http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3150865

(Requires free registration).

JAPAN—Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSA) in Japanese universities have received notice from the Chinese Embassy, asking them to mobilize all possible manpower to Nagano on April 26 to support the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. Sources disclosed that yellow T-shirts will be distributed to them by the Embassy and that the Embassy will also give every one a bottle of mineral water and a pen. All expenses incurred will be paid by the Embassy.

In addition, participants were told by the embassy to claim that the activity is spontaneously organized by unofficial organizations, which have nothing to do with the embassy. Sources also revealed that the Chinese Embassy in Japan has received orders to prevent human rights protests similar to those that happened in the UK and France from recurring in Japan at all costs. It has been repeatedly exposed by media that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manipulates overseas Chinese students to work for them. It incites students and secretly develops spies to infiltrate students.

Wei Jingsheng, a well-known Chinese democracy activist pointed out that the CCP on one hand deceives and makes the public fanatical with its control of media, especially Chinese media. On the other hand it threatens and lures students with gains through the operation of its embassies and consulates, overseas education bureaus, and student associations.

Wei said that Chinese embassies tightly control overseas students. Student associations in all places are de facto intelligence agents of the CCP. The CCP monitor students through student party members and government funded students. Some students have family in China. They are not sure whether they can stay in the foreign countries in future. So they are afraid that they will be in trouble once they return to China if they offend the CCP. “The so-called patriotism is instigated by the CCP on purpose,” said Wei,

Dr. Liu Wei was chairman of the Student Federation in Manchester City, United Kingdom in 1998-9 and the executive committee of all student associations in the UK. He said, “The skeleton members of the student associations are appointed by the Education Department of the Chinese Embassy or the Education Unit of the Chinese Consulates. The Education Department regularly calls meetings with the skeleton members. The officials of the Department will assign the political work that the CCP asks the overseas students to do in order to extend its domestic policies overseas.”

Zhang Yang is former director of the international department of the CSSA in Tohoku University, Japan in 1996. He disclosed that inside the Chinese Staff Association, there is an underground party branch that is under the direct control of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. Sources disclosed that the president of the association can often read confidential documents at the ministerial level.

What I can confirm, from my own experience, is that the Chinese response is internationally co-ordinated and identical, e.g. big red sponsored flags, little flags on faces, the involvement of embassy figures acting as security to keep the crowds in order … interestingly … regardless of which country, the banners are all in English and so the target appears to be the opinion forming Western media. I find nationalism of this sort chilling regardless of who is practicing it.

The news is saying they shipped in 2,000 students.

That happens here in the land of rising sun too,Mac.Way back in 1931.

Just out of interest, as many of the Chinese counter-protestors are being organised by local Chinese Chambers of Commerce and other “Chinese media organizations”, how many of them are actually Chinese and not earlier immigrants from Hong Kong?

Commentators on Japanese TV are raising note of the fragile state of internal politics within China and how they are of much greater concern than overseas issues. In particular, the need for the State party to respond to their people’s “democratic” desire for them to take a much tougher line on Tibetan unrest. Surely this is where democracy starts to fail, where the whipped up proletariat starts to bay for blood even in the leadership has no stomach for it.

Similar to Bender, I was left asking myself what sort of families within China are allowed to send their kids to overseas universities in the first place and I certainly witnessed quite a shocking aggressivity within the crowd. Lots of “Tibet is/was/will always be China” banners and chants along the lines of, literally, “Death to all traitors”. The few single Pro-Tibet demonstrators, most actual Tibetans and women themselves, were out numbered on a ratio of about 4 or 5 to 1 by armed AND plain clothes police.

This did not stop the Chinese crowding round them with large red flags lying, attempting to pull the Tibetan flags down and angry confrontation by mobsters. Only the intervention of security staff from the Chinese Embassy to cool them down and separate the crowd stopped it spilling over into the type of violence listed above, as this was meant to be for good PR.

I agree entirely with how uncomfortable this kind of nationalism makes me feel. I have to say it was very ugly. And what is a “nation”. We may say “Chinese” but this lot were almost entire Han and of specific classes. One problem I can see with “China” is that single classes, e.g. Nationalists, preferentially treated elite party members etc are so huge that they comprise of the size of an entire nation. I hope that the informed, liberal or even charitable voice with China is also as large but it is not a great hope. It was a very fanatical crowd.

Next time I am going back with a banner in Cantonese that reads, “You are only here because you are afraid they will send your parents back to the state owned labor camps”. Of what I picked up, and these are overseas Chinese, they really did not have a clue about what was going on and were afraid to think outside of the State controlled thought bubble, e.g. all protest was arranged by the Dalai Lama “clique”, all troubles were cause by a “handful of Tibetan Separatists” etc.

Opinion from a Chinese Yale Law School student. I wonder if Tibetan students ever have a chance to go to Yale/Harvard?

BTW, I see no good in “nationalism”. I might be some member of a nation-state, but I’m just me. So is anyone else.

This just in.
A Japanese family(Parents and a boy) with Tibetan flag was attacked by dozens of pro-Chinese crowd in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.NHK says the father was wrapped up in big Chinese flag and beaten by the crowd repeatedly.There are no serious injury,J embassy says.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCN6CLqVC5FQuP9joKeXo_HITGcQ

I feel this is quite remarkable from a cultural and diplomatic point of view. So … yes … will the Aussies take a break from culling kangaroos and try ramming the security cavalcade or slipping up Beijing’s Secret Police with a rancid butter attack to claim their place on the podium? The Chinese Embassy is responding by laying on buses from other cities for Chinese students to attended the run. Presumably those Chinese government student grants come with “Thou shalt attended political rallies in the name of the Motherland” written into the terms and conditions.

One interesting aside, despite years of opposition to the idea due to cost and security issues, the IOC executive board only eventually gave in to pressure from Beijing Games organisers and torch relay sponsors including the likes of Coca-Cola.

I’d like to say, Aceface, I am sure that you personally did not kill a load of Chinese in Nanjing and neither did 99.999% of your countryfolk. Indeed, I am sure that you would be hard pressed to find just a handful that did so, as that political entity that engaged in such war no longer exists, you are officially free of any conscience about the matter whatsoever. No need for any re-education around here.

What I do not understand is why the Modern China is not eternally grateful towards Old Japan because if the latter had not sufficiently worn out Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT during WWII, there is doubt whether the Communist Party would have even manage to take power at all (to carry out its own ambitious and multitudinous homemade genocides afterwards). So, really, China is obviously deeply indebted to Japan and ought be outwarding practising its gratitude.

If only life was so simple …