China's angry young focus their hatred on old enemy

[emad]

Guardian

Anti-Japanese fury is rising among internet users - a trend the state is keen to encourage

Justin McCurry in Tokyo and Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Thursday December 30, 2004
The Guardian

At 27 years old, Song Yangbiao is already earning a salary that his parents can only have dreamed of. He is better educated, more widely travelled and can expect to live a longer, healthier, wealthier life than any generation in Chinese history. You might think he is also more content. You would be wrong. Mr Song is not happy. He is furious.

So furious that he spends more than five hours every day venting his frustrations on the internet, where he has set up a site for tens of thousands of like-minded young Chinese people to air their grievances. So vitriolic and widespread are their web-based protests that the domestic media have labelled the affluent, academic and internet-savvy generation that they represent as the "angry young".

Like their namesakes in Britain in the 1950s, China's angry young men and women are the products of a fast-changing society in which rising expectations for the future contrast starkly with frustrations about the past and present. In private, their anger is amorphous, multi-faceted and idealistic. But in public, which usually means internet bulletin boards, their scope to let off steam is largely limited to nationalism. The explosive growth of the web in China, where the number of users is growing by more than 25% a year, is often cited by advocates of political reform as a source of hope for greater openness in the world's last big communist state.

But there is increasing evidence that the opposite may be true. Sites advocating democracy, religious freedom or union rights are closed down by the authorities and their operators often arrested. But there are countless sites like Mr Song's devoted to one of the few political passions permitted by the government: hatred for Japan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1380737,00.html

[theycanbiteme]

1. Meanwhile....

here in the USA similar things are happening. I guess it is true: we are condemned to repeat history. WHY?!

[OnlyInAmerica]

2. Similar things are happening in the US?

Please site some sources that show internet sites promoting democracy, union rights, and religious freedom have been shut down by the US gov't. I'm interested to know when and where this happened.

[Karenina]

3. Google is your friend.

But *one* example is the Pentagon shutting down its site that gave expats info and options to REGISTER & VOTE.

As my dear departed mother would say when asked what a word meant, "Go look it up."

[OnlyInAmerica]

5. Not sure how that's the same thing

The Pentagon controls the military. If I want to register to vote I'm not going to the Pentagon, an armed forces recruiting office, or a military base. I'm going to city hall. If expats want to register to vote they have numerous resources available to them, such as the Secretary of State or the city hall or state website where they used to live.

[Karenina]

6. Let me be blunt.

The U.S.of A. has NEVER promoted "democracy" ANYWHERE since I was born 'bout a half century ago. In fact, they collected nazi seeds, grew them in secret and now the damn things done got SO BIG, flowering and all, they can no longer be hidden. The pollen is HIGHLY POISONOUS to children, animals, flowers and all other sentient beings.

[OnlyInAmerica]

7. What are you talking about?

The article talks about shutting down WEBSITES that promote democracy.

[Bandit]

9. They shut down Tommy Chong's web site

If selling bongs ain't promoting democracy then I don't know what does.

[Karenina]

11. HALLO! Tee-hee!

:smoke:

[OnlyInAmerica]

12. Okay

Are there any examples BESIDES Tommy Chong? :)

[Karenina]

13. OIA, only in America

can one find so many privileged, comparatively wealthy, supposedly educated people who HAVE access to information so INCREDIBLY and APPALLINGLY out of touch.

The American system of government has been hijacked by a lunatic, fascist "elite." YOU and yours and all that you hold dear are in its line of fire, Please WAKE UP.

[Must_B_Free]

4. Well, the Japanese are the self proclaimed "superior" race

so no wonder the Japanese proclaimed "inferior" Chinese are mad :eyes:

[bpilgrim]

8. that was half a century ago

and that is what makes this kind of state sanctioned hatred from the chinese NEWS today.

peace

[Karenina]

10. I highly recommend

that any American white who has a passionate interest in international, interracial, and/or interpersonal relationships learn Japanese and spend a year or two there. I'm always amused reading the experiences of those who have been there, done that and INTERNALIZED the experience. Many don't, as they know deep inside they are only a plane ride away from "bidness as usual."

Contrary to your imagination, speaking and reading using this script is no biggie. Sentence construction is VERY logical. TRY IT, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT!!! (Schriftlich ist natürlich etwas anders).

The Japanese are the Sun People, creme de la creme. You speak PERFECTLY on a high level, got the body language down and look different? BWHAHAHA! Be a native and that hair better grow out STRAIGHT!

Only Koizumi's hairdresser knows for sure. ;-)