NANJING: 70 YEARS AFTER THE MASSACRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000804

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2032
TAGS: PREL SOCI CH JA
SUBJECT: NANJING: 70 YEARS AFTER THE MASSACRE

CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Beede, Political/Economic Section
Chief, U.S. Consulate , Shanghai .
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: A day after Nanjing commemorated the 70th
Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, Poloff met with students,
an academic, an official from the local Foreign Affairs Office
(FAO) and visited the Nanjing Massacre Museum to discuss Japan
and Sino-Japanese relations. Although the FAO official tried to
downplay anti-Japanese sentiment in Nanjing, the university
roundtable revealed deep-rooted feelings of anger and
frustration towards a Japan that, according to the academic and
students, has yet to come clean about its role in this tragedy.
The academic and students also asserted the U.S.-Japan security
alliance is a major obstacle to improving Sino-Japanese
relations since, they believe, its main purpose is to "contain
China." They urged the United States to push Japan into issuing
a formal apology for the tragedy and compensating its victims
and their surviving relatives. End Summary.

The Museum Reopens
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2. (SBU) Nanjing commemorated the 70th anniversary of the
Nanjing Massacre on December 13, 2007 with a large ceremony at
"The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by
Japanese Invaders" (Nanjing Massacre Museum). According to
local newspaper reports and the museum's website, the event was
attended by 8000 people, mostly Nanjing locals but also many
survivors, Chinese from other areas, Buddhist monks, and various
Japanese non-governmental organizations. A local FAO official
told Poloff that he did "not see" any foreign government
officials at the ceremony, though he did not explicitly state
whether or not such officials had been invited.


3. (U) Poloff visited the museum on December 14, the first day
it was reopened to the public after undergoing an 18-month
renovation that tripled the size of its main exhibition hall.
Military and police were on hand to control the large but
orderly crowd of mostly Nanjing locals, varying in age from
junior high school students to the elderly, who were lined up in
a large outdoor open space waiting to enter the exhibition hall.
The outdoor space, where the commemorative event had been held
the previous day, highlighted grotesque bronze sculptures
depicting the suffering of victims, the most vivid ones being a
large body-less head and a baby sucking on the breast of its
dead mother. Large yellow wreaths from local government and
military entities, local temples, and Japanese non-governmental
organizations expressing condolences for the tragedy were placed
along the perimeter.


4. (U) The mood inside the exhibition hall itself was somber
and hushed, with very little talking despite the large number of
visitors. The exhibition featured a chronological history of
the events of December 1937, with an impressive array of
historical artifacts including weapons and personal items used
by Japanese soldiers, and foreign newspaper articles reporting
on the Nanjing invasion. The exhibition also displayed many
written and video-taped testimonials of victims, with graphic
descriptions of their personal ordeals. Although most visitors
appeared to take an active interest in these displays, the
largest crowds gathered in front of the new, high-tech exhibits,
such as one depicting a battle scene with holographic airplanes
and bomb blasts superimposed on a miniature model of the city.
The exhibits became increasingly graphic, with photos, videos,
and life-size mannequins depicting the dead and wounded
alongside written narratives describing the scenes. Although
the visitors seemed transfixed by these graphic images, there
was very little outward display of emotion with the exception of
a couple of young schoolgirls, who appeared quite distraught.


5. (SBU) The exhibit continued with displays of "China's war of
resistance," the most interesting being side by side photos of
almost equal size of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek, although
Mao's photo in a triumphant pose appeared more flattering. The
photos were accompanied by descriptions of how each leader
contributed to the war of resistance. The narratives describing
China's "victory" at the end displayed clear political
overtones, with an analysis of the history of Taiwan's

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colonization by Japan and its "formal reversion" to China at the
end of the war.

Government Stance: Anti-Japanese Sentiment Not That Bad
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6. (C) Poloff met with a local FAO official to discuss these
historical issues and their impact on current Sino-Japanese
relations. The official downplayed anti-Japanese sentiment in
Nanjing, acknowledging that it still exists but that such
sentiment is becoming "less and less" as Chinese people focus on
more tangible issues, like finding jobs. He emphasized that
education is key to resolving longstanding historical issues,
and Japanese textbooks should be revised to reflect "historical
truths." But he believes the right wing "dominates" teachers'
unions in Japan, so it would be difficult to revise textbooks.
He also proposed that Japan allow more Chinese students and
media to visit Japan in order to promote mutual understanding.


7. (C) Regarding the U.S. role in Sino-Japanese relations, the
official asserted that the United States can exert "strong
influence" on Japan on historical issues and insinuated that the
United States could be doing more to push Japan into
acknowledging and coming clean with its past. (Note: The FAO
official studied in Japan for several years in the 1990s and is
fluent in Japanese. He expressed his views rationally and
without emotion, explaining that he has close, friendly
relations with Japanese businessmen and government officials in
China and has a personal interest in promoting better relations
between the two countries. End note.)

