Chinese goodwill toward those in need from bottom of heart

Illustration: Liu Xiangya/Global Times

Recently, an article from Japanese outlet Asahi Shimbun republished in the Beijing Daily told the story of how Japanese journalist Takashi Funakoshi finally found the Chinese policeman who had helped him 26 years ago in China. The Chinese man' good character and care for others in need despite speaking another language created a fond memory for the young Japanese man that influenced him for decades.

Funakoshi has worked in China for seven years now. Since he was about to head back to his home country, he thought there was one person he must find and meet before he departed. 

In March 1997, Funakoshi was traveling alone in China as a college student. On the train from Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, he suddenly got a bad stomachache. A passenger sitting opposite him offered him a hand. At that time, Funakoshi did not speak any Chinese. From the ID the man showed, Funakoshi learned that he was a policeman. When the train got to Luoyang, Central China' Henan Province, the man asked Funakoshi to get off the train with him. Although it was not Funakoshi's destination, he accepted the man's invitation since his body was trembling from more than two hours of agony.

The policeman soon found a hotel near the train station for Funakoshi and paid for the room. Three days later, Funakoshi recovered, and then the policeman invited him to his home for dinner prepared by the police's wife. The young man was quite moved, but the only way he could repay the officer's kindness was repeatedly saying "thank you" before he left.

This small act of kindness shows the simple and pure friendship of ordinary Chinese toward people from another country. Although the Chinese policeman only did what came naturally, his kindness sowed a seed of friendship in the young man's heart. 

Wondering why he was treated so well by a Chinese stranger, Funakoshi made up his mind to learn Chinese after that in the hopes that someday he would find the answer. 

After college graduation, Funakoshi joined Asahi Shimbun as a journalist. In 2016, he got an opportunity to work as the Shanghai bureau chief and later as a member of the China Bureau in 2018. During his seven years of working in China, Funakoshi kept searching for the whereabouts of this Chinese policeman who had moved from his original residence.

In March, Funakoshi happened to see the man's name online. To his pleasant surprise, it was the very man he had been looking for all these years. In Luoyang, the Chinese policeman, Liu Puxuan, greeted him with the same smile. After thanking Liu in Chinese for his kind help 26 years ago, Funakoshi got to ask his question.

"I didn't do anything extraordinary. I only thought that you were a brave young Japanese man who was traveling alone in our vast country," Liu replied shyly. 

This happy ending shows that the seed of friendship between the people of the two countries had borne fruit. Unfortunately, this valuable sentiment is often neglected by right-wing politicians and media that effortlessly portray China and Chinese in a negative light.

Just as Funakoshi commented in his own article, "although there are some complicated problems between China and Japan, the two countries are neighbors sharing similar cultural traditions. It's just that news reports are always affected by major issues between the two countries and ignore the small matters between people."  

After the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations in 1972, the friendship between the two peoples experienced rapid development, in spite of the bitter memories of the warring past, and laid a foundation for the future ties.

However, in recent years, some Japanese right-wing politicians have disregarded Chinese people's kindness and ignored the amity between the two peoples, pushing Japan from pacifism and toward the path of rearming itself, and alienating the country from China for the sake of US hegemony.

Their hostility has largely led to negative reports from Japanese media as well as the misunderstandings of many Japanese people, especially the young, toward China. 

2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, a document that deserves to be commemorated. At this difficult time for bilateral ties, it is good to learn that there are still some ordinary Japanese who like to tell the truth and value the pure and simple friendship of the Chinese people. It proves that no matter what those politicians do, the goodwill coming from the bottom of the heart for the wellbeing of humanity cannot be shaken.