PUSH WHEN THEY TEETER:

Anti-Japan protests may signal power struggle (Bennett Richardson, 5/03/05, Asia Times)

Anti-Japan violence, statements and other developments in China suggest the recent political situation in Beijing has been less stable than outward appearances indicate and that a hidden power struggle may have occurred during the past few weeks of unrest.

State-run newspapers in China have recently suggested that the anti-Japan riots across the country are part of a plot to destabilize the Chinese leadership, and have taken pains to emphasize the conciliatory tone of Chinese President Hu Jintao during a recent meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the Asia-Africa summit in Jakarta.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that Hu made an unusually accommodating "apology to the past leaders of both countries" for the recent breakdown in relations when he met with Koizumi. Analysts say this sharp contrast with the harsh criticism of Japan by officials in mid-April suggests a schism exists between the upper levels of political leadership in Beijing, who are seeking warmer ties with Japan, and other elements in the Communist Party who wish to keep Tokyo at a distance.

"Past mass demonstrations have always had a political power struggle element to them," says Ryosei Kokubun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Keio University in Tokyo. He says that a similar crisis could be occurring within the Chinese government: on the one side, with Hu and and his ally Premier Wen Jibao, and on the other, less progressive elements within the party who encouraged the anti-Japan riots as a method of causing social unrest.

It would be a good time to enbarrass them over their failure to deal with their North Korean allies and to ditch the One China policy.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 2, 2005 6:54 AM