Posted at 2015.09.13 Category : WSJ
シンガポールに来ているため、故リークアンユー首相に関するエッセイがWSJにあったのを思い出して読み直してみました。
Lee Kuan Yew’s Power of Forgiveness
When it came to the sins of the past, the prime minister put the future of Singapore first.
By JOHN CURTIS PERRY
March 24, 2015 2:08 p.m. ET
Unlike the other newly independent nations that proliferated with the quick collapse of the European oceanic empires following World War II, Singapore embraced its colonial past instead of excoriating it. Lee was ready to forgive the many sins of colonial rule. In a symbolic gesture, instead of removing a prominent statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, an arch-imperialist founding father of the British colony, Lee kept him standing in the heart of the city. He elevated Raffles to a pantheon of other Singaporean makers of the nation, using the Englishman to help fashion an identity for a newly independent state.
As a non-Asian, Raffles stood as a neutral figure conveniently apart from Singapore’s Chinese, Malay and Tamil ethnic groups. Lee used him to personify the positive and upscale aura of British imperial tradition—its stability and dignity, its language and global connections. All of these were attractive to the potential foreign investors whom Lee fervently wanted to court. Furthermore, colonial paternalism formed part of that legacy, an authoritarianism that Lee and his colleagues found most suitable for the needs of their struggling new state.
言われてみれば、独立国は植民地支配を否定的に捉えがちですが、シンガポールは違いますね。ラッフルズ卿上陸拠点が今でも観光地となっているように、むしろ植民地支配の遺産をいい意味で継承しています。これと同じようなことを第二次世界大戦で占領して華僑虐殺までした日本に対しても行ったと語っています。
Just as Lee forgave British colonial arrogance, so did he forgive Japanese World War II military brutality. Unlike China and Korea, Singapore nurtures no sense of grievance towards its former occupiers, despite the hardship and exceptional cruelty of the wartime Japanese presence. Arbitrary face-slapping and public urination were the least of it. The Japanese chose Chinese Singaporeans, three quarters of the population, for the worst treatment due their suspected loyalties to China. The occupiers singled out those who had soft hands and wore glasses—marks of the leadership class—for execution. Many thousands died.
Yet Singaporeans after the war, under Lee’s governance, set aside these bitter memories of the past for the better interests of the present. Recognizing and admiring the extraordinary rise of modern Japan and its rapid recovery from war and defeat, in his scramble to create jobs for Singaporeans, Lee turned to the Japanese for advice on shipbuilding and electronics, successfully luring Japanese investment to help Singapore create a job-rich manufacturing economy. Americans eventually joined in and now have invested twice as much in tiny Singapore as in all of China.
この論者はアメリカや中国、韓国に対しても同じように振る舞うことができるのではと締めていますが、同じことは日本にも言えますね。
The lesson is clear. The U.S. “forgot Pearl Harbor” and soon began to build a significant mutually beneficial relationship with Japan. After centuries of animosity and conflict, another war between France and Germany is now virtually unthinkable. Both Koreas and China also could profit now from putting reason over emotion, laying aside past political grievances, horrendous as they might be, in favor of present economic realities and advantages.
シンガポールの態度に関しては、うにうにさんという方がハフィントンポストでいろいろ勉強になる記事を書いてくださっていました。過去を許すということはそんなに一筋縄ではいかない難しいものだったことがわかります。
戦後70年 安倍首相談話を受け入れたシンガポール
リー・クアンユー シンガポール初代首相:華僑虐殺を超えた戦後処理が最大の対日功績
8月の安倍首相の談話に関してシンガポール政府が声明を出していることを教わりました。その全文になります。
August 16, 2015
MFA Press Statement: Abe Statement of 14 August 2015
Singapore notes Prime Minister Abe’s statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The statement expresses profound grief and sincere condolences for those who perished during the War. It noted that Japan had repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war. It stated that such position articulated by previous Japanese cabinets will remain unshakeable. Prime Minister Abe also said that Japan should squarely face the past, take the lessons of history deeply and make all efforts for peace and prosperity.
On 15 August 2015, His Majesty Emperor Akihito also expressed the need for Japan to reflect on “our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war”.
Singapore has not forgotten the horrors and suffering of World War II. Singapore’s position is that Japan should accept clear responsibility for the war. At the same time, it is equally important for all countries to build upon the statements of His Majesty Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Abe and previous Japanese cabinets to seek further reconciliation and move forward. This will benefit our region and the world.
このようなシンガポールの態度をForgive but not forgetのようにまとめていることが多いですが、発展して活気のある暮らしを見ているとLiving well is the best revenge.という名句の方をYutaは思い起こしました。出典はよく覚えていませんが、NHKの「実践ビジネス英語」が「やさしいビジネス英語」だったころに紹介されていたものです。
Lee Kuan Yew’s Power of Forgiveness
When it came to the sins of the past, the prime minister put the future of Singapore first.
