I don’t know why I only remembered it know, but anyway: On the way out to Yanqing on Saturday morning, I saw a Hyundai Santa Fe driving past. Black, as per usual, but with a large red stripe under the rear window. On the left hand end of that stripe were the five yellow stars of the Chinese flag, and running across its length were the words:
‘Senkaku Islands’ return to China!
Which left me wondering:
- If you’re such a huge patriot, why are you driving a foreign car?
- Why ‘Senkaku Islands’ instead of Diaoyutai?
- And why is this written in English?
I can’t think of any reasonable answer to any of those questions, except perhaps that the driver may not have been aware that Hyundai is in fact South Korean and not Chinese. I have come across this kind of thing before. And question 2: I mean, if you’re such a strong patriot, why on earth are you using the Japanese name for those few piles of rock? Why? But question 3, wow. I mean, really, why English? This is not a dispute between China and any English-speaking country, and I’ve never heard of any country other than China (People’s Republic of… and Republic of… together) and Japan involving themselves in any way in the discussions over those few lumps of rock. So really, why English?
Easy answers.
1. Korea is part of China. Just wait.
2. The English signs only have the Japanese words, because the English-speaking world doesn’t recognize the Chinese claim.
3. He’s wanted you to blog about it so he got an English bumper sticker.
Mr Stinson, you are a genius. Thank you.