someone needs a spanking and it's not me

breathe in and out.. deeep breaths amy, deeep breaths.
i told myself i wouldn't write about the protests going on in china and japan, but i don't listen to myself much it seems. was watching the abc news and it was the last straw. premature apologies for any ranting and incoherent speech. i don't have that naruwan button on my page for nothing. read at your own risk. and that of your blood pressure's. and yes, don't get me started on politics, especially issues concerning taiwan. this is when mean amy comes out to play..

politics have always been a touchy subject, especially when discussed among people who hold strong opinions about what they believe in and what they support.

to see the crowds protesting on mainland china tho.. i've got one question for each and every single protestor out there. if they all give me the same answer, or even similar answers and values, i'll shut up. i'd bet my big toe that the answer will be no. my question? do you know the reason for you physically being there and protesting?

the japanese have had a rough past in terms of foreign relations. they've been discriminated against in the states for "stealing the average american's jobs" in the past. they've been called various unflattering names. people make chinkie eyes at them (for being asian in general i guess). the taiwanese from my grandpa's generation hate them for making life hell during their occupation of taiwan years ago. you could say their occupation of taiwan was akin to hitler's reign in germany. we had the torture camps, the secret science labs with humans as the lab rats... yet, all this dark history is seldom talked about.

instead, the younger generations in japan are oblivious to it all because they weren't taught about their history in school. you see young japanese tourists crying at the war memorial in singapore as the tour guide explains the history and significance. it's a shock and it's not their fault that they don't know about it. if one doesn't leave the country, where do you expect them to learn from? the internet? ahhuh.. you can argue that point but it's a wobbly one considering how free-for-all the cyberworld is compared to the real world.

and the rest of the youngsters in the world, especially those in asia, namely those in China. how many of you adore jpop, swear by sanrio characters like hello kitty and pochacco, drool over the mini gadgets and gizmos concocted from japanese companies? yes, i'm talking to you too, the bubblegum pop girl at the Chinese busstop. yes you, the sign-wielding angry looking 20-something guy with the playstation at home. or what about you mister, the one who's dad is working for Sumitomo Bank as the general manager? GOODNESS people. you say you hate the japanese, you throw rotten eggs at their consulate, you chant slogans and war cries you hear other people chant... well if you're so vehemently against the japanese, get rid of that sony walkman. hell, go trash the factory that sony prolly has in china. practically everything's made there now. and while you're at it, go burn down the posters of SMAP and Noriko Sakai you have in your rooms, stomp on the cute tomy hidamari no tami nodding head dolls and tell me with a straight face you hate the japanese. that's what you're protesting about wasn't it? *cold stare*

Every source provides a different reason for the protests! rehearse your friggin protest agenda, geez. textbooks, a seat in the UN, oil, Taiwan...

• ABC
• the reporter: "Today we are here because the little Japanese distorted the history textbook."
• a Chinese protestor: "First we are against Japan's intention to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This is the first reason. Second, we are strongly against Japan occupying our Diaoyu Island, and we are calling for boycotts of Japanese goods."
• Bloomberg.com
• "Tensions between Japan and China have flared in recent weeks over claims that new textbooks don't accurately report atrocities committed by the Japanese when they occupied China before and during World War II, most notably the Nanjing massacre in 1937 where hundreds of thousands of civilians died."
• "China is also angered by a territorial dispute over potentially resource-rich areas in the East China Sea and by Japan's joining the U.S. in designating Taiwan as a ``security concern'' within their defense umbrella"
• BBC:
  
• "Among them is Japan's approval of schoolbooks, which critics say play down Japanese wartime atrocities. They are also protesting against Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. On Wednesday, Japan further angered China by issuing drilling rights for oil and gas in a disputed area of the East China Sea."
  
• NY Times:
• "Many protesters said they were angry about a new version of a history textbook that they said whitewashed the darkest chapters of Japan's imperial conquest of China in the 1930's and 40's."
• "Others said they had been motivated by a recent dispute between the countries over tiny islands in the East China Sea thought to be rich in oil and gas deposits. Still others cited reports that Japan was seeking a seat on the United Nations Security Council, which they said was intolerable unless Japan apologized more forthrightly for atrocities committed in China more than 60 years ago."

