Erasing History

History is not a science. History is created and history can be changed. Consider the following example, from The Independent.

"Satoru Mizushima's new movie, "The Truth About Nanjing", premieres in January. It is an attempt by Japanese nationalists to counter a series of foreign films, made to coincide with the anniversary, which tell of the carnage which followed the fall of the Chinese Nationalist capital to Japanese forces in 1937."

This is a most ironic occurrence considering that the victim is China, a country that is often quite rightly criticised as one that attempts rewriting of history. One needs only consider the difference in results of a Google search made at www.g.cn with those made from Google.com or Google.com.au etc. particularly for sensitive topics such as the Tianamen massacre. There has even been an instance in China (and forgive me for not providing a proper reference in this case, it is off the cuff after all) where an advertisement commemorating the deaths of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 was able to be placed in a newspaper because the woman who was responsible for the classified ads was unaware of the political significance of the commemoration. She was unaware because the Chinese government does not allow the inclusion of the event in school curricula, nor does it receive coverage in the mainstream media. Thus censorship is self-negating. Such lack of transparency is worrying, particularly if humankind hopes to learn from the mistakes of the past- a reason given by all history teachers for the continued study of their favourite discipline (as if interest alone wasn't enough!) Having a nation such as China carrying out this mutilation of history is bad enough, but for it to spread to other supposedly democratic nations is much more worrying.

Although some might argue that Japan is not a true example of democracy, it certainly tries to appear as one. One of the cornerstones of democracy, apart from direct participation in the determination of government, is transparency:

"There is one indisputable fact: there was no massacre at Nanjing," Mizushima told an audience of mostly elderly men after they had stood to sing the national anthem. "We don't want our children to grow up thinking Japan is a barbarian country."

To bowdlerise history so that a few proud old men don't lose face in the eyes of their grandchildren is a travesty and a disgrace. Truth in the cliché "truth will out" can be altered by repeating a lie often enough.

Imagine for a moment, that a similar project had taken place in Europe or North America that denied the holocaust and claimed that the arrival of Nazi armies in Poland (or anywhere else) had brought order and control. Perhaps this argument is valid in terms of the railway timetable, but not in any other sense. Indeed, the production of literature in these countries is decried and considered abominable. But why is it that we don't take a similar attitude to the same problems in Japan.

As much as it pains me to say this, it is because they are not white. Japan and China are our Other and because we lack ability to identify with a resident of Nanjing in the same way that we identify with a Jewish resident of Kracow. Therefore their squabbling is removed us, preventing it from affecting us in the same way. A similar pattern is seen when you compare the reception of the Holocaust with that of Stalin's pogroms or the Cultural Revolution. We don't care because they are removed from us.

But we should. We should battle to ensure that all events of such importance, whether positive or negative, are preserved for posterity and prosperity. Only in this way can we continue to develop as people as a single group and not as a fractured map of competing interests.