Eli, I think that’s a really astute breakdown of the root causes of the unrest. I also don’t think it’s about the islands – these are the same islands that for decades no one cared about at all. We’ve seen protests exactly like this and most of us know that this is the re-emergence of a deep-seated rivalry with Japan. This Wikipedia entry illuminated a lot of the details on the dispute for me: Senkaku Islands Dispute
What seems different this time, though, is that everyone seems to be throwing oil onto the fire of discontent. Businesses everywhere are expressing their support for the Chinese cause – hotels, restaurants, and internet bars are displaying signs refusing Japanese customers. China Unicom sent a text message to all of it’s subscribers saying “Protect China’s Diao Yu Islands” along with a photo of an island with a Chinese national flag photoshopped onto it. It’s really getting out of hand. You obviously do not want to be driving a Japanese car in any urban center in China right now because you could take a wrong turn and get your car flipped by an angry mob. There’s a collection of photos I saw showing images of carnage like that right here: Anti-Japan Demonstrations in China
Last week I had two Japanese guests stay at my house for a few days, they’re in Nanjing now. They are two of the most well-mannered and peaceful people you will meet (which is largely what I experienced in my limited time in Japan) and I feel bad for the potential danger or ill will that they face continuing their travels across the country.
I just hope that all of this ends soon. I really see the futility of these regional disputes as at the same time across the world the US, England, and France are positioning their navies at the Hormuz Strait in preparation for Israel taking pre-emptive military action against Iran. World leaders need to find diplomatic solutions to these regional rivalries so children aren’t raised in an environment where they’re trained to hate people from a rival country.
edit: I saw someone in my office wearing this shirt this morning and took a photo and shared it on Weibo. After taking it, I showed him that photo and offered to ?? him on Weibo and he said he didn’t have a Weibo account. What an exceptional person:
