Cui bono?
"Anti-Japan protests held across China; Officials try to stop demonstrations over boat dispute" by Scott McDonald, Associated Press | September 19, 2010
BEIJING — Protesters in several cities across China marked a politically sensitive anniversary yesterday with anti-Japan chants and banners, as authorities tried to stop anger over a diplomatic spat between the Asian giants from getting out of control.
As some chanted “Wipe out the Japanese devils!’’ and stamped on Japanese flags, China’s Foreign Ministry called for calm.
Ever-present anti-Japanese sentiment in China has been inflamed in recent weeks by Japan’s arrest of a Chinese captain after his fishing boat collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels near islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing. Japan has returned the boat and its crew, but holds the captain. China has demanded his release.
China’s ruling Communist Party partly encourages anti-Japanese sentiment to burnish its nationalist credentials, but it remains obsessed with social stability and had worked in recent days to keep people from demonstrating yesterday, the anniversary of the start of a brutal Japanese invasion in 1931.
I'm so sick of the insulting "journalism," folks.
Of course, ENCOURAGING HATRED of Muslims so the AmeriKan empire will wipe out Israel's perceived enemies is JUST FINE!
Frikkin' lying, manipulating war rag and its kettle-calling crap!
Protests in at least five cities drew crowds as large as several hundred, but officials’ efforts largely succeeded.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing shouted “down with Japan,’’ and held signs saying “Get out of the Diaoyu Islands,’’ but were moved away by police within an hour....
Dozens get all this coverage from the paper, huh?
You know, if a protest appears in the paper it is an officially-approved and sanctioned, agenda-pushing protest. Protests against bankers and wars are all too often ignored -- or insulted and disparaged if they are covered.
In Shanghai, two men hung a banner outside the Japanese consulate saying “The Diaoyu islands belong to China . . . return our captain.’’ Police ushered people away after a crowd of about 50 gathered.
“We came here to appeal for fairness and for the right to ask for our captain back. We regret the government’s weakness in diplomacy,’’ said one of the men, Li Chunguang. He wore a T-shirt portraying revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
In the southern city of Shenzhen, several hundred people gathered at a public square to call for a boycott of Japanese goods and sing the Chinese national anthem, Hong Kong’s radio RTHK reported.
Hong Kong’s Cable TV showed a police officer trying to grab a Chinese flag displayed by protesters. RTHK said police detained several demonstrators.
And I must admit I was surprised to see this next item mentioned at all:
Yesterday marked the anniversary of the 1931 “Mukden Incident’’ that led to the Japanese occupation of China’s northeast and the invasion and conquest of much of the country.
Yes, the Japanese BLEW UP a RAIL LINE and then BLAMED the CHINESE -- what we now call an INSIDE JOB or FALSE FLAG!!
And I did NOT LEARN THAT from my HISTORY BOOKS! I found that out on my own!
--more--"
BEIJING — China yesterday broke off high-level government contacts with Japan over the extended detention of a fishing boat captain arrested near disputed islands.
The rare move pushed already tense relations to a new low, and showed China’s willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity.
Good thing the U.S. doesn't play hardball with the territory it conque.... never mind.
The action occurred a day after anti-Japanese protests broke out across China on the anniversary of the start of a brutal Japanese invasion of China in 1931. The invasion has historically cast a shadow over ties between what are now the world’s second- and third-largest economies....
So why you guys fightin'?
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Beijing has suspended ministerial and provincial-level contacts, halted talks on aviation issues, and postponed a meeting to discuss coal....
Doesn't Japan need that for power generation?
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BEIJING — Premier Wen Jiabao of China threatened action against Japan if it does not immediately release a detained boat captain, in his first comments in a growing fight over disputed islands.
Wen’s remarks Tuesday night in New York were the first by a top Chinese leader on the issue that has led Beijing to suspend ministerial-level contacts with Tokyo. China also has said Wen will not meet with Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan during UN meetings in New York this week.
Wen laid the blame for the dispute entirely at Japan’s door.
