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Continuing Escalation of the Sino-Japan Conflict

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on September 21, that it would be “inappropriate” for Wen Jiabao to meet Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in New York when Wen visits the United Nations. This is a continuation of the escalation of the Sino-Japan conflict following Japan’s September 7 arrest and subsequent detention of the captain of a Chinese trawler near the Diaoyu Islands (called the Senkaku islands in Japan). Early on September 19, China suspended all contact with Japan at the level of Minister and above.

In China, patriotic fervor has been stirred up in an anti-Japan campaign. The Japanese Consulate in Guangzhou said that, on September 9, some Chinese threw beer bottles into the consulate. On September 18, there was a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. That day marked the anniversary of Japan’s invasion of China in 1931. The number of police present at the site was several times that of the protestors, but they didn’t take any action to stop the protest. The protestors shouted, “Down with the Japanese! Kick the U.S. out of Asia! Kick the U.S. back to the U.S. …”

Source:
1. Reuters, September 21, 2010
http://cn.reuters.com/article/cnMktNews/idCNnCN132143920100921
2. Xinhua, September 19, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-09/19/c_12587473.htm
3. Mingpao, September 16, 2010
http://inews.mingpao.com/htm/INews/20100916/ca41525i.htm
4. Boxun, September 18, 2010
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/09/201009181144.shtml