China Looks to Contain Nationalist Protests

Messages were posted Aug. 17 on the popular Chinese social networking site Weibo calling for coordinated protests in 10 cities against "Japanese aggression." The message followed the Japanese coast guard's Aug. 15 arrests of 14 Chinese activists who had sailed to the disputed, Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyu in China) in the East China Sea. Weibo is tightly censored, and the Internet posting was quickly removed.

Beijing has long tolerated — if not facilitated — public expressions of nationalism, particularly when they are anti-Japan. Throughout the week, there have been demonstrations in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha and Hong Kong calling for Japan's ousting from the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Although these protests were largely peaceful and mostly focused on Japan, their persistence and the potential for inter-regional coordination — not to mention the growing criticism of Beijing's handling of the dispute — has put the Chinese government on alert. Beijing knows the value of nationalism and of using nationalist protests as a vent for social frustrations, but it also knows that such sentiments cannot be allowed to grow too large and coordinated, lest they turn against the central government.