Some netizens believe that to this day, South Korea is still asking Japan to ask for compensation for a series of evil deeds during the World War II period. Why doesn’t China do this? As a victorious country, where did Japan's compensation to our country go?
The direct entanglement between China and Japan starts with Opium War . Among these unforgettable national humiliation for the Chinese people, the Qing government's compensation incident against Japan that occurred after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 is the most alert.
With the defeat of Beiyang Fleet , the Japanese militarist government has made many bargaining chips on the battlefield, and forced the Qing government to sign a series of unequal treaties.
According to the " Treaty of Shimonoseki ", China not only cedes land, but also pays Japan more than 200 million taels of silver, which made the Qing government, which was already in short supply, feel embarrassed.
All crises and oppression eventually moved to the Chinese people. The Qing government agreed to compensate, and the Japanese benefited from it, but the Chinese people paid for these inequality.
The demise of the Qing government did not mean that the unreasonable demands such as " Boxer Indemnity " and compensation in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. On the eve of Japan's defeat (1945), the corresponding compensation was still in progress. It was not until Chairman Mao shouted " Clean the house and then treat " that everything came to an abrupt end.
statistics show that from the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty to before 1949, some pro-Japanese elements still fulfilled their contracts and compensated a total of 99% of the wealth of nearly Boxer indemnity to the Japanese (data source: "Analysis of the Division of National Finance and Local Finance in the Late Qing Dynasty"). Therefore, Japan has obtained quite a lot of fiscal revenue from from this process.
However, when Japan became a defeated country, Japan's compensation to China became an indecipherable "bad debt", which made people unable to understand from beginning to end.
From 1949 to 1972 for more than 20 years, Japan followed the butt of American imperialism and had always been hostile to China. It refused to have any contact with the mainland and directly blocked the window of negotiation. Naturally, there was no way to start with the post-war compensation.
1972, the new Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka took the lead and led more than 300 people including Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira, Chief Cabinet Officer Nikaido Hirai , and launched a short-term visit to my country, breaking the quiet and deadlock of non-violent confrontation between China and Japan for more than 20 years.
For our country, this contact is a great opportunity to propose post-war compensation to Japan. However, what happened next made many people puzzled.
During the entire visit of Kakuei Tanaka and others, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and others treated it enthusiastically. In a very fierce tug-of-war negotiations, Premier Zhou advocated the concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences, and guided the direction of negotiations; Chairman Mao did not mention Japan's post-war compensation issue, and stabilized the negotiation situation.
Not long after that, China and Japan bypassed previous hatred and established friendly diplomatic relations that year. From this moment on, the topic of Japan's post-war compensation has quietly become history (government claims). If it weren't for Premier Zhou's explanation, many people wouldn't know that this is what Chairman Mao meant.
The Chinese people fully support Chairman Mao’s decision not to mention compensation and make New China give up compensation. But even so, some hatred is still buried in the flesh and blood of the nation and is difficult to eliminate for the time being.
In September 1931, the greedy Japanese launched a war of aggression against China. After that, in these 14 years, the Japanese Communist Party created tragic human tragedies such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Lushun Massacre, which shocked China and abroad, as well as inhumane biochemical warfares such as bacterial war, chemical warfare, , poison gas warfare, , and poison gas warfare, causing a total of more than 35 million Chinese casualties.
In addition to these, according to statistics from the "Losses caused to China by Japan's War of Aggression to China", Japan's crazy plunder of my country's coal mines, iron ore, grain, forest resources, etc., as well as its ruthless destruction of enterprises, state and individual assets, has caused a total of more than 100 billion US dollars in direct losses and more than 500 billion US dollars in indirect losses.
In this regard, new hatred and old hatred are the best. I don’t know how many times the Japanese have to compensate our country for compensation. Therefore, many people are still confused and resentful about giving up compensation. So, why did Chairman Mao let go of this hatred and not ask Japan for compensation?
Later facts proved that the Chairman's decision was quite wise, and Premier Zhou once explained this and explained the reason.
Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Handling Asia-Pacific relations well is an important strategic decision for China to develop and gain a foothold in the world. From this point of view, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou are very eager to handle Sino-Japanese relations well.
However, affected by many factors such as history, reality and national interests, China and Japan did not quickly establish diplomatic relations after World War II and have been in a state of opposition.
Whether at that time or now, Japan was basically influenced by the United States in terms of economic, political, military and foreign policy. Previously, there was a saying that the famous general of World War II Douglas MacArthur was the "Supreme Emperor" of Japan.
