By Shannon Tiezzi
Xi Jinping wants more historical research done — but only on topics that fit the Party’s narrative surrounding the war.
As the August 15 anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II draws near, Chinese President Xi Jinping is determined that China’s role in the war not go unrecognized. On July 30, at a study session of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo focusing on what China calls the “Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression,” Xi called for stepped-up efforts to preserve and study the history of both Japan’s invasion of China and China’s resistance, saying the country needs a national-level plan to coordinate efforts.
Xi’s vision includes more academic research, more collection and organization of historical records, and more publicity (or propaganda) efforts to shape public discourse. In other words, except to see yet more books and TV shows about the war with Japan.
The end goal, as Xi put it, is both to “let history talk” and “use historical facts to speak.” But in Xi’s formulation, which emphasizes a “correct view of history,” it’s clear that the second function – using historical facts to spread Beijing’s message – is the more important one. That’s why Xi singles out three “important topics” for historical focus: The “great significance” of the War of Resistance; the “important status” of China’s War of Resistance in the World Anti-Fascist War (the Chinese government’s preferred name for World War II); and how the central role of the Chinese Communist Party was “the key to victory” in the War of Resistance.
These are not historical questions to be answered, but rather a preferred Party narrative that Xi wants grounded in historical research. Each of these points will be on display when China celebrates the end of World War II with its new national holiday on September 3, and each deserves separate consideration:
Read the full story at The Diplomat