China government's hand seen in anti-Japan protests

Source: LA Times

(re: Police) ...in many cities they directed the public on where to protest and cleared streets to allow tens of thousands to mass. Many protesters interviewed Tuesday said they had been given the day off by employers to demonstrate. Sept. 18 is a traditional day of protest, marking the anniversary of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

"I need to lead the crowd and guide them to march in an orderly fashion," wrote a police officer in Jiangxi province in a microblog posting that was later removed.

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In the aftermath of nationwide protests, in which mobs trashed Japanese-owned businesses and set fire to Japanese model cars, critics are questioning the degree to which the Chinese government fanned the flames as part of its dispute with Japan over an island chain both nations claim.

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"It is obvious that this was planned," said Ai Weiwei, the dissident artist, who videotaped some of the protests. The 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square were "the last time that the people themselves organized a real protest and then the government sent in tanks to crush them," he said.





Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-japan-protests-20120921,0,6179972.story