Because of this, the United States has become a benchmark for Japan's policy toward China. If the United States' attitude changes, Japan will also change.
During World War II, the United States strongly supported the Kuomintang regime for its own interests and had a friendly attitude towards China. However, with the establishment of the New China, especially the decades-long Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the New China, which stood in the socialist camp of the New China became one of the objects of exclusion of the United States, and the United States did not hesitate to crazily suppress and blockade the New China.
From the late 1950s to the 1970s, Sino-Soviet relations continued to deteriorate, and US-Soviet relations also underwent subtle changes.
In order to curb the Soviet Union, the United States, in line with the principle of "the enemy is a friend", took the initiative to respond to the "ping-pong diplomacy" signal sent by Chairman Mao and others, and gave up its suppression policy on China.
On February 21, 1972, spring was full of joy, US President Nixon and his wife arrived in Beijing and began a week-long trip to China. It was warmly received by Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, which shocked the Soviet Union, Japan and the whole world and paid attention in real time.
Soon after negotiations, China and the United States reached a consensus on February 28 and jointly published the " Joint Communiqué ", which once again shocked Japan, the Soviet Union and others.
From the moment the communiqué was issued, it means that the United States recognizes the "one China" principle and supports the new China regime. China-US relations have been improved, laying the foundation for the subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations. The two countries are like this spring, iced in warmth. The normalization of Sino-US relations has made neighboring Japan and its prime minister, Sato Eisaku feel awkward and uncomfortable.
Since taking office in 1964, Eisaku Sato has been obstructing the development of Sino-Japanese relations, and has promoted absurd remarks such as "two Chinas" and "the ownership of the treasure island is undecided", and has openly interfered in our internal affairs.
Sato Eizusaku's absurdity is not only this, but now, he is still the one who visited the "Yasukuni Shrine" among all previous Japanese prime ministers, 11 times, which is extremely disliked.
Due to personal stance and various anti-peace and anti-China policies, Sato Eisaku naturally felt very uncomfortable about the changes in China and the United States after this exchange. In addition to being shocked, he was also panic.
In order to follow the American big brother, Sato Eisaki immediately adjusted his policy toward China and tried to soften the rigid relationship between the two countries. However, he will soon end his political career and no longer have the opportunity to "make achievements". This is true for
. Sato Eizusaki still made some efforts to hand over the important task of handling Sino-Japanese relations to the head of the Chinese Section of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shigeru Hashimoto, so that Shigeru Hashimoto began to prepare for the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations between . Premier Zhou asked senior diplomats to go to Japan, preparing to carry out "modding diplomacy" while attending the funeral of Kensan Matsumura, and widely contacted with Japanese friendly groups and senior officials to drive the prelude to the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.
In view of Japanese Prime Minister Sato's consistent policy towards China, Wang Guoquan will not take the initiative to contact him. On the day of Kensan Matsumura's funeral, Sato also came to the scene and took the initiative to shake hands with Wang Guoquan to say hello.
After Sato handed over power, Kakuei Tanaka, who had just taken office, immediately expressed his attitude, believing that the most urgent task is to promote the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, actively carry out peaceful diplomacy, and "resolve Sino-Japanese relations in one breath."
Kakuei Tanaka represents the Japanese government. Premier Zhou responded quickly and affirmed Kakuei Tanaka's attitude and ideas at the banquet of the delegation of the Republic of Yemen and welcomed it.
After more than twenty years of twists and turns, Chairman Mao and others naturally would not give up this opportunity. Although they have little expectations for Kakuei Tanaka, they are still willing to have in-depth exchanges with him.
Premier Zhou’s diplomatic charm has appeared again, which has made Kakuei Tanaka admire him very much. After many "quarrels", Premier Zhou and Kakuei Tanaka reached a consensus. Kakuei Tanaka said in " Sino-Japanese Joint Statement ":
"Japan felt the responsibility of Japan's country to cause significant damage to the Chinese people in the past due to the war, and expressed deep reflection."
Seeing such results, Chairman Mao decided to meet Kakuei Tanaka and his entourage. Kakuei Tanaka was born in 1918 and was a descendant of Chairman Mao. Before becoming Japan's " commoner prime minister ", he admired Chairman Mao very much. So, this very special meeting happened to Kakuei Tanaka.
