China's goodwill must not be betrayed; International order must not be challenged

Editor's note: Xiang Haoyu, a special commentator for CGTN, is a specially appointed research fellow at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies, China Institute of International Studies. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Recently, China-Japan relations have sharply deteriorated. From the Japanese Prime Minister's dangerous remarks on the Taiwan question to provocative actions in the military fields, Japan's conduct has long exceeded the general scope of "checking" China, reflecting a dangerous trend of accelerating departure from peaceful development. Looking beyond these complex surface appearances, we must recognize a more essential and severe issue: As a defeated nation in World War II, Japan is attempting to break free from the post-war international order established by the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. It attempts to obscure historical guilt to seek the illegal status of a so-called "normal country." This tendency is not only a deviation from the four political documents between China and Japan but also a blatant challenge to the fruits of humanity's victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.

Legal status of a defeated nation must not be tampered with

The post-war international order was forged by legal documents written in blood. Among them, the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation constitute the legal cornerstone of Japan's post-war status. The 1943 Cairo Declaration explicitly stipulated: "all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese ... such as Manchuria, Formosa (Taiwan), and the Pescadores (Penghu), shall be restored to the Republic of China." Article 8 of the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation further declared with unquestionable authority: "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out and Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands as we determine."

Article 1 of the Instrument of Surrender, signed by the Japanese government, explicitly commits to "accepting the Potsdam Proclamation." This means that Japan's territorial scope, the boundaries of its exercise of national sovereignty, and its post-war demilitarization obligations are strictly limited by international law. Japan is not merely an ordinary country; it is a defeated nation bearing permanent historical responsibilities, with the exercise of its sovereignty constrained by the will of the victor nations.

However, scrutinizing Japan today reveals that its actions are systematically eroding this legal foundation. From tampering with history textbooks to erase the definition of aggression, to substantially breaking the weapons export ban under the guise of "transfer of defense equipment," to the shift in security policy seeking "counterstrike capabilities," and even attempting to abandon the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles," Japan is hollowing out its Peace Constitution step by step. It is trying to factually break through the restrictions placed on its military revival by post-war international laws. This "salami slicing" destruction of the post-war order is both a trampling of the dignity of international law and a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

China's goodwill must not be betrayed

When reviewing the development of Sino-Japanese relations since the normalization of diplomatic ties, one issue is often easily overlooked: China's decision to waive war reparations from Japan.

At the time of the normalization of China-Japan relations in 1972, the Chinese government made a major political decision to waive the demand for state war reparations from Japan. This decision was not because China lacked the right to claim compensation, nor because Japan lacked the ability to pay. On the contrary, under international law, Japan, as the aggressor, should have compensated the victim nation for all losses. China waived this based on extremely high political foresight and humanitarian spirit. As Premier Zhou Enlai stated at the time, this was done not only for the friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people but also to distinguish the Japanese people from the militarist elements, unwilling to let the Japanese people bear a heavy burden. This demonstrates the broad-mindedness of the Chinese nation in returning good for evil and represents a rare goodwill in the history of world diplomacy.

However, more than half a century later, we must ask a sharp question: What exactly has this benevolence and righteousness from the Chinese people yielded? We see Japanese right-wing forces interpreting China's tolerance as weakness, viewing the "waiver of reparations" as something to be taken for granted, and even making counter-accusations. At the official level in Japan, historical revisionism has long run rampant. Politicians go in droves to visit the Yasukuni Shrine – a symbol of militarism – where the enshrined spirit tablets of Class-A war criminals constantly mock the dignity of victim nations. Atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre and the "Comfort Women" system are repeatedly questioned or even denied by Japanese politicians.

If the Japanese government truly had a shred of sincere remorse for that war, and if Japan truly cherished the profound friendship behind China's waiver of reparations, then wouldn't maintaining an objective and just historical perception be the minimum obligation it should fulfill?

But the reality is that Japan has not turned this goodwill into a motivation for introspection; instead, it uses it as an excuse to shed historical baggage and pursue becoming a "normal country." China waived reparations to cut off hatred and exchange forgiveness for peace and respect; Japan's actions, however, are effectively overdrawing this goodwill and even repaying kindness with ingratitude. When Japanese politicians talk at length about their status as a "nuclear victim" every year in Hiroshima and Nagasaki while remaining silent on their history of aggression, this selective amnesia constitutes the most fundamental erosion of the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations.

Historical revisionism is a dead end

Japan's provocative moves on the Taiwan question are essentially the projection of erroneous historical perceptions onto geopolitics. Because they do not acknowledge aggression as a sin, they do not consider the territorial restrictions of the Potsdam Proclamation to be just; because they do not accept the constraints of a defeated nation, they are eager to rely on external hegemony and seek military loosening through "aligning with the U.S. to contain China." This logic is extremely dangerous. It not only places Japan once again on the opposite side of its Asian neighbors but also leads Japan itself into a strategic maze.

Japan must clearly recognize that the crux of Sino-Japanese relations lies not in China's rise, but in Japan's failure to complete its "spiritual de-fascistization truly." Germany was able to regain European respect because of Willy Brandt's genuflection in Warsaw and its strict legal prohibition of Nazi speech and conduct. In contrast, while Japanese politicians are still mincing words over whether to admit to aggression, Japan has already lost the moral qualification to be a "political power."

China's waiver of war reparations was a weighty historical "political trust." The beneficiaries of this trust are the peaceful future of both China and Japan, while the trustee – the Japanese government – has evidently seriously defaulted on this obligation.

History cannot be denied, and international law is not a scrap of waste paper. The post-war order established by the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation is a verdict of justice exchanged for the lives of tens of millions of souls in WWII, and it will absolutely not be allowed to be subverted.

For Japan, there is only one path to the future: Thoroughly liquidate the toxic legacy of militarism, return to the spirit of the Peace Constitution, and win the trust of Asian neighbors through practical actions. Any attempt to cover up historical guilt and challenge the post-war order through military expansion and forming cliques will ultimately be akin to drinking poison to quench one's thirst.

The Chinese people love peace and cherish the hard-won situation of Sino-Japanese friendship, but this cherishing has a bottom line. If Japan continues to race down the path of treachery and continues to squander the goodwill of the Chinese people, then what it ultimately reaps will inevitably be a harsh judgment of history and a heavy price in reality.

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