The stabbing of Japanese School boy in Shenzhen, has stunned the nation
By Anjan Roy
“Wish there is no hatred in heaven” wrote a mother in Shenzhen in China, while laying a floral tribute in memory of a slain Japanese school child in the city. That is symptomatic of the country's current mood of sadness and self doubt about the Chinese avowed programmes to whip up rabid xenophobic attitude throughout the country. The hate programme, had admittedly, aimed at the Japanese and the state media had spread canards about that nation.
A school boy was fatally stabbed and died on his way to school in Shenzhen last week in a hate crime against the Japanese. It was a horrific crime by a Chinese man showing the rising anger against the Japanese citizens, including school children.
The death of the child had stunned China and sent ordinary Chinese into deep remorse. Floral tributes are pouring into the Japanese school from even remote corners of the country and expression of anguish over what is happening in the country have gone viral on the social media.
The hate crime, altogether senseless, has opened the eyes of people in that country of a continuous hate campaign against the Japanese and their country by the official media and public policy forum. China has been promoting a kind of rabid nationalism propagating the country's supremacy over the rest of the world.
The hate campaign and xenophobia was promoted directly by the supreme leader, Xi Jinping, to push up a jingoistic face of the country in its dealings with the outside world. Xi personally has been promoting this kind of radical nationalism to justify his claims of Chinese superiority and even territorial claims in the neighbouring regions.
Anti-American slogans have also been part of the radical nationalism campaign, showing Americans as war mongers and conspiring against China's rise in the global sphere. Even primary schools have not been spared the butt end of the jingoism.
Xi and his supporters have followed in policy of catch them young in inculcating a vanity about their country and the inferiority of the rest of the world. In the same vein China has been asserting itself diplomatically with its what has come to be known as “wolf diplomats”. These diplomats have crafted an extreme attitude, away from diplomatic norms, in criticising in ordinary diplomatic discourses.
The Chinese Communist Party and their wings have been particularly hard on the Japanese, recalling Japan's occupation of large parts of the country during the second world war. Admittedly, the Japanese had behaved most cruelly during the war days and the party apparatus has been harping on these to flame an anti-Japanese sentiment.
Xi is no doubt following a very aggressive posture in his dealings with neighbours and his perceived enemies, which include, his bete noire America and Japan. He is out to prove that China represents the highest form of human civilisation and its achievements were unparalleled. He is out to establish Chinese hegemony over near and far.
As a result of years of fanning such sentiments, the country is now blessed or cursed with bands of young rabid Chinese who are out to prove their authority at any cost. Now the campaign is coming home to roost.
(IPA Service)