It is said that Chairman Mao was in poor health at the time, so the meeting time was arranged to 15 minutes. Although he was the Japanese Prime Minister, Kakuei Tanaka was quite nervous inside and went to the bathroom before seeing Chairman Mao.
Chairman Mao read countless people and expressed his understanding of Kakuei Tanaka's actions. He laughed and said, "There are always three urgent things for people. We don't need to wait for him!" When Kakuei Tanaka appeared in front of Chairman Mao, he could no longer suppress his nervousness and acted very restrainedly.
Chairman Mao was generous and took the initiative to talk to Kakuei Tanaka, using humorous and witty words to resolve the embarrassment and bring them closer together. Regarding the negotiations between Kakuei Tanaka and Premier Zhou, Chairman Mao used "quarrel" to describe it, which made Kakuei Tanaka laugh.
When we parted, Chairman Mao picked out the " Chuci " that he had collected for many years from his "treasure house" and gave it to Kakuei Tanaka, which Tian cherishes very much.
In the early 1970s, Japan had successfully emerged from the quagmire of World War II and transformed into the world's second largest economy, , which had a deep or shallow impact on the world.
Take the GDP total value ranking in 1970 (except the Soviet Union, according to the exchange rate at that time) as an example. Japan ranked third with US$212.609 billion. Although it was behind Germany, it did not affect Japan's status. Since China's focus was rarely on the economy at that time, it ranked seventh in the world with US$92.603 billion in GDP, which is still a long way from Japan.
Based on these gaps, Japanese people can be arrogant in front of China. However, judging from the scene when Kakuei Tanaka met Chairman Mao, China's influence in Asia was still very far-reaching. At least China was very deterrent to Japan at that time, which made Kakuei Tanaka respectful and restrained his behavior.
In any case, Sino-Japanese cooperation is the long-term solution and will have a huge impact on Asia and the world. Kakuei Tanaka's successful visit to China and the successful birth of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement are a major achievement in the history of Sino-Japanese diplomacy and are of milestone significance to Sino-Japanese relations.
From the side, Chairman Mao plays a great role in promoting the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations, and it was him who helped to promote this good thing.
The Sino-Japanese Joint Statement has five major achievements:
1. The normalization of Sino-Japanese relations and formal establishment of diplomatic relations;
2. Both sides adhere to the five principles of peaceful coexistence;
3. Japan recognizes Taiwan as an inalienable part of China and adheres to the "one China" principle;
4. China gives up claims against Japan;
5. China conducts trade cooperation.
Among them, China's voluntary abandonment of claim for Japan's post-war affairs is eye-catching, and is one of the important negotiation results of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement.
If there is no support from Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou's struggle for reason and adhere to the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, the matter of "give up compensation to Japan" may be difficult to reach, and the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations and the formal establishment of diplomatic relations will also delay some time later. Therefore, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou have made significant contributions to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
So, why did Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and others give up asking for compensation from Japan? What impact did this have on the subsequent Sino-Japanese relations and China's development?
In the later answer, Premier Zhou revealed the truth, saying: "This was Chairman Mao's decision!"
In the eyes of Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, in very unequal treaties such as Boxer Indemnities, all suffering falls on the people, and it is very unreasonable to let the people pay to fill the pockets of other countries.
Premier Zhou believes that although Japan is an invading country, its ordinary people are also victims of the war. The country has just been rebuilt from the ruins of the war and its economy has improved. However, compensation will increase the taxes of the Japanese people.
The famous economist Keynes also condemned the issue of huge compensation after the war. He cited Germany's example, believing that putting the crimes of rulers or fathers "indignity on their descendants" and putting the next generation of Germany in "in a state of slavery" and affecting the living standards of hundreds of people is a "policy that deprives the happiness of the entire country."
In accordance with Article 11 of the " Potsdam Announcement ": In addition to "industry that can re-arm its operations", Japan is allowed to compensate for "industry that can be compensated in kind".
This is the result of a major amendment to the compensation principle of World War I. In addition to financial compensation, in-kind compensation such as industrial and other industries is also within the scope.
Japan surrendered In the early days, most of them had fallen into ruins, with few industrial assets and funds that were even more difficult to pay in time.
Nevertheless, the compensation must be compensated. Edwin W. Bolai was ordered by Truman to serve as the president's special envoy and the chief representative of the United States' Compensation Committee, and began to be fully responsible for Japan's compensation matters. Chiang Kai-shek established the "Committee on Compensation to Japan" to cooperate with the work of the United States.
