Hu, What, Wen, Where, and Why

MILLIONS OF CHINESE FAMILIES SUFFERED during the invasion and occupation of the mainland by Imperial Japanese armies in the Second World War. But President Hu Jintao's and Premier Wen Jiabao's family tragedies came at the hands of fellow Chinese, not Japanese--and occurred rather more recently.

Wen Jiabao is the third-ranked member of the Chinese Communist party and as such is probably the third-from-last person in China who should complain about anyone's inability to "face up to history squarely." Of course, this didn't deter him from demanding exactly that of Japan on April 12. "Only a country that respects history, takes responsibility for history, and wins over the trust of peoples in Asia and the world at large can take greater responsibilities in the international community," he declaimed, by way of justifying China's opposition to a permanent Japanese seat at the United Nations Security Council, and by way of excusing the recent anti-Japanese rioting in China.

Indeed, Japan was responsible for mass deaths in China between 1937 and 1945. Western historians say as many as 8 million Chinese civilians died during the period, and perhaps 2.5 million soldiers. Chinese polemicists say 30-35 million died. It was horrific, and Japan paid a price for its aggression. Since its unconditional surrender in 1945, a democratic Japan has become one of the world's most generous aid donors, giving about $35 billion in development assistance to China between 1980 and 2004.

It does not add to the argument to point out that, by all accounts, the Chinese Communist party killed more Chinese during the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957-59), the Great Leap Forward (1958-62), and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76) than the Japanese did in World War II. But at least Chinese leaders should admit the real cause of their families' devastation.