Eighty years ago on August 6, the United States and Japan ended a devastating war in the Pacific region. Yet for the past eighty years, the United States and Japan have stood shoulder to shoulder in defending peace and prosperity in the Pacific. Tomorrow marks a solemn day of reflection and remembrance, as we honor the people of Hiroshima and their enduring message of peace and hope. For eight decades, their resilience has inspired the world, and their spirit of reconciliation has strengthened the U.S.-Japan Alliance and our shared commitment to peace and prosperity.

Today, our two nations stand as close allies, united and purposefully facing the future. By embracing the hope born of possibility, the partnership we have built serves as a beacon of freedom and progress for the world.

Tammy Bruce
Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State
August 5, 2025

How should we view the remarks about World War II posted by the U.S. Embassy in China on Weibo on August 6?

Viewpoint 1:
Aren’t we all eager to understand how the West systematically “rewrites history”? Now we’re witnessing it firsthand. As WWII witnesses pass away, our generation will observe the West’s entire process of inventing history. For example:

Step 1: Use ambiguous language in major holiday announcements and speeches to test public reaction. Replace “Anti-Fascist Alliance” with “Free World camp,” emphasize the Normandy Landings and Pacific naval battles, while omitting key Eastern Front campaigns.
Step 2: If there’s no major backlash, continue selectively ignoring the contributions and sacrifices of China and the USSR in official statements and documents, while exaggerating Western contributions. In major speeches and mainstream media, directly use phrases like “U.S.-British forces ended the war,” describing the Soviet Red Army’s Berlin campaign as “assisting in mopping up remnants.”
Step 3: Add “Atomic Bombs Saved Asia” theories to textbooks, claiming nuclear strikes “prevented a full Soviet occupation of Japan,” and reduce the War of Resistance against Japan to a “local conflict in the Asia-Pacific.” Replace “victorious nations” with “post-war order builders,” and list China as a “beneficiary” rather than a combatant in UN documents. Pass legislation like the Historical Archives Declassification Act to selectively release U.S. aid data to the USSR while erasing Soviet achievements.
Step 4: Cultural grafting—films fictionalizing “U.S. paratrooper Miller saving Nanjing civilians” portray China’s battlefield as “suffering lands awaiting Western saviors.” WWII games (Medal of Honor, Call of Duty) add East Asian storylines hinting at U.S.-Japan joint maintenance of regional order. Fund academic research to compress China’s wartime contribution to below 5% (e.g., by claiming the Hump Route decided Asia’s fate).
Step 5: If unchallenged, reverse causality—portray Japan as a victim of militarism, downplay Nanjing Massacre and “comfort women” discussions. Publish reports accusing the USSR of accelerating WWII via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, implying Nazi-Soviet ideological kinship. Pass laws like the Historical Disinformation Sanctions Act to deny visas to scholars rejecting the U.S. WWII narrative.
Final Step: At international summits, U.S.-Japan-Australia-India sign declarations excluding China, replacing the Potsdam Declaration with an “Indo-Pacific Peace Charter” that erases Taiwan-related clauses. Push UN resolutions to cement this rewritten history in global textbooks.

Supplement: Documented Examples

May 2020: U.S. DoD’s Victory in Europe Day statement claimed WWII began with “German and Soviet invasion of Poland,” equating the USSR with Nazi Germany. White House social media declared “U.S. and Britain defeated Nazism,” erasing Soviet contributions.
August 2025: White House “Peace Declaration” stated “U.S. and Japan ended a devastating war in the Pacific,” using geography to obscure Japanese aggression (e.g., Nanjing Massacre, Bataan Death March).
U.S. Embassy in Denmark claimed “U.S. forces liberated Auschwitz.” Facebook labeled historical photos of Soviet troops capturing Berlin as “violating policies” and deleted posts.
U.S. state textbooks termed “comfort women” as “wartime companions.”
Japan’s APA Hotel placed books denying the Nanjing Massacre.
Hiroshima Memorial blamed “Japan’s failure to prevent war”; U.S. textbooks framed the Pacific War as a “clash of values,” ignoring aggression.
2019 EU resolution called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact a “stepping stone” to WWII, implying Soviet-Nazi collusion.
Hiroshima Museum revised exhibits to “memorialize all war victims,” including kamikaze letters in “peace education.”

