Ryukyu island problem

China and Qiu Shu have a suzerain-vassal relationship for more than 500 years. The relationship between Ryukyu and China has been very close since the Ming Dynasty. Ryukyu has been paying tribute to China, and all the kings of Ryukyu have accepted the knighthood of China. Ming Chengzu also presented 36 Minnan people with surnames to Ryukyu. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Ryukyu envoys came to China on 1646 and were received by the emperor shunzhi. Since then, Ryukyu envoys have been in constant contact with the Qing court. 1654, the king of Ryukyu sent envoys to China to request knighthood. 1662, Zhang Xueli, deputy ceremonial officer of the Qing court, sent troops to Ryukyu. Since then, every time the new Ryukyu king succeeded to the throne, there have been envoys of the Qing dynasty to celebrate. The emperors of Ryukyu established close diplomatic and trade relations with China at that time through the "tribute" and "conferment" relations with China, and were also strongly influenced by China culture, especially the customs and habits of Minnan people (Quanzhou and Putian in Taiwan Province Province) and Fuzhou people. Japan's early influence on Ryukyu was mainly the harassment of pirates and Japanese pirates, and its military rule over its strong neighbor Satsuma. Due to these historical backgrounds, Ryukyu people are still very different from Japanese natives, and even a little out of place. Although the residents of Ryukyu Islands are Japanese citizens now, they have been influenced by China culture for a long time, and their customs and habits are obviously very different from Japanese culture. Some Ryukyu people demanded to leave Japanese rule and withdraw American troops from Ryukyu. It is the territory of "Ryukyu Kingdom" occupied by Japan, centering on Okinawa Islands, Miyako Islands and Yaeyama Islands, with a total of 140 islands. At present, only 40 islands are inhabited, with a total population of about 654.38+200,000. The original geographical concepts of "Ryukyu Kingdom", or "Ryukyu Arc" and "Ryukyu Cultural Circle" are far greater than the scope of Okinawa now. Moreover, "Ryukyu Island" is scattered on the sea surface of 1000 km from south to north, and its area is even larger than that of Honshu, Japan. From the westernmost islands of Okinawa and Nagano, Taiwan Province Province can be seen on sunny days. The southernmost island is Zhaobo Island, and its latitude is south of Taipei.

The problem of Ryukyu is very complicated. Scholar Wang Hui pointed out in the article, "Ryukyu occupies a special but often neglected position in the discussion about war and peace in Northeast Asia. American military occupation still exists, which is not only the structure of the Cold War, but also the embodiment of the global military structure. 1972, 15 In May, Ryukyu was "returned" to Japan by the United States, but contradictions followed: First, after reunification, Japan could not dominate Ryukyu affairs, and the power relations in the Pacific War still condensed over Ryukyu; Secondly, the history of Ryukyu and Japan cannot be properly placed under the concept of "return". If "restitution" is a recognition of Japan's modern expansion history, then "restitution" also means that Ryukyu's anti-occupation movement will develop into a contradiction with the Japanese government. Even if this concept of "return" is bypassed, Japan's sovereignty has to be subject to the political structure since the Cold War era. Under such conditions, from the logic of nation-state, Ryukyu can't help but wander between the choice of identifying with Japan and independence from Japan. In the early post-war period, Ryukyu was even forced to consider the possibility of becoming a part of the United States. Therefore, in Japan, the discussion about Ryukyu is centered on the US military's occupation of Ryukyu. In Ryukyu, this discussion involves whether Ryukyu is a part of Japan and whether Ryukyu should be independent. Because military hegemony permeates local labor relations and land relations, and is intertwined with Japan-US relations, security treaties and Japan-US military alliances, any discussion on Ryukyu issue is inevitably closely related to the hegemonic structure of the United States, Japan, Russia, China, surrounding areas and the post-Cold War era. Japan's future role in this region also depends on the change of this structure. In this sense, the Ryukyu issue is not only a problem in East Asia, but also a concentrated expression of the development of capitalism and imperialism in the world. "