Pfeffer: You might think of at as “ruqin,” just as George Bush might call the Iraqi Invasion a “liberation.” But many, including the Vietnamese, would disagree with your characterization. “Qinlue” is a Chinese word. But as I said earlier, the act of naming an event is not a neutral process. Given its connotation, it would be surprising if the Chinese used the word to describe their own actions. Just as the English word “massacre” is used by the victims of an event far more often than by those who write history from the perspective of the perpetrators. But other languages have words too, and while those languages do not contain the specific Chinese word “qinlue,” they have other terms and expressions of similar meaning…in Vietnamese, Tibetan, etc. And those words have been applied to Chinese actions in the past.

Sam: It was my understanding that Frost was being ironic, and enjoy the A-Roid era.

Wu Ming: Wise as always.

Thanks everyone for a fascinating discussion. I hope we have more in the future.

Just to clarify myself: Yes, China has invaded Vietnam and perhaps other “countries”. However, in the case of war with Vietnam I consider it “ruqin”, not “qinlue”. Now I graciously ask you to provide examples of China “qinlue” other countries since you said both existed. Thank you.