Thousands in China protest Japan bid for UN council seat
BEIJING -- Tensions between Asia's two most powerful countries spilled into the streets of Beijing yesterday as thousands of people marched through China's capital calling for a boycott of Japanese-made goods and condemning Tokyo's bid to join the UN Security Council.
Officials estimate that as many as 10,000 people joined the protest, making it the largest rally here since 1999, when demonstrators besieged the American Embassy after the United States acknowledged it accidentally had bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo war.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary officers in riot gear kept the gathering under control, even providing buses to take demonstrators home. Although mostly peaceful, some protesters threw bottles and rocks at the Japanese Embassy and smashed windows of Japanese-owned businesses.
Public demonstrations are rarely permitted in China, leading some to believe that the rally was as much a government-sanctioned move to send a signal to Japan as it was a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. Tension between the two countries has been escalating over issues steeped in history and national pride.
Japan approved new textbooks that downplayed its military aggressions during World War II, infuriating its neighbors, who say Tokyo is whitewashing its wartime atrocities. Beijing estimates that 35 million Chinese were killed or wounded during the Japanese occupation from 1931 to 1945.
In the same vein, China opposes Japan's attempt to gain a permanent seat on the Security Council. About 20 million Chinese are believed to have signed an online petition opposing Tokyo's bid. China is one of five countries on the Security Council with veto power and has rarely used its ''no" vote to sway world politics.
''We hope China would vote no and not just abstain," said protester Liu Bei, 23, an office worker who had painted the words ''Resist Japan" on her face. The large turnout may also have been a testament to the mobilizing potential of the Internet and mobile phones. Many of the protesters said they found out about the rally through e-mails and text messages.
Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi of Japan launched a formal protest yesterday against Beijing's handling of the protests and demanded security assurances for its citizens in China. 