Chinese take to the streets over Diaoyu / Senkaku. Beijing stands idly by
Beijing
(AsiaNews) - The "islands disputed" by both Beijing and Tokyo are increasingly
inflaming mainland China. In
the last two days, mass demonstrations were held in ten large cities that have verged
on hysteria. In Wenzhou and Shenzhen about 20 thousand demonstrators overturned
cars and burned Japanese flags under the eyes of dozens of policemen who,
despite it being an unauthorized gathering, did not intervene. Other
episodes have taken place in Guangzhou, Jinan, Hangzhou, Harbin, Chengdu,
Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The
latest phase of the new diplomatic incident ended with the return of Japanese
nationalists to Ishigaki and the Chinese groups return to the former British
colony. Both
delegations visited the disputed islands, which the Chinese call Diaoyu and the
Japanese Senkaku, in the same week. At
present, the three atolls and five islands are part of Okinawa Prefecture under
the Japanese Government. But
the Chinese continue to reclaim sovereignty, which at times undermines the relationship
between the two major Asian economies.
The actual value
of the archipelago is still unclear. It
does have a strategic value, being on one of the most important shipping
routes, others argue that in addition it has rich fishing waters and endless
gas fields in the subsoil. In
2008, as a gesture of detente, the two governments signed an agreement for the joint
exploitation and research in the archipelago, which, however, remained only in
words.
The
fact remains that they inflame the nationalistic spirit of both Chinese and Japanese
and Tokyo that Beijing are only to happy to divert popular attention from
internal tensions. In
Japan it is the normal political crisis - the Democratic Party is going to
dissolve the government and wants to keep the popular attention - China is preparing
for the 18th Communist Congress and is in desperate need to keep the spotlight
away from politics.
For
this, the authorities did not intervene despite the extremely violent nature of
the demonstrations. One
demonstrator in Harbin says: "As an ordinary citizen the position of my
country is not clear to me, but personally I say that we have overthrown this
small country Japan and we can do it again. To stand out, China must first have
a united people."
An
even more dangerous demonstration took place in the southern city of Shenzhen. A
thousand people overturned cars manufactured in Japan in protest, while
thousands marched in front of the Japanese consulate asking for
"justice." At
least three Japanese restaurants were damaged in a serious way, and the
megastore Jusco - Japanese brand - was mobbed by angry citizens who destroyed
everything they could lay their hands on.
However,
Beijing has no intention of letting the chaos run rampant. According
to Zhou Yongsheng, an expert on Japanese affairs at the China Foreign Affairs These
angry outbursts help people forget national problems." But
Chen Zimin, a political analyst, claims: "The Congress is approaching and
if things get worse, there is no doubt that it will trigger a repression. It is
acceptable for people to vent their frustration, but the communist government
has no intention of allowing the
situation get out of hand. "
All
of this is in sharp contrast to the normal reaction to mass unauthorized gatherings.
The
central government has always maintained an iron fist against anyone who dared
challenge it by taking to the streets. There were innumerable protests last
year that ended with the arrest and conviction of the protesters, most of the
time ordinary citizens fighting against the abuses Communist authorities,.
.png)
