The truly terrible condemnation that racist behaviour in sport brings upon a particular people

I am aware of being dissappointed by a particular group of people you thought you could trust. 

The same doesn't apply to Everton Luiz, a Brazilian football player/ soccer star who found himself subject to racist abuse while playing in Belgrade. Playing for Partizan Belgrade, fans of rivals Rad Belgrade started monkey chants when he was on the ball. 

Reduced to tears (above, being comforted by goalkeeping teammate Filip  Kjajic), the other team also brought dishonour upon themselves: "What shocked me above all was the attitude of the other team. Instead of trying to defuse the situation, they supported that type of behaviour. I want to forget about it all as quickly as possible," Everton was reported as commenting thereafter. 

To help their team do better in a match it was loosing, one set of fans felt themselves justified in sinking to such a level, in order to help their team do better.   The situation in which sports fans believe that descending to such barbaric attitudes can help them win deserves nothing but the broadest condemnation. Where has any sport or society got itself to in which this is thought reasonable?

The one German import that Japan has long since needed

A long history of bitterness

It is a long legacy of war crime denial by Japan that has left behind much bitterness in China, as well as in other nations. 

The bad start

Manchuria's occupation in 1931, above, is where it all started. A great many crimes committed by the Japanese army followed this and Pearl Harbour. 

While the Imperial Army of Japan was celebrating what could be loosely termed "victories" such as above in 1941, the war ended with the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which the average Chinese terms as "deserved ".

The restoration of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in the 1970s was deemed by many as highly unlikely. However, the culture of war crime denial was perpetuated by the governmental authorities, academics, and the average person in Japan. The establishment of the Yasakuni shrine to the nation's war dead (which this writer avoided on a visit to Tokyo) also memorializes notorious war criminals. Such things lead to action being taken by the Chinese public: 

This writer, formerly resident in China, can recall angry crowds of people rolling over Toyotas, shouting the words "Japan is evil!"

(“日本不行/不好！”）

A few worthwhile gestures

It was left to a Japanese Buddhist monk, who in 2006 left his thoughts and prayers  for the souls of those who were victims of the Nanjing massacre. What has been missing before and since have been governing authorities trying to make amends. South Korea and also Singapore (800,000 were victims of the Sook Ching massacre in 1942) are both waiting for changes in Japanese society and of the political class.

Cold relations

Japanese goods are widely boycotted in China because of domestically produced memorials such as the Nanjing Massacre Momorial Shoes above, and PRC government encouragement. 

The future solution to the problem of history

The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe,  how can he address such a sore spot of pan-Asia history? He could end up being confronted by people turning their backs on him, which the Emperor of Japan has been subjected to numerous times (once in London when I was 12). It will likely take more than trade and peace. 

A key role model 

One former chancellor of Germany, Willy Brandt, introduced a set of principles in society. It enabled the population to face up to the nation's poor past, regardless of an individual's personal record. Willy Brandt himself had been a leading anti-nazi during World War 2. 

Leading by personal example, such as at the former Warsaw Ghetto (above), brought a change in culture to the nation as a whole. The average German ever since has viewed the nation's history differently, in an extremely honest way. This is a key change that Japan has long since needed, and furthermore, it is an action that Mr. Abe should do his very best to emulate. 

After a century of ups and downs, are Sino-US relations about to reset?

Relations between the two nations go back to 1911 just after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. 

An early start

The pre- People's Republic of China (PRC) government, known as the ROC and run by the Nationalists (KMT) was seen as run by anti-communists. The key western ally of the KMT, was seen as having brought about the end of the main enemy, Japan. The PRC was viewed by the nato powers as forming a second  front in the Cold War. The PRC was seen as a target for undermining, 20 years following its founding in 1949. 

The beginning of peaceful relations

Motivated towards peaceful co-existence, both got together to build a mutually beneficial partnership when Mao  and Nixon shook hands. Part of the US president's aim was to unease the USSR  concurrently. He may have been successful in making Leonid Brezhnev  take a few steps backward. 

At the same time, both sides gained from  the arrangements made, economically and developmentally. Part of the PRC's aim was to have itself recognized as the only China, and have the KMT in Taiwan no longer propped up by the USA. This has been a continual demand by the PRC of the USA. 

Discussions/ tensions since Mao

While Reagan found a good audience with the likes of Zhao Ziyang (who favoured dialogue with the students in 1989), the PRC did not react well to American criticisms of its human rights. Movies such as "7 Years in Tibet" led to charges by the PRC of western nations interfering and behaving like "imperialists". 

In the 90s, such tensions boiled over into disagreements over trade. In that decade, the US frequently accused the PRC of manipulating its currency. 

Further diplomatic tensions came about through frequent near misses between both nations air forces. Both would accuse each other in their own way. Post Gorbachev, the PRC was labelled with the same words previously reserved for the USSR, and the domestic Chinese media was filled with anti-US propaganda. The accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 2008 by NATO provoked riots in the PRC. 

Cooler heads gradually took over, such as here in a warm moment between Zhu Rhongji and Bill Clinton. They were able to discuss their differences calmly, with the aim of common peace.

Hope for the future

So, despite a few statements by both sides of late, including the People's Daily accusing President Trump of "playing with fire" when it comes to pressure applied on Beijing over island building in the South China Sea, and pressure brought foward to change trade relations,      there have been recent discussions between Trump and the PRC president, Xi Jinping. Agreeing to recognize the "One China" principle after Beijing was upset by hearing about the head of the KMT/ ROC president congratulating Trump personally on winning the presidency, Trade and diplomacy is once more in the offing. The potential is certainly there for good relations to resume to the benefit of both, but as long as both are listening to each other respectfully, as has been recently happening, there could be a resumption of good relations that will be the best to both the PRC and the USA. The ingredients are there for optimism, despite the challenging relationship of the past few decades.