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Korean War’s Lost Chapter - South Korea Says U.S. Killed Hundreds of Civilians

More in the gradual uncovering of truth from the Korean war.

Korean War’s Lost Chapter - South Korea Says U.S. Killed Hundreds of Civilians - NYTimes.com

“When the napalm hit [Wolmi] , many people were still sleeping in their homes,” said Lee Beom-ki, 76. “Those who survived the flames ran to the tidal flats. We were trying to show the American pilots that we were civilians. But they strafed us, women and children.” Village residents say dozens of civilians were killed. ....

.... The Wolmi victims’ demands for recognition tap into complicated emotions underlying South Korea’s alliance with the United States. “We thank the American troops for saving our country from Communism, for the peace and prosperity we have today,” said Han In-deuk, chairwoman of a Wolmi advocacy group. “Does that mean we have to shut up about what happened to our families?”

US Allowed Korean Mass Executions

I have noted the story of the Korean Truth and Reconcliation Commission in some previous posts (most recently here ), but now it is clear that the US as South Korea's allies were in the know.

US Allowed Korean Mass Executions - TIME.

It would be nice to see some response as the commission unfolds its work, but with N Korea still the pariah, and events of the past few years would seem to make any such acknowledgement, expression of regret  or even apology to be very unlikely.

China and Taiwan's Plane Diplomacy

While some other pects of China's regional reelations have been greatly challenged these past months, it seems the China - Taiwan relationship is on the up. 

Link: China and Taiwan's Plane Diplomacy - TIME.

Reuters have a helpful  Timeline of Milestones in China-Taiwan relations since 1949.

This very significant improvement of relationships might be ascribed to a lot of factors - probably most significantly the election victory of the status quo seeking Kuomingtan after several years of rule commited to total independence. However the silence of America with a President with little real authoriy now, either at home or in the wider world is significant, as is the surge of Chinese nationalism as a result of all the anti-Chinese stuff in recent months in an Island that is for all its near 60 years of effective independence is still very Chinese.      

I await my own first flight between the two, a symbolic journey over a very significant Taiwan Strait. 

China and Japan talk

Hu Jintao of China has been in Japan for what he described before his visit as a "trip of warm spring". He further wished for a "warm spring for the friendship between the two peoples,"says the Peoples Daily: Chinese president, Japanese PM discuss closer bilateral ties

Eating together is at the heart of peacemaking, and the CPC press release told how: Hu dines on memories, friendship in the what it describes as "a small, exclusive restaurant in an idyllic park - and rich in the symbolism of Sino-Japanes ties ... an appropriate setting for Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and President Hu Jintao to get to know each other better in an informal atmosphere." It was owned by a very good friend of Father of Modern China Sun Yat Sen, and is the place where Sun married Soong Ching Ling in 1914. In those days heady days of the emergence of the Chinese Republic the Japanese were solid friends to the Sun and friends. It would see that China values such friends at this time.

The IHT describes the talks:China-Japan talks friendly, but not yet productive

The visit, the first by a Chinese leader here in a decade, is expected to yield few if any concrete diplomatic breakthroughs. But both sides called the trip itself a sign of progress amid hopes that its friendly symbolism, which includes pandas and Ping-Pong, will help ease Japanese insecurities about China's rising economic and military might.

The gifting of pandas [or in this case the loaning, as China's conservation policy has banned their export] and the playing of Ping Pong [though rarely by the top leaders themselves as this time] are solidly established as a part of Beijing's paths to peace.

China's Hu in Japan on rare visit of reconciliation is an enthusiastic report from Taiwan's China Post. It reports that they have decided to leave disputed history off the agenda. Chinese president, Japanese PM discuss closer bilateral ties 

My hope would be that this affirmation of China will calm things.

Yasukuni

Link: Yasukuni: Reviewing History -- Beijing Review.

Whenever the Japanese government visit the Yasukuni Shrine there is outcry from China and Korea. The other day a large body of Japanese government and parliamentary figures made  a visit. The outcry was predictable. This documentary explores the reasons.

Music on the pathway to peace

Link: At landmark concert in North Korea, 'my heart is booming' - International Herald Tribune.

As the New York Philharmonic played the opening notes of "Arirang," a beloved Korean folk song, a murmur rippled through the audience. Many spectators at the historic concert Tuesday night perched forward in their seats. The piccolo sang a long, plaintive melody. Cymbals crashed, harp runs flew up, the violins soared. And tears began forming in the eyes of the staid audience, row upon row of men in dark suits, women in colorful traditional dresses and all wearing pins of Kim Il Sung, the nation's founding leader. And there, the Philharmonic had them. The stirring performance of a piece deeply resonant for both North and South Koreans, ended the concert in triumph. "This is difficult to describe," said one journalist's government-assigned minder, who was sitting in the audience. "My heart is booming. It's too exciting."

North Korea Thaws, If Just for a Night  in Time:

... a young Korean-American violinist Michelle Kim, a descendant of a North Korean family who lived in Seoul until she was 11. "Tonight I didn't feel South Korean or North Korean but Korean," she said. "It was very emotional."

