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26 March 2014
Cross cultural understanding in Asia

Cross cultural understanding in Asia

There is great potential to improve cross-cultural understanding in Asia. But more positive political leadership will be crucial.

There is great potential to improve cross-cultural understanding in Asia as a foundation for peaceful relations between the region's major powers. But meaningful progress will not be possible without more positive political leadership.

This was the essence of our message, when we were recently interviewed on this important topic.

International education can be a powerful motor for cross-cultural understanding. This is something we have experienced first hand at Sophia University in Tokyo, where students from China, Korea and other Asian countries sit side-by-side in class with Japanese and other international students.

All these Asian students share a common learning experience. In discussion and student presentation sessions they are able to exchange views openly. It is clear that, as Asia's youth generation, they feel more in common with each other than they do with the old male-dominated leaderships that govern their countries.

These students are not bogged down by questions of history that cast a dark cloud over peaceful relations between their countries. This history is a universe away, and not relevant to their world or their aspirations.

But these students feel powerless in the face of the political authority under which they live. Chinese students speak openly about the frustrations of "Internet police" censorship, lack of freedom of the press, and dishonest political propaganda.

Japanese students acknowledge that much of their country's media has a cosy relationship with conservative government and big business, and does not always provide unbiased reporting. A similar sentiment emerges from Korean students. Somewhat ironically, the Philippines is often perceived as having the most free media in Asia, even though journalism can be a dangerous profession, with too many independent-minded journalists being murdered.

Students regret most of all the negative and often dishonest political discourse of their leaders, which criticises neighbours and promotes nationalism. This might strengthen political support for incumbent regimes. But it is fundamentally a sign of weakness.

What is necessary is a genuine political desire for reconciliation between the big three countries of North East Asia. But this does not seem to exist. The perceived short-term benefits of negative neighbourly relations outweighs the long-term benefits of reconciliation and friendship.

The gulf between these countries is enormous. As one student said, "Japan does not know how to apologise, and China and Korea do not want to accept apologies".

In order to achieve peaceful and harmonious relations between countries, honesty is crucial. This is relevant to the issue of school textbooks which should present an accurate version of the history of relations between Japan, China and Korea.

But what is equally important is that governments and textbooks be honest about their own domestic history. China is still unwilling to be honest about the horrors of its history under Mao, especially during the Cultural Revolution. It is also unwilling to be honest about labor camps and the raft of human rights abuses it metes out to people who openly disagree with the Communist Party.

A flash point of recent times has been border disputes regarding the Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan, but claimed by China. All countries should be honest about the fact that all borders in East Asia, and indeed everywhere, are arbitrary products of history. No territorial claims could be more arbitrary and questionable than China's claim to Tibet.

One aspect of history that students appreciate learning is how the region's dramatic rise in prosperity has been a collective project. This in sharp contrast to the impression that Chinese leaders would like to give of their own greatness, thanks to the brilliant leadership of DENG Xiaoping and subsequent leaders.

It is first instructive for students to learn that, despite its historic size and importance, China was a country in relative decline as far back as the 13th/14th century period. And Japan's level of economic development overtook China as early as the 18th century. China's perceived greatness should be tempered with greater modesty.

Japan, not China, spearheaded the renaissance of Asia over a century ago during the Meiji Restoration, and again after World War 2. And Japan's much criticised colonisation of Korea and Taiwan ironically left an important legacy in terms of infrastructure and institutions. Moreover, Japan's development model was a great source of inspiration for Korea especially, but also Taiwan.

Today, China might be the principal motor for Asian economic growth. But, in 1978 when China was a desperately backward country, its leader DENG Xiaoping visited Japan and asked Mr Matsushita, the CEO of Panasonic, to invest in China, which he did.

Indeed, a major driver of Asia's economic development has been Japanese investment, which took off following the rise of the yen in the 1980s. China then also benefited handsomely from investment from the "free-Chinas" of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

East Asia is in fact a region of shared prosperity, for which no one country can claim to be the most important actor. Today, Chinese trade and investment are flooding into to its Asian neighbours -- in part because they have much more open economies than does China. And while China may have the region's largest economy, Japan and Korea are the region's technological leaders, with the region's most sophisticated economies.

Cross-cultural understanding in Asia, and a sense of regional community requires a sincere desire for reconciliation, based on openness and honesty.

But we have to be realistic. Countries will never fully agree on history. Countries will unavoidably have to make compromises, meet their neighbours half way. They have to see that it is better to compromise and move ahead, than to keep bitter wounds open for ever.

Perhaps one of the great ironies of modern history is that the vast number of Asian migrants moving to Western countries like the US, Canada and Australia are able to live together peacefully in their newly adopted countries, even though they cannot in their own region. There must be many lessons from this very successful and peaceful Asianization of the West.

But improved cross cultural can only be useful if there is political will to leverage this -- or if it leads to positive political change!

Author

John West
Executive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
Tags: asia, cross-cultural understanding, international education, understanding Asian history, Asianization of the West

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