America spent four years fighting in World War II. After the
war ended, war movies were big hits in the US. But eventually, just like
westerns, they were out of vogue. Douglas MacArthur quickly smoothed over
relations with the Japanese because we believed we needed partners in the war
against communism. But we weren't crazy. Truman offered Taiwan to Mao if China
would stay out of the Korean War.
Because Stalin never sent the supplies he'd promised to the
North Koreans, North Korean forces were losing ground every day. When MacArthur
thought about crossing the Yalu River, the Chinese, who didn't want a united
Korea on its border, crossed the Yalu and invaded North Korea.
China, unlike the US, fought the Japanese from 1931 until
1945. At the end of the war China was a devastated country facing a Civil War.
Perhaps this brings into context a large number of
anti-Japanese war movies on Chinese television. These films both show the
Japanese as very evil and the government of Chiang Kai-Sheck not far behind in corruption
and violence.
In America, if you speak Chinese, you can watch these war television
serials from morning to night. As I've said before the most beautiful woman in
the show is always the communist spy within the Kuomintang (Chung Kai-Sheck's
sleazy organization).
As an American, we find it hard to imagine the anti-Japanese
war is still being fought on Chinese television. But then, they fought the
Japanese 3 1/2 times longer than we did, and the war was fought in China.
While it's true that Beijing will use anti-Japanese hatred
to remove attention from something internal causing problems, the Chinese
people love these serials. Until those shows stop appearing on Chinese TV, the
Japanese will always be the enemy.
Given the Bataan death March and the brutal Japanese prison
camps, I'm always surprised that we have agreed to go to war on behalf of the
Japanese. I guess all that matters is they aren't Commies.
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