China shuts down anti-Japanese websites amid fears of more protests(genie back to a bottle?)

AFP ^ | 04/22/05

[TigerLikesRooster]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050422/wl_asia_afp/japanchinaprotests_050422075719

China shuts down anti-Japanese websites amid fears of more protests

 

Fri Apr 22, 3:57 AM ET

BEIJING, (AFP) - China has shut down several anti-Japanese websites to prevent people from organizing more protests through the Internet, in a further indication the government fears the demonstrations will get out of hand.

AFP/File Photo

The websites had carried messages calling for large-scale demonstrations on May 1 and May 4 in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wenzhou and Chongqing cities.

May 1 is marked as Labor Day in China, while May 4 is the anniversary of the landmark 1919 May Fourth Movement -- in which students led protests against the country's weakness in standing up to foreign countries, especially Japan.

The protest announcements predated a government warning Thursday banning all demonstrations organized through the Internet or mobile phones not approved by police, in the strongest expression of opposition following three weekends of sometimes violent anti-Japanese rallies.

The marches, some of the biggest in China in recent years, were largely organized through Internet chatrooms and mobile short messaging, methods that the government appears to have difficulty controlling.

The websites shut down include www.gd918.org; www.cfdd.org.cn and www.china918.cn/forum.asp.

"This website's bbs (discussion forum) -- Strong Country Forum -- is temporarily suspended. We are carrying out maintenance work on our database," one of the websites said.

Others did not offer an explanation.

The Japanese consulate in Shanghai meanwhile posted a warning on its website to Japanese expatriates about the possible protests.

"It's telling them that although we don't have anything to confirm the reports, because this is put up on the Internet, be aware of this, be very careful of their behavior and don't go near possible sites of demonstrations," a consulate official said.

The consulate also called a meeting Thursday of Japanese representatives of businesses and associations to alert them.

Some trips by tourists and businessmen to China have been cancelled and two Japanese fairs planned for mid-May -- one in Shanghai and another in the eastern city Yangzhou -- have been postponed, the official said.

"A Japan Fair was supposed to take place on the streets of Shanghai and would attract thousands of people," the official said. But he added: "This is not an appropriate time to hold such an event."

While some protestors said Friday they understood the government's decision to clampdown, other expressed disappointment.

"I've seen some of the footages from the protests, showing people hitting Japanese things. I don't think this is good. ... This could cause social unrest if the government doesn't put a stop to it," said protestor Dance Wu.

However, another protestor said he was "very angry" the government allowed them to protest only when it found it useful to put pressure on Japan and stopped them when it found it inconvenient.

"In the end, we were just pawns used by them," said the protestor, identifying himself by his Internet name Xiaodao.

But he said: "Even though we were used, we still wanted to keep protesting. Many people feel this way."

The protestors opposed Japan's perceived lack of atonement for its wartime atrocities and its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Well, Chinese regime is trying to wrestle a genie back to his bottle. We will see how effective it has been on May 1, and May 4. If enough people come out for protest and the regime uses its force to disperse them, the regime could be tarred with a serious stigma, "a corrupt regime in cahoots with Japan." This would damage regime's credibility, which gives a justification take on government later on, with other outstanding domestic issues.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!