【今週の直言】 英訳版 人選を誤った民間初の中国大使 |
今回の大地震発生時、私は東京を発って、福井に帰る東海道新幹線の車内にいた。浜松あたりで突然列車が停まり、安全確認終了まで運行を停止する旨のアナウンスがあった。
数十分後、「この列車に限って運転を再開する」と再度アナウンスがあり、動き出した。
聞けば、東京に近い後続の列車は、軒並み、数時間ないしそれ以上停められたという。つい先ほどまで会議室でテーブルを囲んでいた国家基本問題研究所の同僚たちも、多くはその日、自宅に帰れなかった。
私は幸運すぎるほど幸運だった。津波の映像を見るたび、胸が痛む。国を挙げて被害者救済と復興に取り組みたい。
下記は、国基研の「今週の直言」に私が書いた「人選を誤った民間初の中国大使」の英訳版である。ここにも転載しておく。
http://en.jinf.jp/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/79shimada.pdf
Speaking Out #79
March 7, 2011
Badly chosen ambassador to China
Yoichi Shimada
Planning Committee Member of JINF and Professor at Fukui Prefectural Univ.
The importance of Japan’s ambassadorship may increase at least temporarily as Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara abruptly resigned. Just after former Itochu Corp. President Uichiro Niwa was appointed ambassador to China, he made such comment on Japan's North Korean policy that led me to view him as precarious: "As well as the resolution of the abduction issue, the restoration of Japan's diplomatic relations with North Korea may be the final goal and so, efforts to that end remain required (SankeiBiz, July 23, 2010)."
The comment indicates no philosophy or imagination. At a time when even South Korean President Lee Myung-bak known as a middle-of-the-road pragmatist advocates a unification tax to prepare for a collapse of the North Korean government, a person who views the restoration of diplomatic relations with North Korea as a final goal may not be able to depict the future course of Japan-China relations.
Is "Jasmine Revolution" impossible for China?
At a foreign policy meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party on March 1, Niwa reportedly said, "Chinese people have no enthusiasm or ambition to overthrow the government even at the cost of their present livelihoods." "We should not expect any event like the Jasmine Revolution in China," he was also quoted as saying.
These remarks indicate that the ambassador underestimates Chinese people. It is not honorable for Japan to have an ambassador who does not feel any anger at or any problem with the suppressive Chinese government under which any citizens indicating any enthusiasm or ambition to overthrow the single-party dictatorship lose livelihoods as did Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and his wife.
Niwa also made a controversial remark on July 26, 2010: "It (China's military expansion) may be natural for a big power." Then Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada defended the remark as a prelude to a conclusion that China's military spending should be more transparent. But the most important problem is that the Democratic Party of Japan government has passively observed China's transparently hegemonic expansion
Stop Japan's ODA to China
Given that China has outdone Japan to become the world's second largest economy in terms of GDP and that the Japanese government's official development assistance guideline calls for paying sufficient attention to military spending, the development and production of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, arms exports and imports, the promotion of democratization, and the guarantee of human rights and freedom in ODA-receiving countries, the government must terminate economic assistance to China. In this respect as well, however, Niwa is cited as one of those who are the most reluctant to change the status quo.
Niwa has ever indicated a seemingly sound view: "When reading history textbooks in China, I feel that they are problematic. Chapters on the modern history cover various events regarding the war. Chinese should not be made Japan-hating." Instead of questioning the Chinese authorities about the distortion of history, however, Niwa voiced his hope to "tour China and undertake speeches to diffuse the fact that there are many good people in Japan." He may be complacent with such girlish idea.
But the most precarious is a preposterous policy of the DPJ leadership including Okada who said Niwa's appointment as ambassador to China would "test whether ambassadors from the private sector would take hold" in Japan.