Manchukuo Temporary Government

Manchukuo Temporary Government

The website of the Manchukuo Temporary Government displays the old Flag of Manchukuo
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 滿洲國臨時政府
Japanese name
Kanji 満洲国臨時政府

The Manchukuo Temporary Government is an organisation established in 2004 in Hong Kong.[1] On its website, it claims to be the government in exile of Manchukuo, a Japanese puppet state with limited recognition which controlled northeast China from 1932 to 1945; it seeks to revive the state and to separate it from the People's Republic of China, which controls its claimed territory.[2] Journalists and internet users have expressed doubts about its authenticity and aims.[1]

Structure and symbols

Media summaries of its website state that the Manchukuo Temporary Government includes an emperor, a royal family, a prime minister, and a cabinet. It continues to use the old National Anthem of Manchukuo and Flag of Manchukuo.[1] It claims to have overseas branches in Brazil, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.[3] In 2008, the Manchukuo Temporary Government held elections to choose a new emperor, resulting in the election of "Aisin Gioro Xiaojie" (愛新覺羅‧孝傑), stated to be a student in the University of Hong Kong's history department; his actual relation to the Aisin Gioro clan is suspect, as his generation name "Xiao" (孝) does not fit with the actual clan genealogy.[1] However, that emperor dropped out of contact with the Manchukuo Temporary Government, so in April 2010, it held another election, won by "Aisin Gioro Chongji" (爱新觉罗‧崇基).[4]

The Manchukuo Temporary Government is a member of the International Monarchist Conference.[5] It also seeks to join the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.[1]

Financial activities

The Manchukuo Temporary Government's "central bank", which claims to succeed the old Central Bank of Manchou, declared the old Manchukuo yuan to have a fixed exchange rate of 0.8 to the United States dollar, and offers currency exchange services by post.[6] As early as 2007, it was issuing identity cards for US$3 each, and fantasy passports for US$8 each, with payment to be made by PayPal.[6] Its website claimed to sell Manchukuo postage stamps, but when a Ming Pao columnist enquired with them about the possibility of purchasing them, a spokesperson stated that the items were sold out.[4] It also issued what it referred to as "loyalty bonds". Its activities led the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission, and Spain's Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores to issue public warnings about it in February 2008 to emphasise that it is not a body permitted to offer investment services.[7][8]

Reactions

The Manchukuo Temporary Government received occasional media attention in the context of the politics of Taiwan around the time of the 2009 elections, as its members may be distant relatives of Kuomintang general-secretary and ethnic Manchu King Pu-tsung, and it was jokingly suggested that King himself might be one of its secret agents.[1][9] Some internet users suspected the entire website of being a scam set up for the purpose of raising money.[1] Shen Xuhui (沈旭暉) of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, who previously researched Chinese nationalism and the internet with Shaun Breslin of the University of Warwick, also expressed suspicion of the website and its attempt to portray the revival of Manchukuo as a movement undertaken on behalf of Manchu people; he pointed out that the people who ever felt genuine identification with the state of Manchukuo were mostly not Chinese or Manchu but rather Japanese.[4] Another news commentator similarly suggested that Japanese nationalists were behind the site.[2] On the other hand, Shen also suggested that the whole website might simply be a spoof designed by internet trolls.[10]

The Manchukuo Temporary Government also provoked angry reactions from some quarters. A NOWnews guest columnist in May 2011, in the midst of other arguments against Taiwan independence, called the Manchukuo Temporary Government "the shame of the people of Northeast China".[3] Its stated political positions, such as support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan independence movement, as well as its calls to disrupt the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, earned it the ire of internet users in mainland China.[1] At one point, rumours were spreading in mainland Chinese internet forums that one "Toshiaki Kawashima" (川島志明), whom they alleged to be the nephew of Yoshiko Kawashima and prime minister of the Manchukuo Temporary Government, was working as a secret agent for Chen Shui-bian in Papua New Guinea with the aim of fomenting violence against Chinese people there.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "滿洲國復辟？　金溥聰有個族人自封是皇帝 [Manchukuo restored? King Pu-tsung has a clansman who proclaimed himself emperor]", NOWNews, 2009-12-10, retrieved 2011-09-26
  2. 1 2 孫亨利 [Henry Sun] (2009-09-16), "滿洲國要復活了！ [Manchukuo revived!]", NOWNews, retrieved 2011-09-26
  3. 1 2 阿修伯 (2011-05-25), "聲討賤性台獨、賤性滿獨 [Denounce Taiwanese independence and Manchukuo independence]", NOWNews, retrieved 2011-09-26
  4. 1 2 3 沈旭暉 [Shen Xuhui] (2010-05-09), "從互聯網「滿洲國皇帝全民直選」談起 [Regarding the internet "Manchukuo Emperor election"]", Ming Pao, retrieved 2011-09-26
  5. ↑ "愛新覺羅的國仇家恨！ [Aisin Gioro's national enmity and personal hatred!]", South News, 2009-12-15, retrieved 2011-09-26
  6. 1 2 "騎呢滿洲國護照 8美元一本 [Funny Manchukuo passports, US$8 each]", Apple Daily, 2007-07-03, retrieved 2011-09-26
  7. ↑ Εταιρειεσ μη εχουσεσ αδεια παροχησ επενδυτικων υπηρεσιων βασει σχετικων προειδοποιησεων (public warnings) ξενων εποπτικων αρχων (PDF), Hellenic Capital Market Commission, retrieved 2011-09-26
  8. ↑ "CNMV advierte tres compañías Hong Kong podrían dar servicios sin autorización", Estrategias de inversión, 2008-03-06, retrieved 2011-09-26
  9. ↑ "金溥聰是超極震撼彈 [King Pu-tsung's a real shocker]", NOWNews, 2009-12-17, retrieved 2011-09-26
  10. ↑ 沈旭暉 [Shen Xuhui] (2010-05-16), "「太平洋滿洲獨立基地」——網絡稻草人的故事 ['Pacific Manchuria Independence Base' an internet scarecrow story]", Ming Pao, retrieved 2011-09-26
  11. ↑ 沈旭暉 [Shen Xuhui] (2010-05-14), "「滿洲國」參與巴布亞新畿內亞排華? ["Manchukuo" joined anti-Chinese activities in Papua New Guinea?]", Ming Pao, retrieved 2011-09-26

External links

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