Nanjing University Roundtable
--------------


8. (C) Poloff held a roundtable discussion about Sino-Japanese
relations with Nanjing University Professor Liu Litao and five
of his first year Asia-Pacific strategic relations graduate
students. Liu opined that senior leaders in both Japan and
China are just starting to "break the ice" in bilateral
relations, with Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda proposing a trip
to China in the near future and Chinese President Hu possibly
visiting Japan around April 2008. However, he cautioned that
the level of mutual trust is still low, partly because the
Chinese hear "lots of noise" from right-wing politicians in
Japan exhorting anti-Chinese rhetoric. He was pessimistic about
the impact of the recent Chinese naval visit to Japan, stating
that although the Japanese and Chinese media hailed the visit as
a positive step forward in bilateral relations, experts feel
Japan did not approach the visit with the purest of intentions.
Liu asserted that Japan had originally invited China's most
advanced warship, purchased from Russia, in order to assess
China's military capability, but were disappointed when China
ended up sending a less advanced vessel. He also said that
Chinese officials were miffed when they were refused a visit of
Japan's advanced warship during the same visit, citing this as
an example of the lack of mutual trust.


9. (C) Liu downplayed the historical issues at first, stating
that it has become less of a problem in bilateral relations. He
initially tried to avoid talking about this issue, instead
speaking of other problems such as Japan's "invisible trade
barrier" against Chinese food imports and both countries'
"different interpretations" of their exclusive economic zones in
the East China Sea. However, both he and the students kept
reverting back to historical issues during the course of the
discussion. They focused on the lack of mutual understanding
and communication between the two countries. Although Nanjing
University currently hosts several exchange students from 10
sister universities in Japan, the students acknowledged they
have never spoken to Japanese students about these historical
issues. They all revealed they have very little understanding
of Japan, one student confessing that his knowledge of Japan
comes from the Chinese media, government propaganda, and school.


10. (C) Several students stressed the need for more dialogue to
promote understanding of each other's traditions and culture.
One student stated the need to differentiate between the
Japanese military and Japanese people when talking about Japan.
All the students expressed an interest in visiting Japan, with
one student talking about his friend's positive impressions
during a recent visit to Japan. However, the students qualified

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these positive views by emphasizing that the key to improving
relations is in Japan's hands. They stressed that the
relationship cannot move forward fundamentally without Japan's
"confession," formal apology and compensation for its historical
transgressions. When asked how these feelings toward Japan have
changed over generations, they described their grandparents'
hatred for Japan because they either fought in the war or
suffered through it, their parents' changing attitude due to the
normalization of relations and influx of Japanese culture such
as films, and their own mixed feelings towards Japan. The
students stated they were first taught about the war when there
were five or six years old and grew up hearing stories from
their grandparents. Although they were interested in learning
more about Japan, none expressed positive views of Japan.
Several stated their feelings toward Japan were "not very good,"
partly due to the rise of right wing elements in Japan.


11. (C) Several of the students asked rhetorically, "How can
Japan create a good strategic relationship with China while
maintaining the U.S.-Japan alliance?" They asserted that the
U.S.-Japan alliance's aim is to "contain China," with one
student even stating that the alliance, not history, is the main
obstacle to improving Sino-Japanese relations. Liu said that
the U.S.-Japan alliance is causing a regional arms race,
encouraging Japan to challenge its regional neighbors. He
believes Japan's military capability is superior to China's
since Japan procures advanced weapons from the United States,
and China is "afraid" of Japan's offensive capability. He tied
China's fear to the lack of mutual trust, ultimately stemming
from unresolved historical issues. Liu and students strongly
emphasized the need for the United States to push Japan to
compensate war victims (comfort women and forced laborers),
issue a formal apology, and honor the repayment of Japanese
bonds issued during the war. The academic ended by asserting
the United States, as a world leader, has a "moral obligation"
to push Japan in this direction.

Comment
--------------


12. (C) The Nanjing Massacre incident remains a sensitive,
emotional topic for many Chinese, especially those living in
Nanjing and those working for the Chinese Government. Nanjing
FAO officials initially turned down all of Poloff's requests to
attend the ceremony at the museum, meet with the academic and
students at Nanjing University, and meet with another academic
at the Nanjing Massacre Studies Center in Nanjing Normal
University, citing the sensitivity of the topic as the reason
for their refusal. In the end, after much prodding, they gave
permission for Poloff only to meet with the Nanjing University
academic. The student roundtable, also initially turned down,
was a pleasant surprise organized on the spot by the academic.
JARRETT