PLA Navy officers scatter flowers into the ocean to commemorate the First Sino-Japanese War, one of the historical events that has caused complicated relationships between Chinese and Japanese. (Photo : Reuters)
A Chinese father in Shanghai reportedly cried and fell to the floor upon learning that his daughter had agreed to marry her Japanese boyfriend.
The Japanese boyfriend flew to Shanghai to propose to his Chinese girlfriend, but the girl's family got in his way and tried to stop him from proposing.
The father held strong objections to the idea that his Chinese daughter would marry the Japanese young man.
The father tried desperately to prevent the proposal by putting obstacles in the way of the Japanese man. In an effort to dissuade the young man, the Chinese father required the Japanese man to not return to Japan for at least five years in order to be accepted into the family.
What he did not foresee was that the Japanese man would accept. To his surprise, the Japanese man agreed to the terms and proceeded to take his girlfriend to Darry Ring, a local jewelry store, on Aug. 11.
In the store, the Japanese man got on one knee and, surrounded by petals he placed on the floor, proposed to the girl. The girl, impressed by the young man's passion and persistence in pursuing the relationship and traveling all the way to China from Japan, said yes.
The girl's parents, still hoping to stop the proposal, ran after the couple to the jewelry store. Upon his arrival, the father was disappointed to learn that he was too late, as his daughter had already agreed to the Japanese man's proposal.
The father then fell to the ground and began to cry. He then reportedly asked the store, "Why would you sell rings to the Japanese?"
Later, the daughter picked up her parents from the ground and explained to them that she had met the Japanese man when she studied in Japan. She thought their relationship would end when she went back to China, but was touched when he ended up going to her.
"He is not just a Japanese guy. He's the man who would warm my bed and buy sanitary towels for me," the girl reportedly said.
Online, the father's reaction has triggered a debate. Some understand the father, saying they would not approve of their daughter marrying a Japanese man, while others believe the father overreacted and does not have the right to choose who his daughter marries.
Throughout history, Chinese have not had a favorable view of Japanese and vice versa. According to a 2014 BBC poll, 90 percent of Chinese people view Japanese influence negatively, while 73 percent of Japanese people view Chinese influence negatively.
