Opinion war against Japan needs prudence

Source:Global Times Published: 2014-1-12 23:38:01

A group of Chinese ambassadors to foreign countries are writing articles for local media one after another, uncovering the illegitimacy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine. Japan is fighting back, but still China prevails.

Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming engaged in a non-face-to-face bout with Keiichi Hayashi, his Japanese counterpart in the UK, on the BBC's Newsnight on Wednesday.  According to footage from the show, the Japanese ambassador did a lousy job, not only in speaking English, but also in justifying his stance.

China seems to be gaining the momentum to prevail over Japan in this war of public opinion. However, we should keep a sober mind that Japan's reputation in the international community will not be easily tarnished.

Abe's visit to the Shrine has been internationally recognized as a misdeed. The world understands China's countermeasures, and perhaps is interested in the causes and effects of this Sino-Japanese conflict. What China needs to do is to evoke the international community's memory of WWII, reminding them of the importance of protecting the legacy of that war and maintaining world peace.

However, there is no need to place a high expectation on the international community. Real interests and political relationships are more persuasive and beneficial. The West can only exert limited opposition to Japan's misdeeds.

Therefore, what China should be dedicated to is how to lead the global public opinion to form a stable awareness to question the Shrine visit, to understand the resurgence of Japanese militarism, and to question Abe's hard-line policy. In order to achieve this goal, China must resort to diverse and flexible means.

Abe's visit is an absolute failure in Japan's diplomacy. Although China is one up on Japan in the international community, how to expand the advantage remains a test for Chinese public opinion.

This undertaking needs the involvement of Chinese grass-roots. However, their intention to launch countermeasures against Japan is not as firm and proactive as the government. They are more willing to save their ammunition for the government on domestic issues.

Confrontation in public opinion against Japan needs to be dealt with prudence and cautiousness. Through this combat, it is possible that China's ability to influence global public opinion could be improved. It bears much greater significance for this country to expand the consensus on national strategies and reach a nationwide unity.

Ambassador Liu set a good example for Chinese officials, and other ambassadors are becoming more proactive and assuming a new aspect. However, these ambassadors alone cannot greatly develop China's publicity ability.

In this respect, China faces various problems, which require continuous hard effort.



Posted in: Editorial

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