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This weekend 20,000 Shanghai people turned out in organized anger towards the Japanese government. Relations between the two countries have never been that solid, despite their regional dependence on each other. These relations have come to a head as the Japanese government released a new edition of their history textbook, which the Chinese claim downplays atrocities committed by the Japanese during WWII.

During the 'Rape of Nanjing,' 300,000 citizens were humiliated and killed in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province. The wounds have never healed, and it appears that the Japanese have not been completely honest or forthcoming with the political atonement for these sins. As the Chinese saying goes: "A kneeling Germany is taller than a standing Japan."

Over the past few weeks, relations have been deteriorating and 'unregistered' protests have sprung up in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Professors at my college sent mass e-mails and mass text messages reiterating the need for harmony, and advising them 'not to do anything stupid as to get their faces in the newspapers.'

The English mouthpiece of the Xinhua News Agency, The China Daily, ran a story today about the protest. The story reads like a government press release, which it no doubt was, but it speaks volumes about the Chinese Law on Assemblies, Processions and Demonstrations.

What strikes me about this protest, however, was the fact that it had to be registered in advance with the People's Government. SO, while they say that people have the 'freedom of assembly,' demonstrations still must be approved and therefore cannot display an image of 'disunity.'

It also means that hating the Japanese is an 'approved activity' which the government seems eager to endorse. While I think the Japanese should be more sensitive towards their neighbors (S. Korea has held protests as well), the Chinese need to do some serious reflecting themselves.