Tokyo “bears full responsibility for the situation, and it will bear all consequences,’’ he said at a gathering of overseas Chinese, according to China’s Foreign Ministry website. The report did not elaborate on what actions China might take.
China-Japan relations are at their worst in several years after Japan arrested the Chinese captain of a fishing boat that collided two weeks ago with Japanese Coast Guard vessels near islands in the East China Sea claimed by both nations. Japan extended his detention Sunday, and China responded by suspending contacts.
A Japanese government spokesman made a conciliatory gesture yesterday morning, but it was not clear whether he was aware of Wen’s comments at the time....
Anti-Japanese protests have already flared in numerous locations around China.
The growing dispute faces a test Sept. 29, the deadline by which prosecutors must decide whether to charge the captain.
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SHANGHAI — China’s Trade Ministry denied reports yesterday that Beijing is tightening curbs on exports of crucial rare earth elements to Japan after a territorial dispute further strained often tense relations between the rival Asian powers.
With offices closed in both Japan and China for public holidays, it was difficult to confirm whether the curbs were new or if, as reported by The New York Times, they targeted Japan.
Chen Rongkai, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, denied that Beijing had ordered a ban specifically on exports of rare earth elements to Japan.
“I don’t know where The New York Times got that information, but we did not issue any ban of that sort,’’ Chen said.
:-)
That's why no one reads that PoS paper anymore.
Rare earths are a group of metallic elements such as Lanthanum and Gadolinium that are crucial for superconductors, computers, hybrid electric cars, and other high-tech products. China, the United States, and Australia have some of the largest concentrations of mineable rare earths.
The New York Times report cited Dudley Kingsnorth, executive director of the Industrial Minerals Co. of Australia, a rare earth consulting company, as saying he had been getting calls from rare earth industry associates who said they had been asked to halt exports to Japan.
Kingsnorth said he spoke to a contact at a Japanese trading house and then contacted another consultant in Japan who confirmed that report.
“I was told it was an ‘unofficial ban,’ ’’ Kingsnorth said. “(China) requested major companies to withhold major exports to Japan with a clear indication that if they do export, it might impact on their export quotas.’’
In high-level economic meetings late last month, Japanese officials said they urged China to ease export controls imposed earlier this year on rare earths.
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That got the Japanese moving:
"Japan releases Chinese fishing boat captain held for 16 days" by Chico Harlan and William Wan, Washington Post | September 25, 2010
SEOUL — Japan yesterday announced the release of a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest 16 days ago sparked a furor between the Asian neighbors, bringing relations to their lowest point in years.
Citing concern for the Japan-China relationship, a Japanese prosecutor in Naha, Okinawa, said it was “inappropriate to continue the investigation’’ of the captain, Zhan Qixiong, who was detained after his trawler collided in disputed territory with two Japanese Coast Guard boats.
He was let go early this morning, according to a police official in the small town of Ishigaki, where he was being held. The captain was due to fly directly back to China via charter jet.
During his detention on Ishigaki island, a part of Okinawa, the Japan-China dispute had widened almost daily, far overshadowing the incident that provoked it....
And the agenda-pushing media went along for the ride!
The decision to release Zhan comes one day after China detained four Japanese citizens in Hebei province, claiming they videotaped military targets without authorization.
It remains unclear the extent to which the captain’s release will calm relations.
Diplomatic analysts in Tokyo were quick to interpret the release as a testament of China’s muscle — and its ability to exert extreme pressure on one of its top trading partners....
Good thing altruistic AmeriKa never does that!
The trawler collision in the East China Sea exposed a fierce, underlying controversy over a string of islands that both countries claim — although Japan maintains administrative rights. The surrounding waters are known for their natural gas resources. Recently, both China and Japan have expressed a desire to drill in the area....
Oh, so THAT is what this is ALL ABOUT!!
Sigh!
Japan’s release last week of the trawler’s crew members did little to ease tensions, and protests continued among Chinese nationalists.
