On this episode of China Uncensored, nothing screams "peaceful development" like a gigantic
military parade.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored, I’m your host Chris Chappell. Yesterday, China celebrated
the 70 year anniversary of its victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against
Japanese Aggression. Oh? What’s that? You say you’ve never heard of it? Well, you
Westerners might know it by its less common name: "World War II."
You might also be under the mistaken assumption that Japan surrendered because it realized
it was no match for the American army. Not true. For the truest facts, you need to turn
to Chinese state-run media!
Yes, the war in China, apparently, was the "decisive force in defeating the Japanese
fascists."
That’s right, it was China that defeated the Japanese! And now it’s time to celebrate!
That's why people all around China are getting in on the anti-Japanese fun. From ice creams
in the shape of Japanese war criminals, to super soaker fights with the Japanese devils,
to middle aged women dancing in front of a giant Mao sculpture, or dancing with fake
guns.
And let’s not forget the almost-million-strong citizen patrol organized by the Beijing government
to patrol “every street, every alley” for signs of “security hazards” that might
jeopardize—are you ready for this?—the Commemoration of Seventieth Anniversary of
Victory of Chinese People’s Resistance against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War
Parade!
Don’t be fooled by the 12,000 soldiers or nearly 200 of China’s latest aircraft, or
these never before revealed missile launchers capable of delivering a nuclear missile to
the continental US.
This parade was about peace.
The peace we have China to thank for. These lovely soldierettes are goose stepping down
Changan Ave, that’s eternal peace avenue, outside Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, a place
also known for eternal peace. I mean peace.
I mean peace! Ah, that's better!
And the amount of preparation for this parade was staggering. A full rehearsal was held
in August, and everything had to be perfect. Everything had to be in place, from the perfect
alignment of hats, to even… Well they don’t want the parade to be a
bust, do they?! And nothing says celebration over oppression like heavy handed government restrictions.
For both the rehearsal and the actual parade, there were massive shutdowns of roads, railways,
shopping districts, and a ban on hotel reservations and art events.
And do you think this beautiful blue sky was a blessing from the heavens? Nope. Authorities
closed more than 10,000 factories, implemented a city-wide odd-even license plate rule to
cut traffic, and implemented pollution controls across six Chinese provinces.
And hey, you know what makes a beautiful parade super fun? Taking photos and not being able
to post them to Instagram. One, Instagram is banned in China. But two, the wireless
internet was shut down. Not that it would have mattered because orders were given to
censors to closely scrutinize all posts relating to the parade, and all websites had to “promote
positive, sunny netizen commentaries.”
But who could find anything critical to say about the Communist Party’s victory over
Japanese forces?
Historians can.
Yes, the entire thing is a fraud. And not just because these women are models, and not
actual soldiers.
It turns out that the Chinese Communist Party, the ones hosting this celebration about how
great a job they did fighting the Japanese in World War II, actually did almost nothing
to fight the Japanese during World War II. Almost all of the actual fighting was done
by the Nationalist Party, which was governing China at the time.
When the China front of the war broke out in 1937, the Nationalists had one-point-seven
million armed soldiers. The Chinese Communist Party--the CCP--had less than one-twentieth
the number of troops, and they were poorly trained at that.
That's why every single major Chinese battle except one in the entire eight-year war was
fought by the Nationalist Army.
According to Zhou Enlai, in a secret report to Joseph Stalin in 1940, over a million Chinese
had died in fighting through the summer of 1939. And only 3 percent were from the CCP.
So by the time Japan finally surrendered in 1945--aboard the American ship the USS Missouri,
by the way--the Nationalists had suffered heavy losses.
Less than a year later, the CCP re-ignited the Chinese civil war. And because the CCP
had been using the past decade to build up its own troops, it was able to defeat the
Nationalists within three years, forcing them to retreat to the island of Taiwan.
So how did the CCP really feel about World War II? Well, in 1972, Chairman Mao Zedong
gave a personal thank you to the Japanese prime minister, telling him he “didn’t
have to say sorry” because the Japanese invasion actually helped the CCP beat the
Nationalists.
Yes, Chairman Mao actually thanked Japan for invading China.
Oh, maybe that's why, according to Xinhua, the "world community wants Japan to apologize"
for World War II!
Because if it weren't for Japan's invasion, China would never have been ruled by the Communist
Party, and today it might be a democracy like Taiwan.
But then we also wouldn’t have seen 70,000 doves released over Tiananmen Square. Ah,
peace.
So what do you think of the CCP’s glorious history during, um, the War of Resistance
Against Japanese Aggression? Leave your comments below, and hey, if you liked this episode,
click that like and subscribe button. Once again I’m Chris Chappell, see you next time.