Anti-Japan protests erupt in China cities over islands row

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

Thousands of Chinese besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday, hurling rocks, eggs and bottles as protests broke out in other major cities in China amid growing tension between Asia's two biggest economies over a group of disputed islands.

Paramilitary police with shields and batons barricaded the embassy, holding back and occasionally fighting with slogan-chanting, flag-waving protesters who at times appeared to be trying to storm the building.

'Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!'; some shouted. One of them held up a sign reading: 'For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan.';

Protester Liu Gang, a migrant worker from the southern region of Guangxi, said: 'We hate Japan. We've always hated Japan. Japan invaded China and killed a lot of Chinese. We will never forget.'

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/15/us-china-japan-idUSBRE88E01I20120915

[4saken]

1. In many cases those islands may be just an excuse to express previously developed bigotry.

Over the years I've observed some really extreme bigotry online against Japanese from some Chinese. But I have no idea just how widespread it actually is.

The articles quotes a protestor as saying "The government has taught us to be anti-Japanese at school..." A very sad state of affairs.

[davidpdx]

3. Exactly

In fact it was done here in South Korea too until a few decades ago. My wife who graduated from high school in the late 80s experienced this type of "education" of bigotry. There has been solid proof that the same thing goes on in China and Japan as well.

Thankfully the school systems are no longer doing that here, but the hatred of the Chinese and Japanese continue. The disputes over the island is a school yard pissing match in my opinion.

We have MUCH more serious shit going on in the world that needs to be dealt with. I feel like telling all three countries they need to grow up and start helping with the problems in the ME.

[Selatius]

15. It's also a good excuse to distract Chinese people from repression by the Chinese government.

When all else fails, distract them with a nationalist issue that will silence dissidents or at least take the wind out of their sails.

[davidpdx]

2. If people are not willing to respect the sovereignty of embassies

Then countries may have no choice but to close them and let the offending country (in this case it would be China) know they can pack up their embassy in Japan. The rash of embassy attacks around the world seems to be getting out of control (all of them for different reasons). The lives of embassy staff are at risk by this thuggish behavior.

I have lived in Korea for the last 8 years and understand the hatred between China, Korea and Japan (each seems to have their own complaint against each other), but that doesn't give people the right to terrorize other countries embassies (for the record I am not a fan of China and dislike them personally for their human rights violations).

Next Saturday there will be a protest over the treatment of North Korean refugees at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul South Korea. I may attend as I feel strongly about repatriation of North Koreans by China. I'm sure there will be people there from Korea, the US, Canada, and many other countries. The other thing I'm sure of is you won't see the thuggery which has been happening in other parts of the world.

[Confusious]

4. Nice

'For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan'

That'll drag us into it.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. A bunch of hotheads blowing steam

The Chinese government knows better than to try to start a war with Japan. However, some other neighbor with whom they have a territorial dispute might not be so lucky.

[Confusious]

7. Yea, china has been pissing off everyone around it lately.

Japan, Philippines, Vietnam. Trying to claim the entire south china sea.

Japan and the Philippines are allies. Taiwan too. If things get out of hand, we could be drug into it.

I'm sure it's just a bunch of hotheads. Just makes me worry when I read about it.

[Art_from_Ark]

13. I'll admit, it is unsettling

China definitely wants to throw its weight around in this region. How far will they go is the question. It seems to me they want to intimidate their neighbors (even going so far as to admit that war with the Philippines over a territorial dispute was an option), but the government will back down for the time being.

And while the Chinese government talks about Japanese atrocities from 70+ years ago, they won't admit that their own Glorious Leader, whose picture hangs prominently in Tiennamen Square, was a bloodthirsty tyrant himself who holds the world record for murder.

[Odin2005]

6. Nationalism sucks.

[oldsarge54]

8. China is Just Being China

Actually, I think the term Communist China is no longer applicable. Semi-autonomous province governors, a bureaucracy run government, has all the hall marks of classic China for the last two thousand years or so. As for dislike for Japan, remember the Chinese have one heck of a long memory. Their WWII was twice as long than our, and on their own soil. Not many of our women were taken to be part of "comfort battalions." When we went to China to adopt our daughter, a lot of the local museum was centered on the Japanese war. Xenophobia is also still alive and well in China, just as it is in the Republican party. I was in an elevator and one "gentleman" call me a quoi loh. I turned, smiled, and said, "I don't know much Chinese, but I know that one." The rest of the elevator gave him a rather old fashioned look.

[smirkymonkey]

9. What is a quoi loh?

Just curious.

[4saken]

10. Was wondering the same, found this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gweilo

It seems instances of its use tend to be racist and xenophobic.

[oldsarge54]

11. quoi loh

foreign devil, with unsavory overtones.

[oldsarge54]

12. Expanding on original Point

If you look at the full length of China's history since the 2nd Dynasty, there have always been an ideologically trained bureaucracy actually running the country, a certain amount of bribery of said bureaucrats. An absolute head of state, be it a Emperor or Party Leader, both are the same. Also, there is a tradition of inventive free enterprise, occasionally interrupted by a period of bureaucratic burial of initiative. In short, I feel that the inertia of 3000 years have taken China back to being China.

[Franker65]

14. Hatred coming to the surface

I agree that it could really be some repressed hatred surfacing. However, I believe the likelihood of Japan and China going to war is very remote. Statistics show Japan and China are major trading partners. A war would eliminate this, and probably the bulk of trade with the US as well, destroying the world's economy. I am hoping its just angry people and the feelings will fizzle out gradually.