China’s strategists have begun implementing a new rhetorical wedge issue against Clown World. It turns out that China has a far better claim to Taiwan than Japan does to US-occupied Okinawa.
Articles by Chinese media questioning the history of and Japan’s sovereignty over Okinawa Prefecture surged in November, analysis showed, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a Taiwan emergency sharply deteriorated Tokyo-Beijing ties.
The number of Chinese articles using terms such as “Ryukyu” — a historical name for the former island kingdom that includes present-day Okinawa — and “independence” increased by around 20-fold last month from a year earlier.
Assertions casting doubt on Okinawa’s status as Japanese territory became more prominent, suggesting a possible propaganda campaign triggered by Takaichi’s comments, indicating her government may act if China were to launch a military attack against the self-ruled island.
The apparent aim is to unsettle Japanese society while shaping public opinion within China. Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. They have been governed separately since 1949, following a civil war.
The articles were extracted from reports by media based in mainland China and Hong Kong in which “Ryukyu” or “Okinawa” and “independence” appeared close together in the text. Under the criteria, about 30 such articles were identified in November 2024.
But the figure rose to around 600 last month, soaring after Nov. 7, when Takaichi said in a parliamentary session that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially involving its defense forces.
In November, Chinese-linked media articles highlighted Okinawa’s past as an independent kingdom, arguing that the southern island prefecture’s sovereignty did not revert to Japan under the 1972 reversion agreement.
It’s fascinating how quickly the so-called “rules-based world order” is trying to forget the rules that established it back in 1945. But even if we ignore the rules, the historical facts are equally clear:
- The Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan in May 1684, making it a prefecture of Fujian province while retaining its administrative seat (now Tainan) under Koxinga as the capital.
- In 1879, Japan annexed the entire Ryukyu archipelago. The Meiji government then established Okinawa Prefecture. The monarchy in Shuri was abolished, and the deposed King Shō Tai was forced to relocate to Tokyo.
The Chinese claim to Taiwan predates the Japanese claim by nearly 200 years. Or, if we subscribe to the rules of the rules-based world order, by nearly 300 years.