• "People are taking part in this march because they aren't allowed to protest anything else," [a 23-year-old barber in central Shanghai] said.

if there was such a thing as Mother Earth of sorts.. i'd be the first one filling her shoes and yelling "shut up kids, stop fighting and go to your rooms. you're all grounded til the next ice age."

It's hard enough to get a Taiwanese liking the way the Chinese run the country and this isn't helping with that whole "let's kiss and make up thing". aren't you Chinese tho? why do you keep talking about them in 3rd person? well, no, i'm not Chinese. i don't live in the PRC, and neither do the 23 million Taiwanese citizens out there. you can tell me that my ancestors came from China if you trace back far enough but really, if you're gonna argue that.. then I'll tell you that my ancestor was an ameoba, the very same one you indirectly sprouted from. I'm Taiwanese and point your little mouse to the FAPA before you come accusing me of being pig-headed.

China's attitude comes across as the fat kid on the playground who used to get taunted. He doesn't anymore because he invites all the other kids to his house for free cakes and cookies. Now the fat kid's feeling smug and is starting to bully the little kids. He's getting away with it because all the other kids' mothers think he's a sweet harmless chap.. until this time, when he decides that he hasn't gotten enough attention and has old scores to settle anyway so he throws a tantrum.
goodness, grow up, own up.

one of the initial reasons was a japanese textbook omission of japanese-committed atrocities during their stint in China. the massacre is indeed atrocious but then again, so was the Tiananmen massacre. why did it take international outrage before China was forced to issue an official statement of sadness? what about the internal massacres that happened in China during the various dynasties?

dear Chinese officials, are you teaching the young'uns out there that it's not ok for your neighbor to chide your kid for running across their driveway but that it's ok for you to beat your kid up just because you felt like it? sounds to me that you don't care about your kid at all. all you care about is the pride. he's my kid, i can do whatever the hell i want. true, that's your kid.. but it sure doesn't reflect very well on your personal character.

From Bloomberg: "China opposes Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council and continues to criticize annual visits by Japanese prime ministers to a shrine honoring war criminals among the nation's honored heroes." At least they have the grace to pay their respects annually and the decency to swallow some pride and "atone" for what their ancestors and compatriots did. fat brat.

From the LA Times: "It didn't mention the protests, but said "frictions and problems of various kinds ... can only be settled in an orderly manner by abiding by the law and with a sober mind." So you say, Beijing. Surely, you must have had some part to play in allowing a public protest of that magnitude to happen for more than 5 minutes, judging from how you reacted to the Falun Gong gatherings previously? hypocrite.

Also from the LA Times and the BBC: "Shanghai's government blamed Japan for the violence, saying the demonstrations were prompted by "Japan's wrong attitudes and actions on a series of issues such as its history of aggression," the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing city government spokeswoman Jiao Yang." Japan's wrong attitude eh? What kind of attitude was that, Shanghai, when your government pointed missiles at Taiwan within 12 miles from Taiwanese borders as a "test"? pot calling the kettle black.

at least one japanese living in China has the grace to tell the ABC reporter: "Question: Is Japan purely to blame for this continuing animosity? YUMIKO HORI: That's a hard question to answer. I think primarily we [the Japanese] have the responsibility to acknowledge what has happened in the past, but I think there's other reasons why this kind of thing happens in China, not only because of Japan. I think they have their own problems here."

you know, contrary to what it may seem like, it's not the Chinese people (ie. general public) I don't like per se althougth a lot of them have grown up with the communistic propaganda ingrained. get rid of the old fogeys, the ones in the government i say. stop letting them "train" successors with the bribery, the brainwashing and let them use their own brains to figure out if they want to carry on the grand communistic designs. am i saying that China should be come a democracy or else they're archaic? no way. i'm not sure it's ready for democracy frankly. i'm not versed in politics at all and i'm sure there are some valid points to a communistic government or else it would've long since crumbled, but surely there must be a way of updating and upgrading to keep up with the times culturally as well as economically? no doubt the Chinese got the economic bit down pat with the new developments springing up like summer weeds in the past few years. what about working on that culture bit?

learn from those that show a bit more reason than you, beijing.. from the LA Times: "Thousands of people held peaceful protests Saturday in Hangzhou and Tianjin. In Beijing, hundreds of police blanketed Tiananmen Square in the heart of the capital to block a planned demonstration."
now go march yourself up to your room and do a bit of introspection. because mommy said so.