Diaoyu protests must be 'rational'

By Jin Jianyu Source:Global Times Published: 2012-9-16 9:52:00

Recent protests, violent attacks and calls for boycotts from Chinese nationals in retaliation to Japan's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands have prompted the government and experts to call for calm among people angered by the territorial row.

"We advise Chinese citizens to express their appeals in a rational and legal way," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a press conference Friday, stressing the legal rights of Japanese citizens in China must be protected.

Taiwan-based news portal nownews. com reported Thursday that a Japanese crew shooting a TV drama in Hong Kong upset local food vendors when fans mobbed a famous Japanese actor.

The gathering disrupted traffic and affected local businesses, prompting one vendor to shout at the Japanese crew that they should leave Hong Kong because "it is China's territory," the report said.

The Japanese consulate in Shanghai said six recent attacks targeting Japa-nese citizens had taken place in the city, with one man being splattered with hot noodles on Thursday.
Calls have also been made nationwide for Chinese to boycott Japanese-made goods.

An online survey conducted by China Central Television Thursday showed that around 90 percent of more than 20,000 people polled said that they would not purchase Japanese goods due to Tokyo's "purchase" of the islands.

Meanwhile, a post on instant messaging software QQ urged people to throw eggs at the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday morning.

"Chinese nationals' moves of showing their patriotism by rejecting Japan's 'purchase' of the islands is beyond reproach as long as their conduct is orderly and rational," Wang Ping, a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
 
"Some protesters are not motivated by patriotism, but are seeking to vent other dissatisfactions with society."

Four people were arrested Friday for vandalizing cars made by Japanese automakers during a protest on August 19 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

Wu Zhiwei, a Chinese teacher at Ginga Gakuin High School in Fukuyama, Japan, told the Global Times Friday that a planned visit by students to Beijing in October had been canceled due to current tension between the two countries.



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