Here’s a perfect example of the difference between Japan and China.

Whereas Japanese school boards may choose textbooks that gloss over WWII (their loss), there is nothing stopping the publication of a book strongly criticizing Japanese leaders or Japanese conduct in China. I’ve never seen a Chinese textbook, but I’d imagine that they tend to completely misrepresent the 20th century – by the command of Beijing. What’s more, no criticism of its leadership is tolerated in the publication industry at all. As the latest example, Mao: The Unknown Story has been banned in China (mentioned at the bottom of the article).

Reading the article, you can almost piece together the missing verses from the song “Imagine”

Imagine no food
No tableware or pots and pans
Nothing to masticate or digest
Except the tree bark and grass
Or the flesh of your neighbor….

Okay, I’m no songwriter, but you get the idea.