◆ Jiang Feng, a reporter for the Japanese monthly magazine of the Overseas Edition of people's daily
Editor's note: 2022 is an extraordinary year for both China and Japan. 50 years ago, China and Japan finally normalized diplomatic relations through many efforts. In the past half century of wind, frost, rain and snow, Sino-Japanese relations have always maintained a stable forward in the ups and downs. The Chinese overseas Chinese groups active in Japan have undoubtedly played an important role in the development of Sino-Japanese relations. From now on, the Japanese monthly magazine of the Japanese edition of the People's Daily Overseas Edition and the Chinese edition of the Japanese Overseas Chinese Daily jointly launched an annual large-scale series of interviews and reports - "Overseas Chinese In Japan Talk about the 50th Anniversary of the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations between China and Japan."
On January 28, three days before the Chinese New Year's Eve of the Chinese New Year, the weather in Tokyo seemed to feel the footsteps of spring and become milder. On such a quiet afternoon, Wang Xian'en, president of the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan, came to the Japanese monthly magazine of the Overseas Edition of the People's Daily and the editorial board of the Japanese Overseas Chinese Daily to talk freely about the "fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations." He believes that mutual benefit and win-win results and peaceful development between China and Japan are "major events" that are more important than anything else.
(Photo caption: On December 1, 2013, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in Japan Han Zhiqiang and Koshin Hakusan, Member of the Japanese House of Representatives Masanori Gotoda, Chairman of the Japan-China Association Shirasai Shunichiro, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association Hisahira Muraoka, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association Takeda Katsunian, and Former President of the Chinese Association of Students Studying in Japan Han Qingyu attended the seminar of the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan.) ）
I can't forget the love that came from the Japanese people
Spring wind and rain, vicissitudes of the sea and mulberry fields, fifty years at a time. Founded in 1915, the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan is the oldest overseas Chinese group organization in Japanese history. In that year, Li Dazhao, Shen Dingyi and a group of benevolent people at that time became the original founders of the Chinese Students Studying in Japan Federation. "At that time, the purpose of the creation of the federation was very clear, that is, to 'save the survival of the dead'. At the beginning of the interview, President Wang Xianen fondly recalled the history of the Chinese Students Association in Japan.
"It is such an overseas Chinese group organization with a long history and responsibility from the very beginning of its founding that after the founding of new China, it has become an important 'stronghold' for sino-Japanese exchanges, and has played an unimaginable role in dredging and exchanges for future generations." At the same time, they have sent a large number of talents to the construction of new China. President Wang Xianen said that after the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan held a wealth of exchange activities, "At that time, China in the early stage of reform and opening up was very eager to learn Japan's advanced technology and management experience, and the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan played a bridge role and held many such exchange activities, from rural transformation to urban planning, from enterprise management to education reform, the suggestions and opinions of these exchange activities were summarized and recorded, sent to China, and were highly valued by the top level of the Chinese government. Eventually it played an active role in many key parts of the country. ”
"Of course, the development of the Chinese overseas Chinese group in Japan is also inseparable from the love and support of the local Japanese people." President Wang Xianen fondly recalled that as a Chinese student studying in Japan, during his further studies in Kanazawa, an old Japanese woman who had taken care of him would help him prepare meals meticulously, and when he left, like his own mother, he wrapped the boiled hot eggs and other foods into his bag. President Wang Xian'en said, "This kind of kindness is something he can never forget in his lifetime. ”
President Wang Xianen also recalled that when he studied in Tokyo, he once lost his wallet. The instructor and classroom staff immediately made donations, which eventually exceeded the amount of money lost. He still remembers a sentence that the guidance professor said at that time: "Japan and China, the only countries in the world that use Chinese characters, have no reason not to be friendly." ”
(Photo caption: On July 18, 2015, Bai Gang, public counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, Wanli Haieda, former leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, and Xu Suining, secretary general of the European and American Returned Scholars Association, attended the centennial celebration of the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan.) ）
China-Japan relations are moving forward steadily in friction
When talking about Sino-Japanese relations in recent years, President Wang Xian'en calmly pointed out: It cannot be denied that Sino-Japanese relations are at a low ebb, and one of the important reasons for this is that compared with the older generation of Japanese politicians who have normalized Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations and honeymooned Sino-Japanese friendship, the younger generation of politicians in Japan today lack foresight and lack the historical outlook of the older generation.
Nevertheless, President Wang Xian'en is full of confidence in Sino-Japanese relations. He believes that in the current Sino-Japanese relations, although there are many complicated issues, the relations between the two countries are generally stable, and an important feature of the relations between the two countries is "friction rather than confrontation."
Chairman Wang Xian'en believes that one of the reasons for some friction between China and Japan is that the Japanese side has limited understanding of today's China. "It can be said that in the early days of reform and opening up, we learned from Japan, but now, China has developed, and even surpassed Japan, and the two countries have entered a new stage in the history of mutual learning. Through mutual learning and mutual benefit and win-win results, China and Japan should be able to find a path of friendly coexistence and peaceful coexistence. ”
(Photo caption: On January 21, 2018, Chen Zhu, vice chairman of the National People's Congress, Cheng Yonghua, Chinese ambassador to Japan, Yasuo Fukuda, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, former Japanese Senate member Chang Tian May, Cao Weizhou, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, and Hu Zhiping, public counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, attended the seminar of the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan.) ）
Promote communication with humility
In the face of Sino-Japanese relations in a trough, Chairman Wang Xian'en held that as an overseas Chinese group in Japan, it should actively give play to the advantages of close communication with the Japanese people and improve the misunderstanding of the Japanese people about China. He said that China is now stronger than ever, "the more powerful the more we can not show off, we still have to maintain a modest and prudent heart, and actively carry out exchanges and dialogues with the Japanese people, during this period, the real China, actively introduce the real China to the ordinary people of Japan, so that the Japanese people can also understand China from many angles." ”
"Taking the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations as an opportunity, Sino-Japanese exchanges will enter the next 50 years." President Wang Xianen said that in the next fifty years, the General Association of Chinese Students Studying in Japan will also strengthen exchanges and communication with all aspects of Japan, reduce misunderstandings, and strive to achieve common progress. He particularly stressed that as an organization of overseas Chinese groups, in the future, we must make efforts to promote personnel exchanges between the two countries, especially the visits of Japanese friends to China, so that they can experience a rapidly developing friendly China on the ground. ”