The latest outburst of anti-Japanese violence to shock China happened this week in Jiuquan, Gansu province, where a cosplayer at a mall comic-con was assaulted by a man yelling about “cultural invasion.” Ironically, the attacker was wearing Nike sneakers. Videos of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed the man punching a young female cosplayer while yelling, “You’re wearing goddamn devil clothes. Look at what you’re wearing. Did you grow up eating shit? All of you are wearing Japanese clothing.” The disturbing incident might have escaped widespread attention if not for a viral screenshot showing that a preponderance of comments under a post from the news site “Boiling Point Videos” ( 沸点视频, Fèidiǎn Shìpín) reflected support for the attacker, not the victim. One top comment read: “We must stand strong against cultural invasion! Beat everyone who needs to be beaten! He has my complete support!” Other popular comments were in a similar vein. This latest incident occurred approximately one month after Hu Youping, a Chinese school bus attendant, was murdered defending Japanese schoolchildren from a knife-wielding assailant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. While little is known about the attacker or his motives in that case, the incident inspired nationwide reflection on the anti-Japanese sentiment that may have inspired it.
This latest incident has prompted a similar wave of reflection. In attempting to explain the recent rash of nationalist, anti-Japanese outbursts (including a lawsuit against Mo Yan, a protest at an Apple store, and nationalist hysteria over graphics thought to resemble Japanese flags), blogger Wei Chunliang reached back to the writings of the late Wang Xiaobo. Wei cited Wang’s essay “War in the Belly,” in which Wang described the farcical scenes he witnessed in a provincial hospital during the Cultural Revolution. The essay focused on the botched appendectomies performed by worker-peasant-soldiers in the absence of surgeons (all of whom had been sent to the countryside for “reeducation”). Expanding on Wang’s ruminations on why anyone would perform a surgery that was beyond their abilities, Wei connected those Cultural Revolution scenes to the current issues roiling China:
Wang Xiaobo came to the following conclusion:
“The main instigator was drunk on his own power. He knew he was behaving recklessly, but planned to keep on being reckless, mostly because it was fun.”
And not just fun, but safe. He was secure in his position.
They’re well aware that in today’s public-opinion climate, as long as they brandish the sword of nationalism, and raise high the banner of anti-Japanese and anti-American sentiment, they are invincible—absolutely invincible.
Yes, they may face some minor legal repercussions, but they’ll be amply reimbursed by the public’s adoration. It’s obvious that no matter how despicable the word or deed, as long as it’s tied to nationalism and xenophobia, it will be praised by the public, instantly transformed into a heroic feat. [Chinese]
The WeChat account “9:00 Grocery Store” (玖奌杂货店, Jiǔdiǎn záhuòdiàn) also wrote on the incident, tying it to what the author sees as the faltering spirit of Reform and Opening:
After Reform and Opening, popular fashion began to flourish. In the essay, “A Record of Hu Yaobang and the Opening of Guangdong,” there is an anecdote recalling Hu’s February 8, 1983 inspection tour of Shenzhen. Upon noticing that all the local cadres and residents were dressed exactly alike, Hu laughed and asked them: “Why are you afraid of wearing suits? When I traveled abroad in the fifties, I wore floral patterns. I approve of professionals wearing suits. If you’re spending your own money, what’s there to be afraid of? Female cadres can wear jackets. Hairstyles should be switched up too. If foreign businessmen see you all dressed like this, I doubt you’ll attract much investment.”
[…] The benefits of Reform and Opening have been hard won. Reform and Opening was primarily about liberating thought, not simply opening China to investment. Since then, clothing hues have gone from monotone to multicolored, and clothing styles from monotonous to multitudinous. This is not simply about fashion, but about the ways that Reform and Opening smashed ideological taboos, set new trends, and spurred people to keep up with the times.
It has been several decades since Reform and Opening, and no longer do people wearing bell-bottoms have to worry about being accosted on the street and having their pant legs cut off with scissors. But who could have imagined that these sort of public attacks would return after all these years? The “U-lock” spirit still lingers. Indeed, it has only grown more malevolent with time, and now violent attacks against strangers in the name of “opposing cultural invasion” can occur in broad daylight. [Chinese]
While Japanese anime is very popular in China, harassment of cosplayers and comic-con participants is not unheard of. During the summer of 2022, a number of comic-cons across China were quietly canceled. That same summer, a cosplayer in Suzhou was detained by police for wearing a kimono. Police interrogated her for five hours, deleted photographs of her cosplay, and confiscated her kimono. The woman later wrote of the incident: “I like Japanese culture, European culture and I also like traditional Chinese culture. I like multiculturalism, I like watching anime, is it wrong that I like anything?”
