Counterattack against the West: China’s Mouthpiece Calls for Support for Ryukyus Independence

The Ryukyu island chain

On May 15, huanqiu.com says in its report “Formal establishment of organization for Ryukyus independence” that on May 15, local politicians, professors, social activists and citizen organizations in Okinawa established an association to study the national independence of Ryukyus in order to establish the Republic of Ryukyus.

The head of the association said that Japan had benefited from its security treaty with the US at the expense of Okinawa. Okinawa people have always been discriminated in Japan.He held that Okinawa was the Kingdom of Ryukyus that did not belong to Japan. Even after it had been occupied by Japan, it has never handed over its right of autonomy to Japan; therefore, Okinawa people have the right to determine their independence.

Today, Global Times, a newspaper belonging to China’s official mouthpiece People’s Daily, publishes a commentary titled “Chinese people shall support Ryukyus independence: We owe Japan absolutely nothing!”

The commentary says that though outsiders are not clear about the details of the organization for Ryukyus independence and though the organization is perhaps a common organization as it is relatively easy to establish an organization with political tendency in Japan, everybody knows that a weak and small organization may grow powerful and play an important role in history given the right political environment.

The Kingdom of Ryukyus has been conquered by Japan for over a century, but the memory of the Kingdom remains fresh now.

Chinese people shall sympathize with and support the establishment of the association for Ryukyus independence and the political goal it has announced. Such support will not have much effect in the near future, but in the long run, it will be a major force in promoting the campaign for the restoration of the state of Ryukyus.

China has always advocated non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, but Western people and even governments have always supported Chinese separatists. China shall not rely on oral persuasion to stop them, but shall launch counterattacks.

There have always been people in Japan who support Chinese separatists. They have even invited such Chinese separatists as Dalai Lama and Rabiye Qadir to visit Japan; therefore Chinese people owe Japan absolutely nothing.

The newspaper says, “Along with the relatively weakening of the West and the gradual emergence of lots of problems within their societies, the times when the West was able to put in lots of strength and focus on dealing with us has long been past. The disparity of strength in the political and social conflicts between China and the West in no longer as big as it was in the past.

“China shall have the courage to change some of the old practices in dealing with the West. We have been suppressed for too long and have always been passive in warding off blows and giving explanation. Now in external conflicts of soft strength, we have to make attempts to go far across the frontline into enemy’s areas like what we did in the civil war in sending troops to Dabie Mountains 500 kilometers across the frontline into enemy’s territory.”

The commentary finally says, “We are clear ourselves that how earnestly we hope to maintain friendly relations with our neighbors and the peace in the entire region (Southeast Asia). We are sensitive in our actions to the feelings of other countries, even very small ones. As Japan has gone too far in its actions, in the future, we have to exclude it from our policy of friendly neighbor and treat it in another specific way.”

Sources: huanqiu.com “Formal establishment of organization for Ryukyus independence” and Global Times “Chinese people shall support Ryukyus independence: We owe Japan absolutely nothing!” (summary and excepts translated from Chinese by Chan Kai Yee)

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