Believing in Coincidences: Has Beijing's propaganda's ministry just pushed the boat out?

'Coincidentally' the Beijing bomb find in also came the day after 7000 residents of were evacuated from 西東京市 (West Tokyo City), Japan, after workers there discovery of an unexploded American “1-ton” bomb while constructing an apartment. Block; leading some to speculation that news reports regarding the Jiaozhuanghu tunnel bomb may not only have been a propaganda designed to keep 'racial memories' of the Japanese occupation alive at the time of an important anniversary, but also an effort by counter any images of Japan being a victim of the war, as well as an aggressor.

Despite the obvious impact that the Japanese invasion and occupation had on China, many China watchers feel that to keep bringing the war to the forefront is not healthy for China or for its relationship with Japan.

Many people also feel that the constant barrage of anti-Japanese news being broadcast in China not only does nothing to encourage Japan to take a more reconciliatory approach to Sino-Japanese history, but also that it serves to further erode what little political warmth remains between the two neighbors by providing fuel that Japan's discredited nationalist minority can use to rouse anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan.

A Fragment of Truth

Despite skepticism over the Beijing bomb story, it is not unknown for WWII munitions to be found in the modern era. Unexploded WWII ordinance is regularly discovered during construction work in cities that were carpet bombed. Though becoming increasingly rare the disruption of construction and reconstruction work, by unexploded bombs, is well documented in cities like Berlin, London and Tokyo, that were centers of industry during WWII.

Based on a reliability ratio of 95 percent, it is estimated that Berlin alone was the site of of 22,000 unexploded bombs, a quantity of bombs that is notable greater than the quantity that have so far been accounted for. Figures for other cities, including those in China, are equally alarming.

According to some experts, the task of clearing unexploded WWII munitions, including land mines and hidden ammunition dumps, may well continue, on some level, for the next 150 years.

Japan is currently engaged in effort with China, to clear unexploded or unused wartime munitions as a component of its reparations for wartime atrocities. Bomb disposal efforts have however been hampered by a lack of records on the Japanese side, as well as secrecy and a lack of transparency from Beijing; making locating munitions difficult, and disposing of them a political challenge.

The Jiaozhuanghu Tunnels?

The Jiaozhuanghu tunnels were a network of tunnels and underground shelter located about 60KM to the North East of central Beijing that were constructed during the early 1940s to allow villagers and soldiers to hide from the Japanese. The tunnels were later extended to connect four local villages together, allowing transit between them. In total the tunnel network is said to have eventually been 16.6KM long.

So far about 800 Meters of the network has been renovated and opened to the public, another 30 meter section is due to be opened during 2005.

While the renovation and preservation of the tunnels has been met with wide scale approval from historians and tourists, there have been some complaints that the first section of tunnels to be opened had been widened and clad in concrete, leaving them bearing little resemblance to the original tunnels.

In light of earlier criticisms, the remaining sections of tunnel, including those to be unveiled in 2005 are set to be preserved far closer to the way that they were during the war.

September 2, September 9 or August 15?

Though the Sino-Japanese segment of WWII, known 中国人民抗日战争 (The Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War of Resistance) and 日中戦争 (The Japan-China war) in China and Japan respectively, officially ended on September 9 1945, when China's nationalist army accepted Japan's surrender, Beijing celebrates Japan's surrender on the earlier date of August 15, known in the Japan an dthe west as VJ Day; the date on which Japan announced it unconditional surrender after the bombing of 広島市 (Hiroshima) and 長崎市 (Nagasaki).

The difference in celebration dates is largely seen as an effort by Beijing to diffuse attention away form the detail that Japan surrendered to Chang Kaichek's nationalist army, not to communist forces.

Beijing offers little recognition of the anniversary of September 2 1945, when Japan's formally signed its surrender to allied forces. An event in which Chinese communists played no substantive part

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