THE earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan may ease strained relations with China, allowing the rivals for the moment to look past lingering territorial, economic, military and historical disputes.

When news of the disaster spread, Chinese leaders offered condolences and support. China is also prone to earthquakes and Chinese officials put a rescue team in place to send to Japan if needed.

China's Defence Minister, Liang Guanglie, called his Japanese counterpart, Toshimi Kitazawa, to offer military assets. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also had a telephone conversation Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and offered China's condolences and help.

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China's show of sympathy and solidarity towards an Asian neighbour in distress contrasts with the heated rhetoric of the past half-year, which saw anti-Japan demonstrations and the cancelling of ministry-level exchanges and tour groups.

Officially sanctioned editorials talked about shared pain and what China can learn from Japan's response to the disaster. Commentary from state-run Xinhua, recalled how Japan assisted China after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province.

''The virtue of returning the favour after receiving one runs in the blood of both nations,'' commentary said.

WASHINGTON POST

When I read news that China is offering help to Japan, I felt a great sense of comfort. At least, it isn't what I have been hearing from certain groups of people who seem to think that the Tsunami in Japan is a sheer kind of retribution. Regardless if it is one or not, I wouldn't think we should say that. And I think China has made the right move in sending words of concern and sympathy; and more vitally real action of assistance by mobilising teams to help Japan.

It would have been very wrong to stay aloof at Japan's current plight. Not to mention about feeling totally mean about the neuclear explosions and the massive physical devastation to their infrastructure. In Singapore, I heard there is a national team of peoplw who will be meeting up at Raffles Place this Wednesday to pray for the Japanese. I don't know what exactly that is, but if time permits I want to join in too.

Compassion yields compassion. Perhaps at this very trying time in Japan, these actions of help might well be a source of light that shines globally that humanity still exists. Doesn't matter if you are Caucasian, Asian, African, Hispanic, Mexican, Indian or Chinese; in times of need, when you feel lost, there will be ready help when one needs it. It should be a change of emotional tide about the past grudges about who did what to who. Trying to line up the atrocities only breed further anger that might end up engulfing both parties.

What we should learn about history is about what went wrong. And not counting foes and wrongdoings for 'revenge'. Surely there are uncountable misgivings. My grandparents, like most others, have suffered tremendously during World War 2, when the Japanese occupied Singapore. It wasn't any peach and roses. Many went to fight against the Japanese and had been killed on the spot or sent to the notorious massacre at Hong Lim Park or the Changi beach. Even today, Asian countries are still wary of Japan.

Personally I have thought about the historical impact and I can honestly say that I do not like some of the ways the Japanese are, typically their history texts about the World War. But I also know that many Japanese are not mean and know where their flaws are. The Japanese community here in Singapore are very modest and extremely hardworking. And I know with their industriousness and perseverance, they will survive this natual calamity well. It will be difficult but if they can survive 2 atomic bombs from the US, and come up from the ruins after the war; then they can recover and survive this current one.

Just remember that the history of civilsations, that every one of them has done some misgivings at some point. It would be a dire and regretable mistake to repeat them mainly because of revenge.

Can't type too much for now. I need to get up super early and I am now left with 5 hours of sleep. But I sincerely hope Japan recovers and that from this nightmare comes a dream of true hope, where peoples' compassion will dissolve all woes of the past. --- Karen Fu

I feel Dr Hawkings has over emphasized in the logic of hard core Sciences for survival. For if there is lack of humanity in various ethical thoughts, that our human race would perish despite technological advances.

There are certain uncanny ways about how life and the universe works which perhaps is incomprehensivable even by science. Despite the rules that human mind research could delve into in their individual ways and feelings about how things work. I think we have not developed till that stage where the entire universe can be fully comprehend, else we will not have developed new problems that need new solutions to solve. If we have genuinely understood the root concept of problem solving, we will not problems sprouting out from existing ones. We could have simply sort the problem spot on.

Many of these problems simply morph in form. Not loosing an ounce in essence, the solutions usually require a far more complex way of solving.

If we need to sustain our race beyond the next 100 years or so, we need to find the root problem as to why we have come to this dire point. The thinking process doesn't require a mere escape in the physical space we live.

I have no doubt that one day our race will eventually be left with no choice but to emmigrate to space. That is if we cannot change what what we have been doing in time. The future living space may well be mars; it may well be a human made platform or synthetic space ground for our future generations to live on. Under a totally new environment, a brand new set of problems will sufface if we cannot face out our own humanisitc problems in thought which controls our decisions that shape our living space on earth.

There is no doubt that the brilliance of the human mind could also solve some of the toughest scientific problems around. However, I have the feeling that we may be dwelling in linear thought or rather we are moving into a history old, seemingly genetically formulated code in our genes into digging more deeper holes and simply swapping spaces for our root problem ---- the pertinent issue that we refuse to face the daunting thought that we have been bending rules of nature which is the result for our current dire situation.

We have not changed much in the area of survival. Human greed has not been changed much for centuries and let history be told, whether in total truth or with partial biasness, that our forebearers have merely altered their way of being selfish and that technological knowhow has been used to further exploit in the most uncanny of ways.

There is no doubt that we would eventually be living in space if our existing problems cannot be eradicated in time. It may well be we cannot sort them at all. Climate and land changes have proved in reality of the impending outcome of extiction if we still live on this planet. We have almost depleted our natural resources and also at the expense of other living species in any form for the sole selfishness of just one specie, and that is us.

We need to be truthfully honest about what we and our forebearers have done and how our past and existing thinking had maketh us our own assassinators for our own sustainable survival.

Our knowledge in humanities, science & technology should continue advancing in depth and in width. But we need a source of change that directs us to genuine sustainablity. And that is to make a real conscience about who we are and what we need to do. Not with the impurity of new so-called colours that smudge; but with the eventual outcome of being totally pure as light that will shine us into ever lasting exisitence.

And that one of the several human components may well be a far simpler thought: and that is ethics of sharing, loving and to be far less menacing & hypocritical in today's fast advancing, pragmatic life of selfish materialism. We are all in a way guilty. Perhaps via the way of doing bit of good everyday and have a far more daring gut toadmit fault & make every modest good step forward; we may perhaps create a miracle that science and religion will be most happy to jot down in our human history.

It's really a collaborative effort.

Got to run off now. It's a very quick one-off draft. I want to write more. But I have to go off for now. ---- Karen Fu