By JOHN CURTIS PERRY
March 24, 2015 2:08 p.m. ET
Unlike the other newly independent nations that proliferated with the quick collapse of the European oceanic empires following World War II, Singapore embraced its colonial past instead of excoriating it. Lee was ready to forgive the many sins of colonial rule. In a symbolic gesture, instead of removing a prominent statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, an arch-imperialist founding father of the British colony, Lee kept him standing in the heart of the city. He elevated Raffles to a pantheon of other Singaporean makers of the nation, using the Englishman to help fashion an identity for a newly independent state.
As a non-Asian, Raffles stood as a neutral figure conveniently apart from Singapore’s Chinese, Malay and Tamil ethnic groups. Lee used him to personify the positive and upscale aura of British imperial tradition—its stability and dignity, its language and global connections. All of these were attractive to the potential foreign investors whom Lee fervently wanted to court. Furthermore, colonial paternalism formed part of that legacy, an authoritarianism that Lee and his colleagues found most suitable for the needs of their struggling new state.
言われてみれば、独立国は植民地支配を否定的に捉えがちですが、シンガポールは違いますね。ラッフルズ卿上陸拠点が今でも観光地となっているように、むしろ植民地支配の遺産をいい意味で継承しています。これと同じようなことを第二次世界大戦で占領して華僑虐殺までした日本に対しても行ったと語っています。
Just as Lee forgave British colonial arrogance, so did he forgive Japanese World War II military brutality. Unlike China and Korea, Singapore nurtures no sense of grievance towards its former occupiers, despite the hardship and exceptional cruelty of the wartime Japanese presence. Arbitrary face-slapping and public urination were the least of it. The Japanese chose Chinese Singaporeans, three quarters of the population, for the worst treatment due their suspected loyalties to China. The occupiers singled out those who had soft hands and wore glasses—marks of the leadership class—for execution. Many thousands died.
Yet Singaporeans after the war, under Lee’s governance, set aside these bitter memories of the past for the better interests of the present. Recognizing and admiring the extraordinary rise of modern Japan and its rapid recovery from war and defeat, in his scramble to create jobs for Singaporeans, Lee turned to the Japanese for advice on shipbuilding and electronics, successfully luring Japanese investment to help Singapore create a job-rich manufacturing economy. Americans eventually joined in and now have invested twice as much in tiny Singapore as in all of China.
この論者はアメリカや中国、韓国に対しても同じように振る舞うことができるのではと締めていますが、同じことは日本にも言えますね。
The lesson is clear. The U.S. “forgot Pearl Harbor” and soon began to build a significant mutually beneficial relationship with Japan. After centuries of animosity and conflict, another war between France and Germany is now virtually unthinkable. Both Koreas and China also could profit now from putting reason over emotion, laying aside past political grievances, horrendous as they might be, in favor of present economic realities and advantages.
シンガポールの態度に関しては、うにうにさんという方がハフィントンポストでいろいろ勉強になる記事を書いてくださっていました。過去を許すということはそんなに一筋縄ではいかない難しいものだったことがわかります。
戦後70年 安倍首相談話を受け入れたシンガポール
リー・クアンユー シンガポール初代首相:華僑虐殺を超えた戦後処理が最大の対日功績
8月の安倍首相の談話に関してシンガポール政府が声明を出していることを教わりました。その全文になります。
August 16, 2015
MFA Press Statement: Abe Statement of 14 August 2015
Singapore notes Prime Minister Abe’s statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The statement expresses profound grief and sincere condolences for those who perished during the War. It noted that Japan had repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war. It stated that such position articulated by previous Japanese cabinets will remain unshakeable. Prime Minister Abe also said that Japan should squarely face the past, take the lessons of history deeply and make all efforts for peace and prosperity.
On 15 August 2015, His Majesty Emperor Akihito also expressed the need for Japan to reflect on “our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war”.
Singapore has not forgotten the horrors and suffering of World War II. Singapore’s position is that Japan should accept clear responsibility for the war. At the same time, it is equally important for all countries to build upon the statements of His Majesty Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Abe and previous Japanese cabinets to seek further reconciliation and move forward. This will benefit our region and the world.
このようなシンガポールの態度をForgive but not forgetのようにまとめていることが多いですが、発展して活気のある暮らしを見ているとLiving well is the best revenge.という名句の方をYutaは思い起こしました。出典はよく覚えていませんが、NHKの「実践ビジネス英語」が「やさしいビジネス英語」だったころに紹介されていたものです。
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