> Wen Yang: Diaoyu Islands and Zhijiang—Essay on a trip to Hunan, Part Two

Wen Yang: Diaoyu Islands and Zhijiang—Essay on a trip to Hunan, Part Two Diaoyu Islands and Zhijiang—Essay on a trip to Zaohu, Part Two Wen Yang As the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands continues to heat up, there are concerns about...

Essay on the Diaoyu Islands and Zhijiang Zaohu South Trip

Wen Yang

As the Diaoyu Islands dispute continues to heat up, there are not a few Chinese people who can tell a story about the origin, evolution and current situation of the Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan. The latest day when Hong Kong private Diaoyu Islands activists successfully landed on the island was the anniversary of Japan's defeat and surrender. Although 67 years have passed, the Chinese people still remember the date of August 15, 1945, and the general situation of Japan's surrender at that time. However, understanding and memory are not entirely clear and complete. Although Japan was defeated and surrendered, as a defeated country, it not only fully recovered the Ryukyu Islands from the United States, but also took control of the "Senkaku Islands" that were originally not within the geographical boundaries of the Ryukyu Islands. Although China won, as a victorious country that accepted Japan's surrender, it not only failed to obtain more territory than before the Treaty of Shimonoseki, but also has not been able to fully realize the recovery of all territories stipulated in the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation to this day, including the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands that have belonged to China since ancient times. In other words, in terms of territorial gains and losses alone, Japan still won and China still lost. All the reasons here have been difficult to explain one by one from the Chinese side. China defeated Japan, but does China have a triumphal arch and memorial hall for the victory of the Anti-Japanese War? Regarding Japan’s declaration of surrender, China’s victory in the Anti-Japanese War, and the recovery of all the territories stolen by Japan such as the three northeastern provinces, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, which is the greatest and glorious victory for the Chinese since 1840, why are there no national memorial sites, monuments, and anniversaries that match the significance of the event in terms of grandeur? In China, does everyone know where the first place where China officially accepted Japan’s surrender was? More directly, does everyone still remember Zhijiang? Over the past sixty years, no place has been burdened with these questions more heavily and alarmingly than Zhijiang, located in Huaihua, western Hunan. When you walk into Zhijiang and into the "Site of the Victorious Surrender of the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War", which is located in Qiliqiao Village a few kilometers away from the county seat and is isolated among farmland and paths, you will also walk into the heavy shadow of history. The small "Surrender Memorial Arch" in front of us is less than ten meters high and no more than a dozen steps wide. It is said to be China's victory in the Anti-Japanese War and is juxtaposed with the other five triumphal arches in the world - Rome, Berlin, Milan, Paris and Pyongyang. And this only memorial building was not built by the Chinese government at that time. It was built reluctantly by Yang Huayu, then the magistrate of Zhijiang County, who raised funds from the private sector and directed the people to tear down the east gate wall of Zhijiang County. Not only that, it was all destroyed by the "Cultural Revolution" because it was engraved with inscriptions from many important military and political figures of the Nationalist Government at that time, including Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Yu Youren, Sun Ke, Wang Dongyuan, Ju Zheng, and Wang Yunwu. The former surrender site of Zhijiang was the original place where He Yingqin, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army, held the surrender ceremony on August 21, 1945, issued relevant orders, and deployed the surrender work at 102 surrender points in the 16 surrender zones across the country. Photos and cultural relics are displayed in the old house and the newly built memorial hall. According to the tour guide, most of them were collected from overseas. The extremely precious video material that recorded the surrender ceremony on site was actually found in Japanese archives. Although the venue was crowded with Chinese reporters, the Chinese themselves did not retain any of it. Putting aside the rights and wrongs of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party for the moment, as a nation, if we are indifferent and vague about our own war victory, the interests of the victorious country, and the true face of history, how can we expect the enemy nation to face up to history and reflect deeply? The underlying reason for the Diaoyu Islands dispute is that Japan is still tenaciously striving for its "victory as a defeated nation." If China is still continuing its "defeat of the victorious nation" intentionally or unintentionally, isn't it the greatest connivance to Japan? Zhijiang is the memorial site of the "Battle of Western Hunan", the last battle where the Chinese army won a decisive victory in the eight-year Anti-Japanese War. It is also the location of the Zhijiang Airport, the base camp of the 14th U.S. Air Force and the famous Flying Tigers. It was the site of the first surrender ceremony before the surrender of Nanjing on September 9. Why was it lost in the wilderness, not seen in glory, and not praised in a big way? If the Japanese intend to occupy the Diaoyu Islands as a symbol of victory for their defeated country, then the Chinese people's forgetfulness and neglect of Zhijiang is exactly a symbol of failure for a victorious country! In this sense, Zhijiang, a place forgotten by many Chinese people, is an important annotation of the current Diaoyu Islands dispute. For the Diaoyu Islands, for the last stroke of the century-old Sino-Japanese war, for the last smile, should the Chinese revive the victorious spirit and regain the majesty of the victor? Should we start by rebuilding and building Zhijiang River? Have you ever remembered? At that time, there was also a motion to establish "Zhijiang Province" to commemorate the victory of the Anti-Japanese War! ▉

August 27, 2012