Chinese Authorities Begin Suppressing Expression Regarding Japan

Chinese authorities appear to be calling a halt to relatively unrestrained public expression about Japan, after weeks of allowing, and in some cases encouraging, Chinese citizens to express anti-Japanese sentiment. On April 22, the front page of the People's Daily carried an article saying that the Ministry of Public Security had said that they "hope people will not use the Internet or phone text messaging to broadcast information to encourage people to participate in demonstrations." On the same day, Agence France Presse reported that Chinese authorities had shut down Web sites that had carried messages calling for large-scale demonstrations on May 1 and May 4 in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wenzhou, and Chongqing.