Arirang is a deeply stirring Korean folk song expressing the pain of separation as well as the beauty of the land. 

Music forges a pathway to peace. When will our politicans learn that it is not rational headbanging argumentation that makes a path of peace. I like the last paragraph in Time:

.... what dramatic possibilities there might have been. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the same peninsula, albeit in South Korea, attending the inauguration of that country's new president. If there had been a breakthrough, Rice, a classically trained pianist, could easily have made a flight into the North Korean capital. That would have been some encore.

Latest:   New York Philharmonic plays "Arirang" in Seoul   They moved on and played in Seoul. South Korea.

When the Philharmonic's music director, Lorin Maazel, took the stage for "Arirang" and raised his arms to start the piece, the audience immediately hushed in anticipation. Thunderous applause and cries of "Bravo!" rang out from the crowd of about 2,500 at the Seoul Arts Center who jumped to their feet after the music ended. "There's no sides - there's no North and South in 'Arirang,' " Maazel said in an interview after the triumphant performance that brought the orchestra's trip full-circle. "It's a melody for everybody. All these artificially created barriers fade away."

China and Taiwan predictably disagree over Kovovo's Independence

Opinions on the independence of Kosovo from Serbia differ on each side of the Taiwan strait:

China is against it independence:  Situation in Balkan region worrying with Kosovo's independence declaration

Taiwan is in favour of Kosovan Independence:  China Says "deeply concerned" about Kosovo declaration of Independence

The Comment from the New York Times:  In Asian Reaction to Kosovo Declaration, Fears of Secession

"China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka on Monday criticized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia while Taiwan and Australia welcomed it, as Kosovo’s move appeared a litmus test of attitudes in Asia toward secession. The Beijing government, which has threatened military action if Taiwan declares formal independence, voiced “grave concern” at Sunday’s action by the Kosovo Parliament in Pristina. “China is deeply worried about its severe and negative impact on peace and stability of the Balkan region and the goal of establishing a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo,” said Liu Jianchao, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. .."

Of course America favours independence. Russia opposes it.  The opinons are now playing out at the United Nations Security Council.

Perhaps the more interesting comment is another article in the PRC Peoples Daily:    Spokesman: Taiwan has no right to "recognize" Kosovo's independence . 

Taiwan has no right and qualification to recognize Kosovo's independence, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijng Monday. "It is known to all that Taiwan, as a part of China, has no right and qualification at all to make the so-called recognition," Liu Jianchao said in a press release.

This is a very robust assertion that independence for Taiwan has not been granted by China, and thus recognition of other declarations fo independence is not on.

This issue is going to return many times this year, not least in the upcoming presidential  election in taiwan. Lets pray for peace this year in the region.

From a brutal past, a South Korean village strives for reconciliation

A good story from S Korea.

Link: From a brutal past, a South Korean village strives for reconciliation - New York Times

I have posted articles on this before  Unearthing War’s Horrors Years Later in South Korea

... what sets this village [Gurim] apart is that its residents have entered a public process of reconciliation in recent years. They have held a joint mourning service for all those killed on both sides of the war's divide and are raising money for a memorial.

This development is unusual for this country, where divisions from the war half a century ago still linger. Government investigators cite Gurim as a possible model for healing the still-festering wounds of the war in other communities and, eventually, between North and South Korea.

"It's time to bury the past and its vengeance," said Choi Jae Woo, who at 85 is among the oldest residents of Gurim. "Both sides must realize we were all victims of the war. We must forgive and move on."

Chiang Kai-shek's family threatens to bury his remains in China

This poses an interesting ongoing dilemma for Taiwan.

Link: Chiang Kai-shek's family threatens to bury his remains in China : Asia World.

The Rape of Nanking

Today my friends in Nanjing, China commemeorate the aweful events that took place 70 years ago.

The scars of Nanking: Memories of a Japanese outrage

Sirens, displays mark Chinese commemoration of 'Nanking Massacre'

The official Xinhua News Agency said residents passed a peace declaration calling "all the peace-loving people to be united in building a peaceful, harmonious and reconciliatory new world."

China mourns victims of Nanjing Massacre

Memorial curator: Remains of Nanjing Massacre victims well preserved

Nanjing remembers massacre victims

My heart is with them. I have stood many times in the Massacre Memorial Hall and wept.

The story of how some sought to save Chinese in Nanjing is being celebrated in the movie Nanking. The home where John Rabe, the German who helped save a quarter of a million Chinese in the International Safety Zone is now a Centre of Peace and Reconciliationin nanjing University.

A Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in Nanjing!!

Residence of John Rabe, author of "Rabe's Diary" opened

I pray that true reconciliation can be found between the Japanese and Chinese. I pray that an apology can be made. I pray that forgiveness can be extended.

More reports.

China marks 70th anniversary of 'Nanking Massacre

'China Remembers Nanking

and finally Shanghaiist blog has this:  China remembers the Nanking Massacre