The following is from a feature article titled "Sanae Takaichi: A Whirlwind" in WiLL, a monthly magazine released on September 27.
Which features a conversation between critic Shi Ping and political scientist Atsushi Iwata titled "Taro Kono, who can't deny the Kono Statement, is a dupe for China."
A politician who China criticizes is a sign of a good politician for Japan.
Preamble omitted.
P77-p79
Preamble omitted.
The emphasis in the text except for the headline is mine.
Iwata
Kim Philby, a spy for the British intelligence agency M16, was so talented that he was even nominated for director-general. Still, it was discovered that he was a Soviet spy, and it defected to the Soviet Union.
As you can see from this, the Communist Party is very skillful at manipulating information warfare.
Shi Ping
Another reason why the KMT lost was that it no longer had the backing of the United States.
At that time, the KMT was a corrupt, dictatorial party run by Chiang Kai-shek.
It was not a party that shared the same values as the United States.
At the same time, the United States was deceived by the propaganda efforts of the Chinese Communist Party.
Before the civil war, the U.S. sent a delegation to visit the CCP in Yan'an.
First, CCP-affiliated newspapers published daily articles praising American democracy.
Then, when the American delegation arrived, the CCP officials changed from luxurious clothes to coarse clothes to welcome them and even prepared a rundown house and held a modest banquet.
The U.S. inspection team was rather impressed by such hospitality.
They had been fed up with the vast banquets held every day and every night by the Nationalists in Nanjing.
Iwata
The U.S. perception at the time was that the Chinese Communist Party was advocating democracy.
That's why the U.S. was fooled by Mao Zedong and his team's earnest performance.
Shi Ping
Moreover, it wasn't just Mao and the upper echelons, but even the soldiers at the end of the line were thoroughly trained to deceive the U.S.
The soldiers were all saying, "We love democracy! (laughs).
Soldiers who cannot read or write cannot possibly know anything about democracy. They were indoctrinated to answer that way.
This kind of propaganda work by the CCP is still alive today.
Since the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, the Chinese side plans every time a Japanese delegation, writer, or university professor visits China. It executes a thorough propaganda campaign a month in advance.
At the end of the visit, the propaganda officers would say, "Well, we were able to fool the foreigners again today. They're really gullible, aren't they?
(laughs).
The interdependency relationship
Iwata
On the U.S. side, there is Kissinger, who I mentioned earlier, as a pro-China representative.
He was the brains behind the Nixon administration, and to compete with the Soviet Union; he adopted a policy of appeasement toward China.
Since then, however, China has grown in power and is now more violent than the Soviet Union.
It should question the pros and cons of Kissinger's strategy.
Shi Ping
It would be correct to say that China's propaganda efforts took him in.
After the Nixon administration, Kissinger was just a private citizen.
However, every time he visited China, he was greeted by the supreme leader and held talks with him.
Bo Xilai also once invited Kissinger to Chongqing.
He invited Kissinger to Chongqing for the Communist Party's Revolutionary Song Contest.
The song featured a series of lyrics such as "Overthrow the landlords," "Overthrow capitalism," and "The U.S. is a demon," but Kissinger was not displeased and listened and applauded.
Iwata
That's terrible (laughs).
Shi Ping
At that time, Bo Xilai was expected to become the supreme leader. Kissinger is a wily old fox, too.
Iwata
What is the reason why China would take it that far to entertain Kissinger?
Shi Ping
Kissinger has good connections in the U.S. business world. That's what they were expecting.
China will not reject a business person who has visited China with Kissinger.
The Chinese government will always give preferential treatment to the business people that Kissinger takes with him to maintain his influence in the United States.
So China and Kissinger had a mutually beneficial relationship.
Iwata
It was a mutual source of power.
Shi Ping
Until President Trump came along, Kissinger's influence was a reality.
Before the Corona disaster, Kissinger visited China every year and had meetings with Xi Jinping.
Iwata.
What is troubling is that Kissinger expressed his opinions to the United States and Japan.
What's more, Japanese scholars and experts who take his opinions seriously follow his lead, saying, "If Kissinger says so, then we must follow him.
Shi Ping
A similar figure to Kissinger is Kakuei Tanaka.
Even after the Lockheed case, Chinese Communist Party officials always visited Mejiro in Tokyo (where Kakuei's house was located) when they came to Japan.
The Chinese side argues that "the person who dug the well is not forgotten," but that is not true at all.
It was to utilize the Tanaka faction behind Kakuei thoroughly.
Kakuei can also retain his influence by visiting Chinese officials.
Iwata
The same as Kissinger.
Shi Ping
After the influence of the Tanaka faction declined in the political world, China switched sides to the Takeshita (Noboru) faction.
The Chinese ambassador at the time told a story that when Kanemaru, a leading figure of the Takeshita faction, planned to visit Taiwan, the Chinese side called Takeshita and protested, saying, "We don't want Kanemaru to visit Taiwan," and it canceled the visit.
Iwata
I didn't know such a thing had happened.
The Takeshita faction, to which Foreign Minister Motegi belonged, has lost its power.
Shi Ping
China's target is probably the Nikai faction. Many legislators, including Toshihiro Nikai, have been taken in.
Anyway, we can see that the pro-China faction still has strong roots in the Japanese political world.
If I think about it, I can't help but feel indignant when I look at Japan and the U.S. policies toward China from 1970 to around 1990.
The cooperation, including the money of Japan and the United States, brought up China, which has become a threat to the world to this extent.
Iwata
We should be held accountable for turning China into a monster with our own hands.