Jeonnam Life :: 전남 생활 :: 全南 生活

Anyone whose spent time in Asia or studied Asian nations – be it East Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea and China; SE Asian nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam; or Southern and Western Asian nations such as India, Pakistan and Iran (and not to mention more extreme nations such as Myanmar and North Korea) – will notice that a common thread which runs through most Asian nations – be they Buddhist, Communist, Islamic or atheist – is a strong sense of national identity often to levels resembling nationalistic Europe of the early- and mid- 20th century.

Asian nationalism often revolves around the main – or until recently in ethnically homogeneous nations such as Japan and South Korea, essentially only – ethnic group, whereby children are often taught and in many cases indoctrinated to foster a strong love of country, (majority) ethnic and national identity. A shot of national identity and pride may be good in small doses to foster a co-operative, harmonious and communal society. But, when this national identity and pride is indoctrinated to levels that excludes others – be they native-born residents of minority ethnicity, migrants or foreign nationals, that’s when the slope gets a bit slippery. If all your neighbours feel the same way with the same sense of strong national pride in a vast yet crowded and increasingly powerful and influential continent that’s when things start to look increasingly troublesome for the future. And, when the nationalism takes the form of resentment, animosity, intolerance or downright hatred towards your neighbours for past, present or perceived future atrocities, that’s when things feel like they’re starting to resemble a warm summer’s day in 1914’s  Sarajevo.

Don’t think for a minute that the West is immune from its own version of nationalism – these links with provide examples of ethnic-based nationalism/conflict in Western nations: example 1 from the US, example 2 from the UK, and example 3 from Australia. The main difference between these examples and the situation throughout most of Asia is that in the vast majority of secular Western nations, nationalism is not indoctrinated by the State, is not actively taught in school curriculum, not as widespread and no longer institutionalised yet, still unfortunately largely existent but in many cases punished.

The situation is quite different in many parts of Asia however. Let’s look at the multi-ethnic, multi-religious state of Malaysia for example, where the majority Muslim Malay population are advantaged through the Bumiputera policy at the expense of other ethnic groups – most notably Chinese- and Indian-Malaysians. Or, South Korea, yes South Korea not North Korea, where snippets of Korean nationalism – often taking the form of anti-American or anti-Japanese sentiment yet curiously rarely significant anti-Chinese sentiment – can be found expressed here and here.

Now, let’s briefly cast the spotlight over to China who right now have been actively bullying a sovereign Western nation, Australia, into not allowing a film by Uighur activist, Rebiya Kadeer, to be shown at an International Film Festival in Melbourne. Not to mention the litany of sins committed under State-sponsored oppression of minority ethnic and religious groups within China most notably in Tibet and Xinjiang. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg believe me.

Anyone whose followed the news since the Partition of 1947 will know the bitter, simmering, hot/cold conflict between Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India has already spawned four wars, numerous terrorist attacks and proliferation of nuclear weapons by both parties. The heart of this ongoing conflict lies largely along nationalist and religious lines, with the threat of increased conflict ever present. It’s in the world’s best interests that the 2nd most populous and 12th richest, and the 6th most populous and 48th richest nations never go to war again!

Not too mention the continued simmering bitterness, envy, tension, animosity and hatred towards Japan as a direct result of – and perceived lack of repatriations since – Japanese atrocities committed during the first half of the 20th century until 1945 throughout East and large parts of Southeast Asia, most notably in China and Korea, where decades-old, past Japanese atrocities are still actively taught and fresh on peoples’ minds. This bitterness is also exacerbated by the belief that Japan hasn’t made enough acknowledgments and repatriations both financially and emotionally for these past atrocities.  To this, Japan hasn’t helped the situation by occasionally revising its school texts to either distort, downplay, or put a positive spin on Japanese occupation and subsequent Japanese atrocities, whilst occasionally displaying strong insensitivity by having leaders attend the Yasukuni War Shine honouring Japanese soldiers and criminals, often architects of the most heinous atrocities. The still pronounced anti-Japanese sentiment in China and South Korea occasionally bubbles to the surface such as during the ongoing Dokdo/Takeshima dispute between South Korea and Japan. As China continues its progression to superpower status and with the global power shift that comes with this, you just have to hope that China, Japan, and South Korea in the middle, can find a way to resolve the issues of the past and look towards a prosperous, peaceful future for the sake not only of themselves but the entire world.

This post has only barely scratched the surface of Asian nationalism with its varying forms, intensity and manifestations. Here’s hoping 21st century Asia can find a way to resolve its many issues and find a way towards a more united, peaceful and prosperous future as this century- and most likely the one or two after -  is Asia’s century and the world cannot continue prosper, or even survive, with a divided, broken Asia. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen and that Asia learns from the lessons Europe learnt the hard way during the 20th century.