By Oh Young-jin
Chinese President Xi Jinping used the word "peace" as a noun or adjective 15 times in his speech to mark the 70th anniversary of his country's part in the World War II victory over Japan, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Thursday.
The English translation of the speech was composed of about 1,000 words and peace was the most frequently used significant word, so calling it the "Peace Speech" would not be much of a stretch.
The irony is that the massive display of missiles, airplanes and tanks overwhelmed Xi's peace message, giving Western countries a chance to reinforce their erstwhile suspicions that China is anti-Western, vindictive about Japan's invasion and trying to wrestle hegemony from the United States.
This has again proved that China and the West have a great a gap to bridge in understanding each other. Still, the West has little to lose by giving Xi the benefit of the doubt and demand he match his words with action.
After all, he is the leader of the world's second strongest nation, so his cooperation will be pivotal to the future peace.
In his speech, Xi appeared to use the word peace three distinct ways ― the state of being free from outside interference, the goal with universal value and as a characterization of the Chinese people's tendency.
At the start of his speech, the Chinese leader summed up China's part in the victory over Imperial Japan as "the sunshine of peace." on the flipside, it means Japan brought war and storm to China and Xi strongly showed his dissatisfaction over Japan's lack of self-reflection, as he called on the world to remember the day as if it was "etched in the memory."
Regarding Xi's speech, U.S. President Barack Obama defended its ally, Japan, saying that Tokyo is the "model of reconciliation," without commenting otherwise on the Beijing ceremony. The U.S.-China rivalry seemed palpable. Obama declined Xi's invitation. However, the two leaders will have a chance to sound each other out during Xi's state visit later this month, which is coupled with his speech at the United Nations.
The word was used for the second time as Xi obviously tried to add even more meaning to the 70-year-old victory, as he said that it gained "the Chinese people the respect of all peace-loving people around the world."
Xi then used peace as opposed to war to emphasize China as a "peace" nation that will pursue it in the future as well. "The experience of war makes people value peace all the more," he said, explaining that the purpose of the ceremony was, among other things, to renew determination to "cherish peace." He did again, obviously for the purpose of stressing he means peace, say, "War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace."
Twice in a row, he said, "In the interest of peace," first in order to set out a vision it has about the world ― "a global community of shared future" being free from prejudice, discrimination, hatred and war, but pursuing win-win cooperation under the guidance of the United Nations.
He used the phrase again, as he explained the future of China, which is "committed to peaceful development and will never seek hegemony and expansion."
This was more attuned for an international audience that worries about China's growing willingness to project power, with dwindling reservations about using force to attain its goal.
Xi also clarified as one of the missions given to People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's armed forces, "upholding a world peace." He apparently offered to reduce the PLA's size by 300,000, or about 13 percent of its standing 2.3 million military. His predecessors ― Hu Jintao and Ziang Zemin ― also ordered a major cut in the size of the Army, but it was not likely that either had accompanied it with such a strong message of peace as Xi did. The outside media didn't make a big issue of this announcement, with some arguing it was aimed at enhancing the quality of its military at the expense of size.
Xi used the p-word for the last time as he ended the speech with a call to remember the truth of history, as he said, "Justice will prevail; peace will prevail; the people will prevail."
Why did Xi prioritize peace in his speech for the event that the world had been most anxiously watching? Few would disagree that he wants to clear suspicions held by the outside world about China's future course of action. This also means that he wants China to live as a member of the global community. Of course, he refused to forget hundred years of deprivation and humiliation by the West. At least, it is worth a try to give him and China a chance to prove whether he really means peace.
Perhaps we have been too preoccupied by the display of military hardware, a relic from the Cold War tradition of communist countries, to see a real chance for peace with China. Missing it would be a great shame.
Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. He can be contacted at foolsdie5@ktimes.co.kr and foolside@gmail.com.
The English translation of the speech was composed of about 1,000 words and peace was the most frequently used significant word, so calling it the "Peace Speech" would not be much of a stretch.
The irony is that the massive display of missiles, airplanes and tanks overwhelmed Xi's peace message, giving Western countries a chance to reinforce their erstwhile suspicions that China is anti-Western, vindictive about Japan's invasion and trying to wrestle hegemony from the United States.
This has again proved that China and the West have a great a gap to bridge in understanding each other. Still, the West has little to lose by giving Xi the benefit of the doubt and demand he match his words with action.
After all, he is the leader of the world's second strongest nation, so his cooperation will be pivotal to the future peace.
In his speech, Xi appeared to use the word peace three distinct ways ― the state of being free from outside interference, the goal with universal value and as a characterization of the Chinese people's tendency.
At the start of his speech, the Chinese leader summed up China's part in the victory over Imperial Japan as "the sunshine of peace." on the flipside, it means Japan brought war and storm to China and Xi strongly showed his dissatisfaction over Japan's lack of self-reflection, as he called on the world to remember the day as if it was "etched in the memory."
Regarding Xi's speech, U.S. President Barack Obama defended its ally, Japan, saying that Tokyo is the "model of reconciliation," without commenting otherwise on the Beijing ceremony. The U.S.-China rivalry seemed palpable. Obama declined Xi's invitation. However, the two leaders will have a chance to sound each other out during Xi's state visit later this month, which is coupled with his speech at the United Nations.
The word was used for the second time as Xi obviously tried to add even more meaning to the 70-year-old victory, as he said that it gained "the Chinese people the respect of all peace-loving people around the world."
Xi then used peace as opposed to war to emphasize China as a "peace" nation that will pursue it in the future as well. "The experience of war makes people value peace all the more," he said, explaining that the purpose of the ceremony was, among other things, to renew determination to "cherish peace." He did again, obviously for the purpose of stressing he means peace, say, "War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace."
Twice in a row, he said, "In the interest of peace," first in order to set out a vision it has about the world ― "a global community of shared future" being free from prejudice, discrimination, hatred and war, but pursuing win-win cooperation under the guidance of the United Nations.
He used the phrase again, as he explained the future of China, which is "committed to peaceful development and will never seek hegemony and expansion."
This was more attuned for an international audience that worries about China's growing willingness to project power, with dwindling reservations about using force to attain its goal.
Xi also clarified as one of the missions given to People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's armed forces, "upholding a world peace." He apparently offered to reduce the PLA's size by 300,000, or about 13 percent of its standing 2.3 million military. His predecessors ― Hu Jintao and Ziang Zemin ― also ordered a major cut in the size of the Army, but it was not likely that either had accompanied it with such a strong message of peace as Xi did. The outside media didn't make a big issue of this announcement, with some arguing it was aimed at enhancing the quality of its military at the expense of size.
Xi used the p-word for the last time as he ended the speech with a call to remember the truth of history, as he said, "Justice will prevail; peace will prevail; the people will prevail."
Why did Xi prioritize peace in his speech for the event that the world had been most anxiously watching? Few would disagree that he wants to clear suspicions held by the outside world about China's future course of action. This also means that he wants China to live as a member of the global community. Of course, he refused to forget hundred years of deprivation and humiliation by the West. At least, it is worth a try to give him and China a chance to prove whether he really means peace.
Perhaps we have been too preoccupied by the display of military hardware, a relic from the Cold War tradition of communist countries, to see a real chance for peace with China. Missing it would be a great shame.
Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. He can be contacted at foolsdie5@ktimes.co.kr and foolside@gmail.com.