BEIJING, May 4 - Thousands of police officers in Beijing and Shanghai stood guard on Wednesday in a show of force to ensure that one of China's most sensitive political anniversaries did not erupt into a new wave of angry protests against Japan.
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| Greg Baker/Associated Press |
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Chinese paramilitary police officers stood guard Wednesday at the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai. |
The May 4 anniversary, a pivotal date in defining modern Chinese nationalism, celebrates a famous student uprising in 1919 against Western colonialism, specifically the decision by World War I Allied powers to give Japan control of Germany's colonial territories in China.
It was chosen by protesters as a potent moment to renew the anti-Japanese protests that spread across China last month. Embassies even warned foreigners in China to be cautious on the anniversary.
But on Wednesday the government left little doubt that it was now determined to prevent any future protests and to defuse the rising nationalist anger against Japan. In Beijing busloads of police officers and riot troops stood guard at the Japanese Embassy, where last month several thousand protesters threw bottles and shouted anti-Japanese slogans.
At Tiananmen Square, paramilitary police officers and soldiers were posted in heavy numbers. In the morning public access to the square was blocked for a youth pageant by the Communist Party's Little Pioneers organization. By noon the square had reopened under heavy security.
In Shanghai, where an estimated 10,000 protesters went on a vandalism spree against Japanese businesses last month, police officers were stationed in a three-block perimeter around the Japanese Consulate. Only in Hong Kong, where residents are allowed greater civil liberties, was a group of about 20 protesters permitted to wave anti-Japanese signs.
The huge security presence came after public security officials in Beijing and Shanghai issued stern warnings in recent days against any "unauthorized marches." Already the police have arrested several dozen people who took part in last month's protests.
Students played a major role in those protests, and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao used the May 4 anniversary, which the government celebrates as "Youth Day," to visit the campus of Bejing University. Mr. Wen's visit was unannounced, and he told students that China needed good relations with its neighbors and stability at home.
Anonymous protesters on the Internet once promoted a possible May 4 rally at Tiananmen Square. "The government is especially wary on days like today, because on historic anniversaries it is easier to mobilize people for protests," said a magazine editor with access to government decision makers.
In the past, popular movements inspired by May 4 have ultimately turned against the government, a lesson not lost on the modern-day Communist Party. In 1989 the pro-democracy demonstrations expanded and gained momentum after May 4. Last week a state-run newspaper in Shanghai accused some protesters of ulterior motives, suggesting that some officials believed the protesters wanted to undermine the government.
In a sign of the government's concern that the protests might widen, police picked up several prominent dissidents.
This week, the group Human Rights in China reported the detentions of at least eight dissidents who had taken part in anti-Japanese protests, including Xu Wanping, who served eight years in prison for his role in the 1989 democracy movement; Li Guotao in Shanghai; Li Xiaolong and Xue Zhenbiao in Guangxi Province; Li Renke and Zeng Ning in the city of Guizhou; Leng Wanbao in Jilin Province; and Hu Jia, an AIDS activist in Beijing.
In Beijing at least one person sought an official permit to hold a May 4 protest. According to a group e-mail message he wrote, the man, named Guo Feixiong, applied unsuccessfully for a permit on April 25. He was then questioned by the police and released. Two days later he disappeared and has not been seen since, according to friends.