--more--"
"No Japan apology for captain’s arrest
Japan rejected a Chinese demand yesterday that it apologize for detaining a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest after a collision near disputed islands plunged relations between the two Asian powers to their lowest level in years. Japanese authorities released the captain, Zhan Qixiong, early yesterday and he was flown home by chartered plane to Fuzhou in China’s southeastern Fujian Province (AP)."
Can't say as I blame them. Japan has been made to apologize over and over for the past, and they never seem to be good enough.
So when are Israel and AmeriKa going to start apologizing to people?
Japan rejected a Chinese demand yesterday that it apologize for detaining a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest after a collision near disputed islands plunged relations between the two Asian powers to their lowest level in years. Japanese authorities released the captain, Zhan Qixiong, early yesterday and he was flown home by chartered plane to Fuzhou in China’s southeastern Fujian Province (AP)."
Can't say as I blame them. Japan has been made to apologize over and over for the past, and they never seem to be good enough.
So when are Israel and AmeriKa going to start apologizing to people?
TOKYO — China yesterday released three of the four Japanese citizens who had been detained since last week, accused of illegally videotaping a military site. The three were released, according to China’s Xinhua news agency, after admitting their violation and showing “regret for their mistake.’’
The decision follows Japan’s move last week to release the Chinese captain of a fishing trawler that rammed two coast guard patrol boats near disputed islands in the East China Sea. That Sept. 7 incident spawned several weeks of acrimony between the Asian neighbors, with China imposing trade restrictions on exports and high-level leaders cutting off contacts....
Still, China’s move probably signals a willingness to gradually repair bilateral ties....
Fujita officials have said that the men were in China on business, bidding on a construction project that involves the disposal of chemical weapons abandoned after World War II....
In recent days, China has resumed the exporting of rare earth elements, necessary for many of the high-tech products manufactured in Japan. Still, the countries are battling over compensation for the damages in the boat collision. Moreover, both countries claim a right to the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, and decades of squabbling has provided no resolution.
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Haven't seen another word in print since.
"Amid spat, leaders of China, Japan meet" by Associated Press | October 5, 2010
BEIJING — The Chinese and Japanese prime ministers held an impromptu meeting in a hallway at a conference in Europe, the highest-level contact between the countries since a bitter territorial dispute erupted a month ago, both governments confirmed today....
Premier Wen Jiabao of China and Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan met briefly yesterday in Brussels, where both were attending the Asia-Europe Meeting and agreed to improve their ties....
Despite the continuing thaw, both sides remained firm on the territorial dispute....
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a news conference in Tokyo: “Improving relations is good for Asia, for Japan and China, and especially for the global economy.’’
--more
"China says Japanese suspected of filming is freed
Chinese authorities Saturday freed the last of four Japanese contractors who were detained last month in a military restricted zone in another gesture to ease tensions from a spat over disputed islands. The release of the contractor comes a few days after the Chinese and Japanese prime ministers agreed to put relations on track after nearly a month of threatening rhetoric that sent ties between the giant economies and historic rivals to a recent low. The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Sadamu Takahashi was released on bail Saturday, citing state security authorities in the northern city of Shijiazhuang. The report said the authorities instructed him to write a "statement of repentance."
That is the brief which appeared in my paper but nowhere in the Globe's web version site today.
And they think I'm going to pay twice for that?
Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters in Japan that he heard the contractor was in decent health but urged China to explain the 19-day detention.
"We would like to press China for explanation as to why he has been held for a long time," Maehara said....
The four work for Fujita Corp., a Tokyo-based construction and urban redevelopment company, which said they were preparing a bid for a project to dispose of chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military at the end of World War II. The three other contractors were released Sept. 30 after admitting to violating Chinese law.
Fujita officials could not be reached for comment Saturday....
China and Japan have sparred repeatedly over territorial claims in the waters between them. The latest flare-up started Sept. 8 when the Japanese coast guard detained a Chinese fishing boat captain after a collision between their vessels off the East China Sea islands Japan calls the Senkaku and China the Diaoyu....
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Doesn't it seem like the AmeriKan media is trying to get a war started?
Related: Globe Editorial Trawling for trouble in Asia
Yup.