After more than two years of statistics, Bao Lai and the "Committee on Compensation to Japan" concluded that Japan should pay US$21.6 billion in compensation to my country.
No money, Japan complies with the requirements of the Potsdam Notice and first gives my country in kind compensation. After calculation, its total value is only US$22 million, which is less than a drop in the total compensation.
After Chiang Kai-shek's defeat, the United States suppressed the New China and naturally would not support the New China on issues such as Japan's compensation. In addition, China and Japan have not yet normalized their relationship, and compensation matters cannot be negotiated for the next twenty years.
In 1952, Chiang Kai-shek signed an agreement with Japan privately and waived his right to claim compensation from Japan. Although he could not represent China, he had a profound impact on the later policies of Chairman Mao and others.
First, Chiang Kai-shek gave up, then Chairman Mao and others decided. Although Japan caused serious disasters to our country during World War II, in the end, they only compensated the goods worth $22 million. They had no sincerity and could not let the Chinese people swallow this breath.
But in other words, it may not be possible to get what you want if you force Japan to compensate. It is better to give up.
was nearly 27 years apart from Japan's defeat to 1972. The real compensation period for Japan was from 1946 to May 13, 1949. On that day, the Allied Headquarters issued an order to cancel all demolition plans and in-kind compensation was stopped.
From this point of view, there was no good contact until 1972, and the time was far apart, so it was already very difficult to ask Japan for post-war compensation.
More importantly, compensation seems to have become an obstacle to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and must be dealt with and made in a timely manner.
After Japan recognized the New China as the only legal government and adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, it showed sincerity, and Chairman Mao and others were not too embarrassed.
In addition to showing his attitude, Kakuei Tanaka also gave a big gift to the New China, which was to promise a low-interest loan of US$20 billion to our country.
With this item, Japan has become an important support for China's development. Chairman Mao’s vision is here. First, use the funds obtained for infrastructure construction, and second, create conditions for subsequent economic construction.
Economic development is always a core issue of a country. Due to different perspectives on development, by 1974, Japan's economy continued to show an upward trend from 1945 to 1973, with GDP growth rate exceeding 9%. It is a very good development country in Asia, and we can only move forward slowly.
does not expect to get anything from Japan, but achieving economic exchanges and cooperation with them will have an important impact on the country. As expected, Chairman Mao and others' decision to give up compensation was very visionary.
Many researchers believe that the Chinese government’s abandonment of compensation is an important factor in the smooth completion of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.
At that time, the Japanese government was very concerned about this, believing that if the Chinese government insisted on compensation, it would deal a heavy blow to Japan, and they would rather delay the establishment of diplomatic relations. However, after comprehensive consideration, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou made the decision to give up compensation, which was not as "stingy" as Japan thought.
actually has differences on the matter of giving up compensation. In the view of the Japanese government, China has given up government claims and private claims. However, Chairman Mao and others only gave up the government's claims and did not promise to the public to claim compensation from the Japanese government, nor did they interfere with the needs of the people.
In 2007, the dispute occurred in the case of Chinese workers’ claims against Xisong Construction Company. In the same case, the judgment made by the Suwon District Court of South Korea last year on Japanese companies is also a typical example of private lawsuits against the Japanese government and falls within the scope of private claims.
From this point of view, the state does not ask for compensation from Japan, but the public seems to be able to do so. The only thing that is worrying now is whether the relevant demands will be fulfilled if they did not ask Japan for post-war compensation as the government? Can this path be done? The unity of the people and the efforts of the group are still needed.
Chairman Mao and other great first-generation leaders did not block the road. The Sino-Japanese Joint Statement is just an external statement by senior leaders of China and Japan and does not have legal effects. The abandonment of claims against Japan mentioned in it represents the government's position, and civil claims are not within this commitment.
Therefore, the people should continue to make Japan pay the price for provoking war.
Conclusion:
Regarding the fact that Chairman Mao did not mention the claim during Kakuei Tanaka's visit to China, and the promise of "abandoning the claim" expressed in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, it mainly represents the attitude of the New China government, rather than the attitude of the people. Before this, Chiang Kai-shek gave up compensation, and then demanded compensation to create important obstacles to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and China-Japan cooperation. It was difficult to get the hope of asking Japan for compensation, so Chairman Mao and others made a bold decision, which was to give up the claim. Of course, this does not mean that the Chinese people cannot claim compensation from the Japanese government. The relevant demands still need to be expressed, and Japan must pay for it to launch a war.
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