Reply 1.1: “To destroy a nation, first erase its history!”
Reply 1.2: “Why do they idolize phrases like ‘History is written by victors’ and ‘History is a little girl dressed up at will’? 😎”
Reply 1.3: “Western lies today prove we must rigorously scrutinize their historical narratives!”
Reply 1.4: “After going abroad, I understood why Iris Chang was driven to suicide. Condemning Japanese fascism is only ‘correct’ in mainland China. Elsewhere, whitewashing Japan is the norm. 😅”
Reply 1.5: “If WWII history can be distorted in under 100 years, how ‘refined’ is a Western ‘civilization’ narrative crafted over centuries?”
Reply 1.6: “Western pseudohistory in action! Where are our scholars defending this? Their lifetime of ‘Western expertise’ should be put to the test.”
Reply 1.7: “How much of Western history is real? Pseudohistory theories gain credibility—too many illogical contradictions.”

Viewpoint 2:
Western media (BBC, Reuters, DW, France 24, ABC, U.S. outlets + Al Jazeera/South China Morning Post) exclusively frame Hiroshima as Japan’s victimhood in 80th-anniversary coverage. Most Westerners know nothing of Japan’s atrocities—only atomic bombs and Pearl Harbor. SCMP comments alone mentioned Asian war crimes. Before debating “evil bullets,” ask what provoked them.

Viewpoint 3:
Western historical revisionism fuels Chinese skepticism: “Western pseudohistory” is a valid concern. If they dare alter 80-year-old events, what of 800-year-old ones?

Viewpoint 4:
Template acquired. Let’s say:
“China and Japan ended a devastating war on Japanese soil where no locals survived… We salute the Japanese people.”

Viewpoint 5:
Japan/U.S. cast Japan as “civilization’s gatekeeper disciplining barbarians.” WWII will be reframed as democracy defeating totalitarianism, with U.S./Japan as co-victors. Future U.S. apologies for nukes or blaming China won’t surprise. Taiwan already adopts this: “Today’s Axis powers are 100% democratic, prosperous, and respected—proving only freedom/democracy bring development. Authoritarianism brings slaughter and tragedy.”
George Orwell was right: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” Pseudohistory theories no longer seem laughable.

Viewpoint 6:
With U.S. narratives, future generations may believe China bombed Pearl Harbor and the USSR nuked Hiroshima.

Viewpoint 7:
“Han-Manchu unity” historiography is a joke. True mastery is U.S.-Japan unity historiography.

Viewpoint 8:
If they reinvent WWII—documented by oceans of texts/videos/global archives—how can their ancient “oral histories” be real?

Viewpoint 9:
This statement lacks subject-verb-object clarity, implying a U.S.-Japan alliance against some third party. Equating aggressor (Japan) and anti-fascist ally (U.S.) morally whitewashes Japan’s crimes. It insults victims and invaded Asian nations (especially China). Message: Aggressors need no reflection—just reconcile with America.

Viewpoint 10:
As a Bayesian statistician ignorant of ancient history, update your priors with:

“U.S. liberated Auschwitz.”
“Canadian Parliament honors Ukrainian veterans for fighting the USSR in WWII.”
“U.S./Japanese courage at Iwo Jima defended freedom.”
Does pseudohistory’s posterior probability rise or fall?

Viewpoint 11:
After inventing “U.S. liberated Auschwitz,” now “U.S.-Japan coalition defeated China’s invading army.” Unbelievable.

Viewpoint 12:
Thankfully, the U.S. Embassy posted in Chinese—or else Zhihu pedants would lecture about “translation errors.” They deliberately wrote ambiguously: “U.S. and Japan ended a Pacific war” (not “U.S. ended war with Japan”). Later, “standing shoulder-to-shoulder” confirms intent to mislead.
Recommend mass-reporting misinformation and banning minors from U.S. Embassy content. China underestimates Western governments’ shamelessness in distorting history.
Recall: U.S. fueled Japan’s early aggression by supplying oil/steel. From China’s view, U.S.-Japan were fascist allies. Pearl Harbor? Just inter-alliance conflict. Is America an unpunished fascist regime? Chilling.
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