Geo-Strategic Trend - 201. page

On September 17, 2012, People’s Daily overseas edition published an article expressing China’s attitude toward the Japanese government’s purchase of the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands titled “(If) China Pulls the Trigger on Japan’s Economy, Japan Will Fall Back 20 Years.” The article asserted that Japan’s economy is not immune from the economic means that China might use. Once China is forced to pull the trigger on Japan’s economy, China will target Japan’s weakest points, such as Japan’s manufacturing sector, financial sector, certain products that are exported to-China, and investment enterprises.

“When fighting an economic war, both China and Japan will get hurt. However, China has the determination and endurance to ‘kill 1000 enemies even at the price of 800 (Chinese) people’s deaths.’”  

Source: People’s Daily, September 17, 2012
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2012-09/17/content_1113598.htm

People’s Daily (overseas edition) published an article titled, "China Must Use a Firm Hand in Dealing with Japan." The article was a commentary on Japan’s purchase of the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands in order to nationalize the islands. It said that by doing so, Japan made two fatal mistakes: The first was misjudging the determination and resolve of China to safeguard its sovereignty and territory. “(China will not maintain peace) at the cost of losing its sovereignty and territory. On this issue, we will not give in even an inch.” The second was assuming that the United States will sacrifice its own interests just to benefit Japan. “Japan believes that it is an important foothold for the U.S. to return to Asia and has the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan in its hand as an imperial sword. It is attempting to kidnap the United States on the issue of the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands.”

The commentary concluded, “The dispute about sovereignty over the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands is a long-term contest of national will, and cannot be resolved overnight. However, if we cannot smash Japan now, the East Asian region will suffer very serious consequences.”

Source: People’s Daily (overseas edition) reprinted by Xinhua, September 12, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2012-09/12/c_113045028.htm

Following the Japanese government’s sealing a deal to purchase the Diaoyu (called Senkaku in Japan) Islands from their private Japanese owners, the Chinese government took a series of counteractions to fight for sovereignty over the islands. 

The United Front Work Department of the Communist Party carried an article originally published by Xinhua stating that the Guangdong Provincial government plans to build four databases on oversea’s Chinese in order to enhance the communication with the overseas Chinese and provide better services for the overseas Chinese who have returned to China (called haigui). The four categories for the databases include professionals and specialists in key areas; business groups; overseas Chinese currently living in Guangdong, and overseas Chinese currently investing in Guangdong.

According to Zhen Jianming, Deputy Director of the Guangdong Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, his office has established connections with over 100 overseas professional groups. They have listed 25 organizations in seven countries as the key contacts and have established collaboration projects with 15 of them. Since 2011, the Guangdong Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office has invited over 100 high level professionals from nine professional organizations to Guangdong and reached over 20 agreements with them for scientific collaboration or agreements on the intent to collaborate.

Source: The United Front Work Department of the Communist Party, September 7, 2012
http://www.zytzb.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/tzb2010/S1815/201209/731224.html

China’s state media Huanqiu published an opinion article in which the author, a research analyst at the Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, mentioned the United States in an effort to separate the Chinese people’s nationalistic emotions from the Sino-Japanese rift over the Diaoyu islands (called the Senkaku islands in Japan). 

On August 29, People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese military, published a commentary on the recent renewed dispute over the Diaoyu Islands (called the Senkaku Islands in Japan), titled “Is the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security a protecting shield for Japan?” The article stated that, although the United States holds that the issue of the Senkaku Islands falls within the scope of the Article 5 of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the U.S. government will not dispatch troops to solve the conflict.

The article emphasized, “The fact that the Diaoyu Islands are China’s territory will not change in the slightest because of any party’s attempts to interfere. The Chinese government and its people will not back off because of a so-called treaty or certain people’s position. It is unwise for the Japanese to provoke incidents again and again in hopes of having the protection of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. What is the most critical is that, in the face of the Chinese people’s righteous and determined resolution, no treaty can protect the Japanese from violating the interests of others.”

Source: PLA Daily, August 29, 2012
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2012-08/29/content_13331.htm

On August 15, 2012, 14 Chinese activists landed on one of Diaoyu islands (called the Senkaku Islands in Japan) in the East China Sea. Their action caused a fresh round of heated disputes between China and Japan over the sovereignty of the territory.

In an attempt to cool down the Chinese activists’ expression of patriotism, Huanqiu (the Global Times), a division of People’s Daily, published an article written by Han Xiaoqing, the president of the Japan-China news agency (also a division of People’s Daily). The article, questioning whether the Chinese activists’ landing on one of the Diaoyu islands damaged China’s national interest, was titled “Is it a patriotic act for activists to land on the Diaoyu Islands or does it harm the country?”

The article said, “The Hong Kong activists’ actions in landing on the Diaoyu Islands again pushed the slightly eased Sino-Japanese relations into a fierce confrontational situation.” It argued that China’s most urgent national strategic objective is not to recapture the Diaoyu Islands. "Currently China’s most urgent and most important national strategic goal is to develop the economy and enhance economic strength in order to cope with the grim international situation and severe challenges."

In conclusion, the author stated, “The Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland activists landing on the Diaoyu Islands, regardless of their motives, was not a patriotic act, but an act that harmed the country.”

The article caused an uproar on Chinese Internet forums, with the majority of the postings calling it traitorous. The article was soon withdrawn from the Huanqiu website, but it is still available on many other Chinese websites.

Source: Huanqiu, August 28, 2012
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/1152/2012-08/3072485.html.
http://news.sina.com.cn/pl/2012-08-28/094525051069.shtml