Panda Bears Steal the Show in Tokyo

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Panda Bears Steal the Show in Tokyo

Written by Robert Vance on May 7, 2008 – 9:22 am

Don’t get me wrong. I love Panda Bears as much as the next guy. I’m happy that two of these beautiful creatures will be following in Hu JinTao’s foosteps by making a trip to Tokyo in the near future. Unfortunately, China’s gracious offer to lend Panda Bears to a zoo in Tokyo was about the only news with any substance that came out of the historic meeting between Chinese President Hu JinTao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday. I had to stifle a chuckle when I read on the China Daily today that “Top leaders of China and Japan agreed Wednesday not to see each other as a threat.” Given China’s impressive ongoing military buildup, how can any country in the world much less Japan, which lies less than 1000 miles to the east of China, not view China as a threat? In my opinion, such rhetoric is completely meaningless and holds no real diplomatic weight. China and Japan have always ‘eyed each other’ with suspicion and if it were not for the strong economic ties between the two countries I cannot imagine that such a meeting would have ever even taken place.

It was heartwarming to see the two Asian leaders enjoying each other’s company in Tokyo but the contentious issues surrounding the ownership of gas fields East China Sea and the never ending rift over World War II were not fully addressed. The fact is, the recent thawing of relations between the two countries does not represent in the least bit the feelings of the Chinese people. They are still waiting for an apology that they believe is long overdue; their intense hatred for the Japanese government (and Japanese people in many cases) is stronger than ever before. Forget about gas fields in the East China Sea. Until the Chinese people receive the apology that they are demanding, these meetings in Beijing and Tokyo are going to be worth nothing more than a few hundred handshakes and a couple rounds of ping pong.

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