The recent wave of popular anti-Japanese activism is over. Various organs of the government have made annoucements:
In Beijing where students may be idealistic enough to participate in activities that might get them into trouble, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security “expressed deep understanding of students’ patriotic passion” but encouraged them to put their patriotic energies into activities that will help build the motherland (see Danwei post).
This softly-spoken message has been reinforced in various ways. For example, this writer’s office received a message from the local district police in Beijing, addressed to the “legal representative” or chairman of the company. The message warned, in the nicest possible way, of two things: 1. Petty crime is on the rise; 2. It is illegal for any staff member of the company to attend unofficial demonstrations. The message required a signed response to be handed back to the police.
In Shanghai where students are unlikely to do anything that would endanger their incipient middle class existences, state-owned newspapers have claimed that certain people have been arrested for their part in the demonstrations (see this Australian ABC report or this Reuters story)
Stories of the anti-Japanese demonstrations are already disappearing from foreign and domestic news media. This lack of news action has been inevitably followed by essays in newspapers, TV programs and on blogs, speculating that Chinese youths are suddenly armed with the tools to organize flash protests (SMS! Email! The Interwebs!), and that this might prove to be a problem for the government in the future.
Well, maybe after the students finish applying for grad school in the US or Europe (or even Japan), studying for 200 hours a week to get good grades to get into grad school, downloading some porn, and driving with their parents in a new car to visit granny at her new apartment; maybe then the youths of Beijing and Shanghai will rise up and demonstrate about something that Westerners enjoy watching, like democracy or freedom of expression or something.
Don’t hold your breath.
LINK:
Similar post on Danwei: It’s difficult to see Beijing clearly from Manhattan
UPDATE:
Geming wu zui baby, check out Leifeng.cn.