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China hit by fresh anti-Western protests
1 hour, 56 minutes ago
Fresh protests broke out across China on Sunday in reaction to the Western media's coverage of China's handling of Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics, state media said.
The latest demonstrations came after thousands of Chinese rallied Saturday in support of their country, with branches of the French retailer Carrefour heavily targeted.
People gathered in front of Carrefour stores, chanting slogans of “Oppose Tibet independence” and “Oppose CNN’s anti-China statements,” referring to the international broadcaster, the official Xinhua news agency said.
They also chanted “Support the Olympics,” “Play up! China,” and “Condemn CNN” through loudspeakers.
More than 1,000 people assembled in front of a Carrefour store in the northwestern city of Xian holding protest banners, Xinhua said.
There were also demonstrations in the northeastern city of Harbin and the eastern city of Jinan, the report added.
The protests came despite the deployment of police in massive numbers across China after weeks of state-approved anti-Western rhetoric culminated in Saturday's protests.
Police surrounded branches of Carrefour, which has been at the centre of a boycott by Chinese consumers over its alleged support of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama — a claim it denies.
At one point, 53 police cars were seen on the rooftop parking lot of a Carrefour store in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, an AFP photographer witnessed. Dozens of law enforcement vehicles were seen on the streets around the store, he said.
Several hundred police were also seen monitoring shoppers inside the branch, while scores of policemen patrolled major intersections around it.
Beijing has been seen as inciting anti-Western sentiment leading up to Saturday's protests where demonstrators showed support for China's control of Tibet in cities including Beijing, Qingdao, Wuhan, Hefei, Kunming and Xian.
State press had earlier Sunday urged calm as a heavy police presence was deployed to hotspots amid rainy weather that affected much of China.
Saturday's protests led to Carrefour store closures in at least Qingdao, Wuhan and Hefei but on Sunday those stores were operating normally, managers there said.
Several thousand Chinese also rallied Saturday in Paris, Britain, Berlin and Los Angeles in support of their country and against allegedly biased media coverage of the Olympic torch relay and unrest in Tibet.
In Los Angeles, police said up to 5,000 people gathered outside the Hollywood offices of broadcaster CNN in protest against one of the channel's commentators, Jack Cafferty, who described China as a “bunch of goons and thugs.”
The channel has since apologized and said the April 9 remarks referred to the Chinese government, not the people, but the row only added to the anger felt by many Chinese worldwide following protests during the Olympic torch relay.
In Paris Saturday, up to 4,000 Chinese students and other expatriates gathered in the Place de la Republique wearing T-shirts daubed with the slogan “One China, One family” and brandishing signs critical of the western media, police said.
More than 1,000 people, mainly students, also gathered outside the BBC’s offices in Manchester, north-west England, while around 300 staged a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
Several hundred pro-Chinese activists also demonstrated in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz in the business district gripping banners with messages like “Media = untruths,” and “China Olympia, one world, one dream.”
The protests come more than a week after torch relays in Paris and London were disrupted by activists critical of Beijing’s human rights record and its recent crackdown on unrest in the Himalayan region of Tibet.
Meanwhile, British and German leaders say they will stay away from the opening ceremony of the Games in Beijing in August and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is considering following suit.
Violence in Tibet's capital Lhasa erupted on March 14 after four days of peaceful protests against 57 years of Chinese rule, and spread into neighbouring Tibetan-populated areas.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have died in the government crackdown. China says Tibetan “rioters” have killed 18 civilians and two policemen.
China has since sanctioned angry anti-Western rhetoric in state-controlled media in response to protests that marred the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco this month.
But in recent days state media have called for calm in commentaries that have underscored the need for social stability ahead of the Beijing Olympics, the first time the nation has hosted such a prestigious event.
“The more the Dalai Lama clique tries to disrupt the Olympic torch relay and some Western politicians and media take advantage to launch attacks and condemn China, the more we need to unify and with the people of the world hold a successful Olympic Games,” the official Xinhua news agency said.
News broadcasts on state television also urged calm on Sunday, condemning a perceived Western bias against China, but also urging citizens to act responsibly ahead of the Beijing Games.
Saturday's protests were the biggest anti-Western demonstrations in China since thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest against Japan's wartime past three years ago.