‘There are good and bad among all races and nationalities’

THIS is in response to Eddie Ilarde’s open letter to Xi Jinping. Eddie decried “White European” colonial encroachments upon Chinese sovereignty and made reference to the “Rape of Nanking,” which he had to acknowledge was conducted not by “White Europeans” but by fellow Asians — the Japanese.

I was already somewhat familiar with the Rape of Nanking, but it was only after I attended a class in Chinese History, taught by a Chinese professor from the People’s Republic of China that I learned of the significant role played by a group of “White Europeans” who saved countless Chinese lives during the Rape of Nanking (1937-1938 during the second Sino-Japanese War).