China’s take on history suffers from visible disconnect with reality

The commentary piece by China’s ambassador, Xiao Qian, is an extraordinary inversion of history and the current situation (“A warning on rise of Japanese aggression”, 9/12).

It evokes the Japanese atrocities of nearly a century ago to accuse Japan of rearming in the face of aggression, of threatening “regional peace and stability”. The regional bully would have Australians believing this distortion of the truth, and the Albanese government’s shameful silence on its attack on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looks like acquiescence to Beijing’s bluster.

Perhaps Xiao’s biggest whopper was his claim that China, Australia and others defeated Japanese aggression in 1945 – as if the US did not deserve credit for most of the victory. While it is true that generations of Japanese have not done penance for their nation’s outrages last century, the millions of victims of Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution and Deng Xiaoping’s Tiananmen Square also have been erased from Chinese history.

It is fair-minded of this newspaper to publish his claims, but the readers will not be taken in.

John Morrissey, Hawthorn, Vic

It’s perplexing that, having suffered the full horrors of the most extreme brutal war with Japan in the lead-up to and during World War II, China seems to be wanting Taiwan to voluntarily unify with China. Nobody could hate the Japanese more than I should as the son of a Japanese POW of 3½ years. But I don’t. I suggest the Chinese Communist Party do the same. Invoking Japanese aggression in the past, as Xiao Qian, China’s ambassador to Australia, has done falsely conflates the past with the present. Xiao has his job to do. And he’s doing it well. But it’s China’s aggression we need to worry about today, not Japan’s.

Peter R. Tredenick, Laidley, Qld

Isn’t it ironic to see a non-superpower such as Japan prepared to stand up against Chinese aggression towards Taiwan. Not that long ago, American presidents would do the same. When asked if the US would defend Taiwan should China use military force to overrun the island nation, Joe Biden’s answer was an emphatic “yes”. No such commitment has been given by Donald Trump.

Frank Carroll, Moorooka, Qld

Ukraine left out in cold

Donald Trump is certainly entitled to leave Ukraine in the lurch to save American money, but he is not entitled to pretend he’s interested in peace.

If he thinks he can arbitrate between Europe and Russia, perhaps the US should leave NATO, whose only function is to defend Europe against Russia. His peace plan, giving everything to Russia, which no Ukrainian government could possibly accept, is just bizarre.

Brett Hunt, Rosanna, Vic

Bee in the bonnet

So the law sees the need to protect both blue-banded bee mural as well as the public servants who more recently made the controversial decision to oppose the goldmine development (“Secret bee business: judge rules Indigenous law trumps open justice”, 9/12).

But hang on a moment, who is protecting the Australian resource sector, which for so many years has made its undoubted contribution to our economy and standard of living?

Nick Palethorpe, Turramurra, NSW

Overlooking coal

Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on flights to help Turkey arrange the next COP meeting (why are we even doing this?), might Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen better spend the money on a study tour reviewing China’s energy build?

China is building two coal-fired power plants a week, and the experts advise that modern clean coal-fired plants remove more than 90 per cent of pollutants, including carbon dioxide.

For a nation sitting on the world’s largest high-quality coal reserves, why are we not even considering modern coal-fired plants?

Wayne Alexander, Eltham, Vic

Bowlers as batsmen

Australia would be in good hands with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as opening batsmen.

Starc would be the runs scorer and Boland the stoic partner at the other end. As long as they don’t bat through the innings, they would be fine.

Murray Horne, Cressy, Vic

Immigration worry

Politicians are not putting their heads around the reality of the immigration disaster in this country.

During 2023 and 2024, 667,000 migrants entered Australia. So we have to build 1.3 times the city of Newcastle every year for immigrants, leaving nothing for Australians to live in. It’s political negligence and shows contempt for Australians.

Evatt Furney, Gordon, NSW