires Self-Confidence and Ambition
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
March 10, 2015

Executive Summary: The commemoration of the war victory has put the ROC government in an awkward and passive position. First, it must address Taiwan's de-colonization and its relationship to the Sino-Japanese War.  Secondly, it must address Japanese historical revisionism, despite its own lack of confidence and ambition. Thirdly, it must address Mainland China's changes to anti-Japanese history, despite its own lack of initiative. The government's commemoration of the war victory reveals its weakness and timidity. This awkwardness and passivity, if not reversed, will result in historical amnesia and the Republic of China's eternal regret.

Full Text Below:

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Second War of Resistance Against Japan. To commemorate the victory and the retrocession of Taiwan, the government will sponsor a series of events, beginning on July 7. The event organizers include the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National History Museum. Over a dozen different events will be held. Rumor has it that "It will be an event never attempted in the past." The larger goal of the events is to "shine a light on the facts, and set the record straight."

We know that President Ma Ying-jeou values "setting the record straight". We know that President Ma Ying-jeou strongly identifies with the Republic of China. The government is commemorating the historically significant 70th anniversary victory, and organizing a series of events. We believe it is doing so at Ma Ying-jeou's behest. For this, he deserves recognition. But just because he means well, does not mean the results will be good. Based on existing information, the government-sponsored events are “pro forma" in nature. They evince no sense of ambition or mission.

To begin with, the events are highly introverted. For example, the “Taiwan War of Resistance Symposium” to be held on October 14, and the "Taiwan Compatriots War Forum" to be held on October 25 at the Taiwan Provincial Museum, highlight the relationship between Taiwan society and the Sino-Japanese War. But Taiwan independence groups have blasted this idea. They assert that "The victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan is not part of the collective memory of the majority on Taiwan." According to Taiwan independence movement spin on history, the Republic of China was founded in 1912, but Taiwan became a colony of Japan in 1895.  According to international lawa, it was Japanese territory. During the war between Japan and the Republic of China, the people of Taiwan were Japanese nationals. Their memories are not the Chinese people's memories. Taiwan independence elements accuse the Nationalist government of "endlessly, by hook or by crook, imposing anti-Japanese memories on the majority of Taiwanese who have no anti-Japanese experience."

Taiwan independence history is a highly jaundiced view of history. But refuting it requires more than listing the war experiences of a small number of Taiwanese. One must examine the modern history of East Asia from a macro level perspective. One must rethink the colonial experience on Taiwan, how the victory over Japan liberated Taiwan, and de-colonialized Taiwan. Otherwise one cannot go head to head with Taiwan independence “history”.

Next, the commemoration of the war lacks historical depth. It lacks a broader international perspective. The 'Eight-Year War of Resistance" is the traditional terminology used in Republic of China educational texts. It highlights the Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1945. According to this traditional view of history, the "Eight-Year War of Resistance" was all about Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Government's achievements in the war against Japan. In fact, this is merely one interpretation of history. Taiwan emerged from under the shadow of strongmen long ago. The KMT must extricate itself from the shackles of Chiang Kai-shek's version of history. To deal fully with the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, it must consider at least four points.

One. China's enemy was Japan. The Sino-Japanese war was actually a "15-Year Sino-Japanese War", that began with the September 18, 1931 Mukden Incident, and ended with Japan's defeat in 1945. For East Asia, the war was actually a "15-Year War”. The Japanese embarked on a fascist path of total aggression. This had a lasting impact on today's East Asia and Japan. The modern history of East Asia must be understood as a "15 Year War". Otherwise one cannot understand the history and reality of the "Eight-Year War".

Secondly, the Eight-Year War, or 15-Year War, if one prefers, is considered the Second Sino-Japanese War. To fully understand the fate of Mainland China and Taiwan, colonialism, anti-colonialism, and de-colonialization, we must understand the first Sino-Japanese War, and China and Japan's relationship with the rest of the world.

Three. The Eight-Year War, the Pacific War, and World War II are closely related, but nevertheless independent. The major nations of the world continue to reinterpret this history. The Crown Prince of Japan recently issued a statement. He said that "The 70th anniversary of the end of WWII offers an opportunity to learn the history of the Manchurian Incident (Mukden Incident), the origins of the war, and what Japan should do in the future." US politicians and academics are also concerned about how the Japanese government approaches war history. The United States was not merely a victor of World War II. It was also a victim of the Pacific War.

The Chinese mainland has long commemorated the war as an "anti-fascist war". After reform and liberalization, it has paid increased attention to how the Sino-Japanese War is interpreted. On the one hand, it fought the Nationalist government for control over China. One the other hand, it fought Japan over the interpretation of history, over the Nanjing Massacre, the comfort women, and other historical facts. In recent years, the Mainland has shown greater respect for the historical facts surrounding the war,  particularly in films and television. It has made many breakthroughs. Taiwan must see the commemoration of the war victory as the desire of the two sides to confront the challenges of history, East Asia, and the world.

Each of the nations that participated in the war is interpreting history in its own way. Historical facts have come to the fore. The commemoration of the war victory has put the ROC government in an awkward and passive position. First, it must address Taiwan's de-colonization and its relationship to the Sino-Japanese War.  Secondly, it must address Japanese historical revisionism, despite its own lack of confidence and ambition. Thirdly, it must address Mainland China's changes to anti-Japanese history, despite its own lack of initiative. The government's commemoration of the war victory reveals its weakness and timidity. This awkwardness and passivity, if not reversed, will result in historical amnesia and the Republic of China's eternal regret.

