Indifferent response to moves for protests in China as few heed call

Source: Global Times
[08:45 February 21 2011]
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By Shen Weihuang

An Internet call for people to gather nationwide for a Chinese version of the "Jasmine Revolution" met with only a handful of participants Sunday.

Experts told the Global Times that the wave of revolutions in the Middle East was unlikely to happen in China as the Chinese people favored social stability and gradual reforms, not radical ones.

An online post called for people to participate in the "Jasmine Revolution" Saturday.

In Beijing, a crowd of onlookers gathered outside McDonald's in Wangfujing, at about 2 pm Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Policemen were deployed to maintain order while a person threw jasmine, a Global Times reporter witnessed.

"There was nothing," a worker at McDonalds told the Global Times. "People were just taking pictures of each other."

Together with onlookers and foreign journalists, the gathering people were numbered in hundreds at their peak, Xinhua said.

The Global Times reporter saw two to three people try to pick up the jasmine, but no slogans were chanted. Xinhua said police tried to remove two men, and the crowd had mostly dispersed by 2:50 pm.

In Shanghai, a few people showed up at the People's Square Sunday, another Global Times reporter witnessed. Three people were taken away by police, Xinhua said.

Experts said a "Jasmine Revolution" is unlikely to happen in the country.

"The priority is the economy. China has a rapid GDP growth and the quality of life is improving. Egypt and other countries had seen these matters slide," Shi Yinhong, a professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

"China has learned a lot through solving various social problems, and has experience handling public unrest."

Hu Xingdou, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, agreed. "The social problems in China are far away from the intolerable ones like Egypt, and with improving life conditions, people are expecting a gradual reform and solutions to these problems."

"But this could be an alarm for the authorities, who should prevent similar incidents being taken advantage of by certain forces."

Li Mao and Huang Shaojie contributed to this story