By Star Chang, posted Sep 16, 2012 at 12:18 AM, 2,503 views,

Anti-Japan Protests Go Violent in China (Video)

[UPDATE] Yesterday, anti-Japan protests has hit China violently in more than 50 cities. Thousands of Chinese protesters hurled bottles and eggs outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing amid growing tensions between the two nations over a group of disputed islands. Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, the mostly young protesters chanted “down with Japanese imperialism” and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards. Authorities rarely permit any form of protests in China, prompting suspicion that the nationwide rallies were government-sanctioned …

Shenzhen Protests Went Out of Control

UPDATE: The anti-Japan protests continue swept through China over the weekend. More than 70 Chinese cities saw mass protests against Japan on Sunday. In Shenzhen, one of the main cities across the country, thousands of protesters have chosen to gather outside the city headquarters of Communist Party of China. Riot police fire tear gas and water cannons during the protest, in order to dispel an angry mob. The acts committed by the protesters are irrational and barbarous. Judging from the TV news’ footage, most of them seem to have been upset by severe social conflicts in the city and they only resort to violence to express their outrage. Later of the day, more than 10,000 activists gathered in a square at Huaqiangbei, which is the most famous electronics street market in Southern China, and traffic was severely disrupted.

Some Chinese state media urged protesters to refrain from violence, but some were saying: “China’s strong expression of its anger and countermeasures are legitimate and reasonable …” The issue could lead to social unrest if governments keep up their provocative behavior. The word “demonstration” in Chinese, was one of the top trends on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, although by the end of the day the authorities had blacked out the words “Japanese embassy”. Chinese censors are usually extremely quick to ban any keywords that are sensitive.

SOURCE: The Standard, The Telegraph

Protesters elsewhere were heavily attacking Japanese restaurants and shopping mall. They overturned and burn down any Japanese-made car on the street. In the southern city of Changsha, protesters even smashed a police car made by Mitsubishi. Police asked motorists driving Japanese-brand cars to avoid major thoroughfares and refrain from parking on the street. Protesters also broke into a dozen factories in the eastern city of Qingdao, including one run by Panasonic. One Beijing protester said the government has already taught them to be anti-Japanese at school. Another activist said the heated behavior is unavoidable when strong feelings boil over. Protesters are also calling for a widespread boycott against Japanese businesses and products.

When the national emotions erupt, it is understandable that some people would overreact. How the Chinese government control the spontaneous acts ? The communist party has indeed not done much to quell the inflamed passions of its citizens. The extremely overreact is somehow showing the world that China has risen but the quality of its people is less respectful, and the government is lacking in its management of the law. (Please, showing the portraits of Mao ? WTF … )

SOURCE: BBC, abc NEWS, CNN, Netease
MORE Coverage: Anti-Japanese sentiment in China