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TOKYO
The Yomiuri Shimbun (centrist), July 10: We would
like to praise the government’s response to South Korean
and Chinese demands to revise middle-school history textbooks
as appropriate and honest….The Japanese government recognized
two dealing with ancient Korean history as erroneous….The
examination included hearing the opinions of independent experts.
It was an extraordinary move, and Japan can be said to have
extended the utmost consideration to its two neighbors....Such
a basic stance...contributes to creating a more mature friendship
with South Korea and China….South Korea and China strongly
rejected Japan’s response. The two countries could make
further revision requests, but Japan should not set a bad precedent
by making a facile political compromise.
TOKYO Asahi Shimbun (liberal),
July 10: The history textbook controversy has hampered bilateral
economic and cultural exchanges. That is a troubling situation….The
South Korean people may resent the Japanese because of a recurring
Japanese practice of drawing attention away from Japan’s
past aggression and colonization and because of a growing mood
of tolerance of such trends in Japan. Imagine how we would feel
if we put ourselves in their position. A real solution can be
found only by recognizing the gap in the way Japanese and those
in neighboring nations see history and by narrowing that gap
through regular dialogue.
BEIJING China Daily (government-owned,
English-language), July 10: Japan approved the history textbook
in April, straining the island nation’s diplomatic ties
with its Asian neighbors, particularly China and South Korea.
Both nations, victims of Japanese invasions and atrocities in
the past, demanded extensive revisions. As a denial and beautification
of its past history of aggression, Japan’s action will
cause the country to lose credibility with the people of Asia
and damage its international image.
—Jiang Zhuqing
Continues Above 
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| MANILA
Philippine Daily Inquirer (independent), July 13:
Our admiration for Japan compounds our perplexity at the continued
refusal of its successive governments since World War II to
acknowledge and then apologize for Japan’s appalling criminal
record during that period of military supremacy and expansion.
This steadfast obduracy through six decades and into the seventh
has infuriated its neighbors, its allies, its friends, and even
the beneficiaries of its postwar largesse….It is time for
this great and proud race, our friends, to finally put the past
behind them and move on.
—Jerry Barican
SEOUL The Korea Herald
(independent), July 10: The yearlong controversy over Japan’s
nationalist history textbooks has frozen a new partnership....What
remains to be seen is whether Seoul will faithfully implement
all of its proposed “action plans” and whether Tokyo
will back down from its irrational claim that there is little
it can do within its system to change the textbooks. Unless
Japan comes up with a solution, the government has to be prepared
to go through the worst imaginable developments in the already
rocky Korea-Japan relations.
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LONDON
The Daily Telegraph (conservative), July 10: The
Bradford rioting, though unquestionably in a fairly poor urban
district, is set against a relatively healthy economy, low unemployment,
low inflation, and low interest rates. Police relations with
ethnic minorities in West Yorkshire are said generally to be
good. The police have been attacked in Bradford but not this
time as an end in itself and not particularly because they are
seen as the oppressors. If anything, they are blamed by the
rioters for not doing enough to protect Asians from attack by
white racists.
—Neil Darbyshire
LEEDS Yorkshire Post
(conservative), July 10: This is not a problem peculiar
to Bradford. Indeed, as in other recent disturbances in Oldham
and Burnley, there is evidence of outside agitators stirring
up trouble and capitalizing on feelings of resentment among
local young people. But this factor must not prevent the leaders
of the Islamic community in Bradford...from taking a long, hard
look at the rebellious attitude of many young Muslims—an
attitude which...can only act as a recruiting sergeant for white
extremists who have long been looking for the excuse to claim
that a multiracial Britain will inevitably lead to violent conflict.
BANGALORE Deccan Herald (independent),
July 12: The British government has described the violence
at Bradford as a law-and-order problem. While it is true that
in many cases the breakdown of law would have encouraged gangs
to loot shops and settle scores, the issues underlying the recurring
violence go far deeper. A study conducted by the Bradford City
Council some weeks ahead of the riots points to the deeply segregated
nature of society in Bradford….The causes are clearly socioeconomic,
and the government must address these in order to build a multiracial
community. |
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| Riot
police advance in Oldham during the May 28 riots there
(Photo: AFP). |
CHRISTCHURCH The Press (conservative), July 13:
The inescapable racial base to the rioting poses particular
problems for Britain because its experience in handling the
associated issues is limited. For all its experience of empire...it
is only since the early 1950s that significant numbers of non-white
people have come to live within the United Kingdom. Those 50
or so years have not produced a sense that the nation is comfortable
with its multiethnic society.
