In the past week, China has
experienced a new wave of anti-Japan protests marking 81 years since
Japan invaded China in conjunction with the protests over the
ownership of the Diaoyu Islands. The protests have mostly been
peacefully staged in front of Japanese embassies while riot police
look on; however there have been reports that a Japanese owned
factory in the Chinese city of Qingdao was set fire and burned to the
ground. This incident led to the temporary closing of a many Japanese
owned companies in mainland China. The day-to-day ramifications of
the anti-Japan sentiment presently coursing through Chinese society
have been interesting to note.
In the days immediately
following the first wave of protests, two Japanese restaurants near
my school reacted immediately. A sushi restaurant down the street
removed the characters that said “Japan” from their restaurant
sign and the restaurant owner decided this was a convenient time to
remodel; in addition, Chinese flags sprouted up in front of the
restaurant. I am not sure if the flags were put up by the owner to
keep someone from burning the restaurant down in a patriotic gesture,
or by locals to make a point. The Japanese restaurant in the first
floor of my dorm building put plastic garbage bags over the
characters that said “Japan” and the waitresses did not wear
Japanese style clothing for a week.
All across Beijing, local
convenience stores emptied their shelves of any Japanese goods,
particularly Seven-Eleven who is owned by a Japanese entity in China.
In the past week, convenience stories have mysteriously not stocked
Pocky, Japanese green tea, or sushi. Also mysteriously absent have
been the Japanese students living in our dorm. Usually present in
large numbers in the lobby, they have not been seen in the past week
other than transiting to and from class. In universities with large
numbers of Japanese students, the gates have been closed and the
guards will only let in known students of the university. Whether
this is to protect the students or keep tabs on them I am not sure.
The anti-Japan protests
from the past week are an event orchestrated by the Chinese
government to distract the Chinese people from internal problems
leading up the the Chinese change of power next week. Anti-Japan
protests, or really any protest not directed at the government, spark
a rush of patriotism in Chinese society, which is essential to the
peaceful change of power. Up to this point in the history of the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there has only been one peaceful
change over of power in 2002. As a matter of fact, in China's long
history there has rarely been a peaceful change of power. Well aware
of this, the CCP has used the Diaoyu Islands, always a controversial
topic, to use Chinese patriotism to their advantage. However, the
protests will only continue as long as the Chinese government
believes them to be beneficial, and with the change of power quickly
approaching, the government cannot afford any mishaps. As a result,
the protests have already died down and the Japanese restaurants are
already returning to normal business.
