My second time on the television morning show "早安你好" (Good Morning Singapore)
(MediaCorp - Channel 8)
25 June 2011
(updated 20th May 12noon)
Below are two news-video articles from both Chinese and American news agencies (CCTV and ABC news).
A short Chinese news agency (CCTV) interviewing a Japanese analyst on the warming of ties.
The Greatest Weakness stems from the Weakest Greatness humans have indoctrinated themselves to believe. From issues ranging from political ideology, to zealous religious faiths, and from inter-human relationships to the paranoia of possessive ownership, the human mind offers both the cause and effect explanation for justification.
The creation of things on earth draws both religious belief and empirical scientific proof into a never ending debate, a feud that could never end, notwithstanding the extinction of this self-annihilating species, commonly known to us ‘homo sapiens’.
Religion and beliefs offer many similar traits, the preaching of positive and good deeds versus those with evil intent. However, over the centuries, various cultures, traditions and practices (in certain areas, malpractices) develop their individually localized strands of these beliefs, thus creating a consistently polarizing world. These differences offer the greatest rift between men.
While this may seem controversial, it is in my opinion that human weakness accounts for the imagination of religions. This imagination and recreation of what was reality turned into myth and legend is more than purely a way of human control, but also the excuse needed for human survival. Human survival does not purely stem from the necessity of procreation, but also from the simple basic desire for knowledge. When that knowledge could not be satisfied with naturally accepted reality, then the power of imagination comes into play. Great Moses parted a sea, enlightenment occurred under a Bodi tree, and while some gods chose jackals for heads, others preferred elephants. I love religion, because all religions preach good things, and while there are those that choose to denounce others and maintain a staunch belief in their own, I offer my humble three words: “frogs in wells”.
I am not lost, at least I do not deem myself lost. I deem myself rational and pragmatic, while some may argue, I beg to differ. Firstly, religion is a faith and belief a person chooses, preferably based upon personal preferences. These preferences differ between individuals, and should be respected, however, a parent’s belief in his or her child, and the faith they put into their child(ren) shares many similar traits. Secondly, religion preaches the positive, be that of good deeds or charity. The fundamentals of Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism etc all share those qualities; these religions condemn looting and theft, adultery and innocent killings. Are nations’ judiciary laws not based upon similar grounds?
I am mere mortal. By saying that, I am acknowledging my personal belief in higher beings. I am not contradicting myself, because hope, faith and belief permits continuity, and without continuity, humans as a race would have ceased to exist eons ago. But then again, do we not kill ourselves with vices, wars over territory, ideology and religion?
Regardless of our skin colour, language and location, we all look different. Regardless of religion, beliefs and traditions, we are all different. Our differences make us individually special, accept it, adapt to it and embrace it.
Scholars from Japan and China on Monday opened new talks to draft a joint study of their history, a frequent source of friction between the Asian powers, officials said. The talks come amid a regional uproar after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month denied that Japan coerced thousands of Asian women into brothels during World War II.
The joint study group, gathering 10 historians from each country, will meet behind closed doors for two days and pay a courtesy call on Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, a foreign ministry statement said. The meeting follows the first talks held in December in Beijing. The latest meeting aims to set up the modalities for the study, the statement said. The joint history review was agreed to by Abe when he paid a fence-mending visit to China in September. The two countries have set a target date of publication of their joint study in 2008.
The review covers thousands of years of history, including periods of goodwill between the two civilisations. But the most bitterly disputed points involve Japan's 1931-1945 occupation of China, which remains a major cause of anger six decades afterwards. Beijing maintains 35 million Chinese were either killed or injured, most of them civilians, due to Japan's aggression, but the number is disputed by many Japanese historians. China has long charged that Japan has failed to atone for its wartime conduct, while Japan accuses China of ignoring the post-war period including Tokyo's economic support to Beijing in its history textbooks. Relations were badly strained under Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, due to his annual visits to a shrine venerating Japanese war dead and war criminals alike.
Prime Minister Abe's visit to China during the last quarter of 2006, and Prime Minister Wen's visit to Japan during the 2nd quarter of 2007, labelled the "ice breaking visit" and "ice thawing visit" respectively by Prime Minister Wen are also note-worthy events that could help improve the ties between the two nations.
The closer the relationship between East Asian nations, - namely China, Japan, and Korea [there is ONE Korea, not two. Just as there is only ONE China, not two] - the greater the prospects for development and growth in Asia-Pacific (A-P). An A-P bloc would lower American influence in this region, along with improvements and cohesion with ASEAN, a real-working "Co-Prosperity-Region" in Asia with global economic giants could be materialized.