China is already a sporting powerhouse in many sports. Nobody don't wins everything all the time. China is not there yet in football. So let's just enjoy the world cup as it is. When China finally arrives, then let's get excited for them.
Japan was the most western wannabe. They were that during the Meiji to Taisho emperors. But the Western powers never excepted them as equals. Hence under the Showa (Hirohito) emperor, Japan started to re-embrace their own Japanese nationalism. But they had done it wrongly. They mixed their newly learned Western Imperialism with old Japanese nationalism to create the monster of Japanese fascism. It was known as Kohoda during that time. We all know what happened next.
China and SK had also consumed and embraced Western thinking and culture. China had realized that they can never be Western and don't want to, so they are pivoting away. But with the CPC to guide this pivot, China is not falling into the same trap of fascism.
SK appears to be on a road to fascism. Because they have a liberal democracy system, which always allows the most extreme voices to have their say. We can see the early symptoms today. Many SKs see themselves as superior to the Chinese and other Asians. They think that they are closer to the Westerners than the Chinese. But SK is still far away from becoming Imperial Japan. There are still enough reasonable leaders in SK to prevent any slide into full blown fascism. They are still a darling of the West. They are still partially colonized by America, and not colonizers themselves. Plus they are now no longer living in the age of imperialism. Nobody except America has any appetite for world wars these days.
I was growing up hating myself and my culture due to discrimination BUT as the Taipans and Hua Qiao had gained praise for their contribution to the development of my adopted country, I feel proud and try to reconcile with past and my culture.
