[Editorial] Does China Want to Run Away from the Truth?

China has removed sections on Korean history before the 1948 establishment of the Republic of Korea from its foreign ministry’s website in a diplomatic provocation, following its glossing over of the history of Goguryo, an ancient Korean dynasty which ruled much of Manchuria. It has reneged on the agreement between the two countries to address the historical distortions as an academic matter. It now resorts to petty guiles to get around the demand by the Korean government to correct the Korean history section of the website. This is regrettable. Although it boasts vast land and a population of 1.4 billion, China cannot claim to be a great country in its entirety with such a low level of maneuvering.

The Chinese move is mounting a serious challenge to Korea-China relations which is now entering into its 12th year. After a summit in July of last year, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Korean President Roh Moo-hyun announced a communiqué in which they said the two countries will further develop the current relations into a future-oriented comprehensive partnership. Does glossing over the history of the country and ignoring demands by the ally’s political parties amount to a comprehensive partnership? The Chinese government should pull out the communiqué again and study it. A government which treated what had been agreed upon between its leader and another like rubbish is disqualified from discussing about diplomacy and history.

China’s double standard is a shame. It sternly responded to Japanese distortions of its history by refusing a visit to China by the Japanese prime minister. While it is strict about others’ faults, China turns deaf ears on criticism of its own faults. Is this China’s view on history?

In the face of China’s continuous distortions of history, Korea has little option but to change its posturing. This country has remained prudent about diplomatic issues related to China. We have supported its “one China” policy. We have supported or kept silent about China’s human rights condition such as the issues of Tibet and Dalai Lama. Despite public criticism, the Korean government maintained such a policy posturing to improve good-will relations with China. If China repays Korea’s good intentions with its distortions of history, the Korean public won’t understand the government’s diplomatic policy toward China.

The Chinese government should take Korea’s demands for the correction of its distortions seriously. If it does not want a war on history, China should be responsible for addressing the current conflict.