Self-Reflections
Michael S Huang
I knew much about the Nanking Massacre already. Growing up I learnt, discovered and eventually knew every single thing the Japanese did to us, the Chinese, in the past. I learnt to despise them and thus that was my first impression of the Japanese. How could I not? It was everywhere as I grew up, videos, documentaries, pictures, stories everything. However as I matured I realized, though what they did was wrong, that does not give me any reason to hate on the current generation. Though I may despise their ancestors, their parents, I must not assume they are the same. As Iris Chang said:
I knew much about the Nanking Massacre already. Growing up I learnt, discovered and eventually knew every single thing the Japanese did to us, the Chinese, in the past. I learnt to despise them and thus that was my first impression of the Japanese. How could I not? It was everywhere as I grew up, videos, documentaries, pictures, stories everything. However as I matured I realized, though what they did was wrong, that does not give me any reason to hate on the current generation. Though I may despise their ancestors, their parents, I must not assume they are the same. As Iris Chang said:
Japan carries not only the legal burden but the moral obligation to acknowledge the evil it perpetrated at Nanjing. At a minimum, the Japanese government needs to issue an official apology to the victims, pay reparations to the people whose lives were destroyed in the rampage, and, most important, educate future generations of Japanese citizens about the true facts of the massacre. These long-overdue steps are crucial for Japan if it expects to deserve respect from the international community -- and to achieve closure on a dark chapter that stained its history. (Chang, The Rape of Nanking, p. 225.)
Frank Guo
This was a very interesting topic as my background is Chinese and so, whenever I was a kid my grandparents would always tell me stories about the japanese and their resentment towards them. This caused me to always wonder why the Chinese hated the Japanese so
much. With this assignment I researched thoroughly and learnt about the Nanjing Massacre which has given me a opinion from my own perspective. This event is devastating and unforgettable due to the Japanese cruel, barbaric and inhumane actions. However, this was the past and I have learnt that maybe forgiveness is
for the best between the Chinese and Japanese people.
This was a very interesting topic as my background is Chinese and so, whenever I was a kid my grandparents would always tell me stories about the japanese and their resentment towards them. This caused me to always wonder why the Chinese hated the Japanese so
much. With this assignment I researched thoroughly and learnt about the Nanjing Massacre which has given me a opinion from my own perspective. This event is devastating and unforgettable due to the Japanese cruel, barbaric and inhumane actions. However, this was the past and I have learnt that maybe forgiveness is
for the best between the Chinese and Japanese people.
Boxian Yang
As an immigrant living in Australia, it was quite surprising to find that many of the current generation Chinese in Australia not knowing anything about China's past and present with Japan. Growing up in China during my infancy and early development stages, I was disciplined by my relatives, school and the media outlet on how bitter and horrific the war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Sino-Japanese Wars. However, I have moved on surely as I believe their generations have too but there are still various flaws in their tradition I despise. This includes how textbooks deceive their new generation by imposing that the Nanjing Massacre is the 20th century biggest lie and how the current Japanese President and Emperor still honour the war criminals whom were executed.