Some pictures and my account from the anti-Japanese demonstration here in Beijing this Saturday.
We came to the Hailong Dasha at Zhongguanzun at around 9.30am. At that time there were perhaps 200 students shouting and holding banners. The front entrances were closed and the shops close to the exits were cleared of Japanese products. After watching for a while we made the first stop at McDonalds for some breakfast. There we encountered the one of the foreign journalist typing on his computer. There were half a dozen of them outside.
10:50 am
抵制日货振兴中华 - "boycott Japanese goods, promote China"
The whole thing was very well documented by spectators and protesters, mostly with cameras such as Sony, Canon, Panasonic etc. That didn't seem to bother anyone. My pictures were taken by an excellent 5.0M Sony Powershot. :)
When we came out from McDonalds the students were marching around out side the building, perhaps a hundred of them while a larger crowd was watching. Some police were walking in the front constantly communicating with the front row. Most other police were mostly just staying around enjoying the sun, like most spectators.
12.03 pm 中关村大街 Zhongguancun Dajie, just outside 人附高中.
Some torn advertisements of Canon Powershot. Some torn advertisement, a hole in the panel of a small branch of a Japanese bank, and the stones at the embassy was all vandalism I saw, and I think that covers it all in this aspect.
12.05 pm 中关村大街 Zhongguancun Dajie, just outside 人附高中.
全国人民团结起来, 坚决抵制日货
"The people of the whole country! Unite and rise! Firmly boycott Japanese goods!"
The police was gathering groups that were coming from Peking University's west gate and the students that had been protesting at Zhongguancun. After standing around for a little while they started marching towards the embassy.
Dog dressed up with anti-Japanese slogans.
An annoying person came up and shook my hand, thanking me for my support, while I was clearly just standing and watching and taking pictures with my Japanese camers. After that I tried to walk with a distance from the crown, no wanting to become any foreign mascot for this hateful parade. I did see a white guy who did walk in the protest all the way, though looking rather confusing. Just to the right of him was the banner with "Kill all Japanese pigs". I doubt that he supported that claim.
3.06pm Marching along 东四十条
These guys at the front were constantly told by the police when to stop, when to walk etc. The march was at this point confined to one side of the street with policemen casually walking in front of them and 20-25 police minivans tightly following them. Almost all protesters were students. On the other side of the road people stopped and cheered and honked their horns in their cars.
誓死保卫钓鱼岛
Pledge one's life to defend the Diaoyu islands.
3.35 pm 东四十条桥
日货滚出中国
杀光日本猪
Japanese goods get out of China!
Kill all Japanese pigs! (!!!)
This sign was held just a few rows after the front row, right in front of the police. I think that kind of statement would (and should) lead to a prison sentence where I come from.
4.49pm At the Japanese embassy.
There were a constant flow of empty plastic bottles and chants, for example asking for the ambassador to come out and apologize.
5:02pm Outside the embassy.
Some stones were thrown, smashing the window to the guard house to the left in the picture. The embassy was sealed off by layers of riot-gear equipped guards. They were never challenged in any way by the protesters and police were casually walking among the protesters and even the stone throwers! It is pretty sad to see police standing by watching. They could very easily stop this by just telling them to. I personal estimate of the people outside the embassy would be around thousand, not more.
Sign with Japanese brands (some mistaken) and demands to leave the Diaoyu islands.
A guy climbs up to a tree, chanting slogans and waving a flag.
6.01 pm 建国门大外街 Jianguomen Dawaijie
The students gets into busses and go back to their Universities. Half an hour later the place was basically cleared. The students left voluntarily without fuzz.
Me and Wen went to have some food and rest our tired legs before taking the subway back to Wudaokou.
Since it is not everyday I watch something that makes the front pages of the international press I find it interesting to compare their reporting with my own impression. My only complaint would be that when it is a large focus on the smashed window, therefore sounding more aggressive than it actually was. This is also the case when it comes to the reported numbers, often citing the highest numbers available, while this was not a very large demonstration.
