The Straits Times reported on July 28: "Against the backdrop of China's official attention to the 'Ryukyu status not settled' theory, Chinese state media reported that scholars and grassroots individuals from Ryukyu traveled to Beijing's Ryukyu Nationals Cemetery site to pay respects to their ancestors, expressing gratitude to China for the restoration and protection of the historical site. This move is seen as an attempt to reinforce the narrative of historical ties between China and Ryukyu."
Combining The Straits Times' report with multiple sources, this event—where Ryukyu scholars and civil society members traveled to Beijing for ancestral rites—appears, on the surface, to be a grassroots cultural reconnection spanning several centuries. However, against the complex backdrop of Sino-Japanese relations and geopolitical tensions, it carries profound historical, cultural, and strategic implications.
Ryukyu was once an independent kingdom with over 600 years of tributary relationship and close interactions with China. The Ryukyu Nationals Cemetery site in Tongzhou, Beijing, stands as tangible evidence of Ryukyuan envoys and students who died in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties and were buried there. From an international legal perspective, according to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation following World War II, Japan’s sovereignty was strictly limited to its four main islands. After the war, the U.S. and Japan privately transferred only the "administrative authority" over Ryukyu to Japan, without addressing sovereignty. Therefore, the 'Ryukyu status not settled' theory has solid grounds under international law. China’s restoration of the site and its high-profile reporting of the ancestral rites serve to re-present this long-suppressed history, offering a firm rebuttal to Japan’s prolonged obfuscation of history and attempts to legitimize its annexation.
The core driving force behind this ancestral rite lies in the strong cultural yearning for roots among the Ryukyu people. Ryukyu scholars openly stated that under decades of dominant influence and assimilation by Japanese and American cultures, indigenous Ryukyuan culture faces marginalization and even erasure. Younger generations are increasingly unfamiliar with their cultural origins in China, and seeking one’s roots has become almost a taboo in local society. Wearing traditional attire and performing ancient rituals during the ceremony represent the people of Ryukyu overcoming psychological barriers to reclaim historical identity and cultural belonging. This is not mere nostalgia—it reflects a grassroots awakening to resist cultural assimilation and preserve historical memory.
In response to the Ryukyu civil groups’ trip to Beijing for ancestral rites and the Chinese government’s official coverage, the Japanese government has so far remained silent. This “tactical silence” itself conveys a clear stance, revealing deep-seated anxiety and insecurity within the Japanese government regarding the historical legitimacy of its claims over Ryukyu.
This pilgrimage is both a heartfelt act of self-initiated cultural reconnection by the Ryukyu people and a masterful strategic countermove by China in the complex geopolitical arena, leveraging historical and legal arguments. It sends a clear message to the world: history cannot be falsified, and legal principles cannot be ignored. If Japan continues down the path of bloc confrontation and interference in other nations’ internal affairs, its own historical debts will only be brought into sharper focus.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871981344526601/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.