Translated by Nanyan Guo. From Japan Focus:
Recently, the famous literature critic Ge Hongbing posted an article in his personal blog ‘China: How Should World War II Be Commemorated‘. When the article was re-posted elsewhere, the title was changed to ‘China’s Purpose in Commemorating the Anti-Japan War is Promoting Revenge’. The controversial element in this article is Ge’s view that the Japanese people are also victims of the war, and that China’s revenge-centered education is the main voice commemorating WWII in the form of anti-Japan propaganda.
Within days of its publication, Ge Hongbing received more than seven hundred internet messages cursing its author. Some netizens lashed out at Ge’s grandfather, ‘the infamous traitor Ge Riren’ who ‘was executed by the National Government in 1946 and his property confiscated.’ ‘Ge’s father Ge Bennong named his son Hongbing because he wanted to apologize to the Chinese people so as to enable the Ge family to live a new life without further suppression.’
