70th anniversary a time for reflection
- By Mitchell Blatt
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 2, 2015
The date, too, is different in different places. Many countries recognize the anniversary on August 15, when Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced his country's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.
China's renewed interest in Victory Day contrasts with the United States, which presided over the signing of the instrument of surrender but for whom its importance has faded. Americans, for whom every holiday must be part of a three-day weekend, pegged the holiday to the second Monday in August. It was a federal holiday up until 1975, with strengthening ties with Japan, the holiday was erased, then dropped.
So, it is no surprise that America is neither sending any high ranking officials to China's parade, nor did President Obama host any special events for Victory Day on August 10.
The war overturned colonialism order in Asia. Japanese invasions pushed the colonialist powers out of Southeast Asia, although, after the war, some tried to reassert their power with limited success. Korea, China, Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia all had civil wars, in which there were foreign backers on either side, proxy battles in the burgeoning Cold War.
In Vietnam, September 2nd is celebrated as Vietnamese National Day, as Ho Chi Minh took the opportunity on that day in 1945 to announce the founding of the country. The Vietnamese communists, the Viet Minh, took advantage of the power vacuum that occurred between the Emperor's announcement and the actual signing of the surrender, to take control of major cities without resistance from the Japanese who still controlled Vietnam.
For Vietnam, this year isn't just the 70th anniversary of their declaration of independence, it is also the 40th anniversary of the final end to the Vietnam War, when North Vietnam overran the South to create a unified country, and it is the 20th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Now, the two countries do US$20 billion in trade annually, and Vietnam has been growing at 5-6 percent a year. Vietnamese people are happy to meet visiting Americans and are rarely bitter about the war. When the topic does come up, it is to say that it was a part of the past, a terrible time for all, and that it shouldn't control people's views of relations between each other and the world.
Everyone adopts a different perspective based on the unique impact events had on them. History should be remembered, but it shouldn't be a constraint on future generations writing their own history as they pursue peaceful development between nations.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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