VILNIUS Lietuvos Rytas (independent),
July 7: The racist rioting is forcing British politicians
to bite their tongues and to start to think about the future.
The riot in Manchester confused white British residents as well
as the leaders of ethnic minorities. Talks about “already
achieved” harmony between races in Britain were pushed
away. Recently, the Labor government, led by Tony Blair, was
very glad about progress in the development of harmony between
52 million white residents and 3.5 million representatives of
ethnic minorities in Great Britain.
—Vytas Rudavicius
Top of page |
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2008
Olympics in China |
BANGKOK
Naew Na (center-right, independent), July 16: China’s
victory will help to increase international recognition of the
country after its repeated failure to win the bid for the Olympic
Games. Nongovernmental and human-rights organizations have opposed
China’s bid because of its violation of human rights. Obviously,
China’s success had something to do with the U.S. attitude
and other countries that want friendly ties with China. China
has become very attractive in the international arena because
it will soon become a member of the World Trade Organization.
LONDON The Guardian (liberal),
July 14: If the will to win were all that mattered, then
China would deserve [the 2008 Olympics]. But the will to win
is not all that matters. China’s appalling record on human
rights should have disqualified it from hosting this or any
other Olympics until it has put its house in order....Now is
China’s chance to take a fresh and unexpected initiative.
It should use the opportunity and publicity afforded by the
Olympic Games to prove all its critics wrong.
GLASGOW Sunday Herald (independent),
July 15: A decision against Beijing would only have reinforced
China’s traditional sense of grievance that the whole world
is against the Chinese. But now that the Games have been awarded
to them, there should be continued pressure on the Chinese government
to make good its promises about liberalizing human rights.
NEW DELHI Hindustan Times
(centrist), July 16: Human- rights groups correctly say
that the [International Olympic Committee (IOC)] has given the
present regime a big boost in popularity and thus legitimacy.
However, the Olympics are not about human rights. Many nasty
regimes have played host before. Decisions regarding the Games
are driven by politics, money, and personalities—the most
notable one being the outgoing Olympic head, Juan Antonio Samaranch.
The Olympics are in the end about nationalism, however ritualized.
If China has an oversupply of that these days, it is because
of its economic success. Securing the games is the reflection,
not the source, of that strength.
Continues Above
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| OSLO
Dagsavisen (leftist), July 14: It is worth noting
that Chinese dissidents also have wanted the Olympics in Beijing.
The hope is for a more widespread and closer international contact,
which is better for human rights and democratic diversity.
BEIJING China Daily (government-owned),
July 14: The victory is a source of pride not only for Beijingers
but for all Chinese. It was nationwide support that sustained
the bid effort and led it to its final success. We believe the
city will make the 2008 Olympic Games the most unique ever.
But turning the Olympic ideal into reality will present Beijing
with huge challenges over the next few years.
CHRISTCHURCH The Press (conservative),
July 17: Presumably, China was supremely confident of the
IOC decision after the bitter loss to Sydney eight years ago.
It certainly did little to dispel human-rights concerns in the
lead-up to the vote. Critics estimate more than 1,700 executions
have been carried out in the past three months.... Reprehensible,
from an Olympic viewpoint, is that the executions have been
carried out at sporting grounds. Not to have given China the
Olympics would have been taken as yet another humiliation by
foreign powers. Undoubtedly, the resultant inward-looking focus
would have set back any prospect for human-rights reforms.
HAVANA Juventud Rebelde
(communist youth), July 15: At the center of this debate
is not the fact that Asia has hosted the Olympics only twice
before...nor that China has...a fifth of the world’s population—both
of which were factors...in China’s favor. It’s a political
question, really: Beijing is the capital of a socialist country,
and Moscow in 1980 is the only precedent for such an event....We
Cubans know all too well how the notion of “human rights”
is easily manipulated within international forums.
—Jesus G. Bayolo |
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