紀念抗戰勝利 要有自信與企圖心
2015年03月10日 中國時報

今年是抗戰勝利70周年，為了紀念抗戰勝利與台灣光復年，政府從7月7日起將舉辦一系列活動，主辦單位包括國防部、外交部、國史館等單位，系列活動達十幾項。據說，「這是過去未曾有的嘗試」，至於整體活動目標，則是在於「彰顯正確的歷史，爭取歷史話語權」。

我們知道，馬英九總統重視「爭取歷史話語權」，更重視歷史的真相，我們更知道，馬英九總統對中華民國的認同與情感，政府願意重視抗戰勝利70周年的歷史性意義，並舉辦系列活動，相信是來自他的指示與推動，這是值得肯定的。然而，立意雖好，卻不代表必然有好的產出。從現有的資訊來看，政府所規畫的這一系列活動可說是一種「應景式」的活動，仍看不出台灣的企圖心與使命感。

首先，活動的「內向性」比較凸顯，例如10月14日舉辦的台灣與抗戰學術研討會與10月25日在台灣省政資料館的「台灣同胞與抗戰座談會」，都是針對台灣社會凸顯台灣與抗日戰爭的關係。但獨派團體早就炮轟這種設想，他們認定「抗戰勝利非多數國人共同記憶」。根據獨派史觀，中華民國成立於1912年，台灣卻早在1895年成為日本殖民地，在國際法已被視為日本領土。當日本與中華民國交戰時，台灣人是日本國民，台灣人的戰爭記憶並非中國人的「抗日」記憶。獨派指控國民政府來台後「不斷透過各式手段，將抗日記憶強加於不具抗日經驗的多數台灣人。」

獨派史觀固然偏頗，但要與之對話與辯論，恐怕就不能只是簡單羅列少數台灣人的抗戰經驗，而必須從東亞近代史的宏觀角度，重新反思台灣的被殖民史與殖民地經驗，並將「抗戰勝利」之於台灣的解放性、去殖民性意義加以彰顯，否則完全無法與獨派史觀交鋒。

其次，關於抗戰本身的紀念與討論，缺乏歷史縱深，也缺乏更寬廣的國際視野。「八年抗戰」，是中華民國教育中傳統使用的語言，它凸顯的是從1937年到1945年的中日戰爭，在傳統史觀中，「八年抗戰論」想要凸顯的是蔣介石與國民政府領導的對日戰爭及其成就。其實這僅只是歷史的一種詮釋，但台灣早已走出強人陰影，國民黨必須自我解禁，走出蔣介石史觀的束縛。完整面對第二次中日戰爭及第二次世界大戰，至少需考慮4個面向。

首先，對中國的敵手─日本來說，這一階段的中日戰爭其實是一部「日中15年戰爭史」，也就是從1931年九一八事變到1945年戰敗的這段歷史。從東亞史的角度來看，「15年戰爭論」也有其重要意義，就是探討日本如何走上法西斯化，走上全面侵略戰爭之路的過程，對於反省今日東亞與日本局勢，有很深的現實意義。不從「15年戰爭論」來認識東亞近代史，就不能弄清楚「八年抗戰」的歷史與現實意義。

其次，八年抗戰也好，15年戰爭也好，都屬近代東亞第二次中日戰爭，要全面了解中國、台灣的命運，探討殖民與反殖民、去殖民，就必須全面理解第一次中日戰爭（甲午戰爭）後，中國與世界、日本與世界關係的歷史。

第三，八年抗戰、太平洋戰爭、二戰是3個彼此密切關聯，又相互獨立、有所分別的概念，世界各主要國家都在繼續書寫、詮釋這段歷史。日本皇太子最近發表談話，強調要「藉著二戰結束70周年的機會，好好學習以滿洲事變（九一八事變）為發端的那場戰爭的歷史，思考日本今後應有的樣子。」美國的政界與學界也高度關注日本政府關於戰爭的談話以及歷史的認識，因為美國不僅是二戰的勝利國，更在太平洋戰爭中付出了極大的代價。

至於中國大陸，長期以來就重視對「反法西斯戰爭」的紀念與詮釋，在改革開放之後，更加重視抗日戰爭的歷史詮釋，一方面與國民政府爭主導權，一方面與日本方面在歷史詮釋，以及南京大屠殺、慰安婦等歷史事實上較勁。近幾年來，大陸方面在尊重抗戰史實方面，開始有了一些調整，尤其在影視史學方面，更有了不少突破，台灣應把紀念抗戰勝利視為兩岸共同面對歷史與東亞及全球挑戰的起點。

面對相關各國在歷史詮釋的交鋒、以及歷史事實的爬梳，中華民國卻在抗戰紀念與詮釋上陷入了尷尬與被動的境地，一方面拙於梳理台灣的去殖民化與中日戰爭的關係，二方面在面對日本的歷史修正與再詮釋上，越來越缺少針鋒相對的底氣與企圖，三方面在面對大陸抗戰史觀的變遷時，更缺乏積極主動出擊的企圖。政府在抗戰勝利紀念活動規畫上的貧弱與侷限，正反映了台灣的尷尬與被動，如果不積極扭轉，歷史的失語與失憶，將是中華民國在台灣一個無可挽回的錯誤與憾事！