Postcards From A Furious China, or A new Star of David found in China

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/postcards-furious-china

Over the past 48 hours we have written much, describing the perfectly expected surge in nationalist fervor and anti-Japanese sentiment, as the Senkaku Islands Snafu hits its boiling point - a Japan whose GDP is now declining in real terms, whose economy has been crippled by years of deflation, whose infrastructure is impaired due to anti-nuclear power sentiment, and one which generally can not afford an all out diplomatic, political and economic conflict with China, and may thus ask itself: why escalate and just who prompted it do so now? A Japan whose economic status is best summarized with the following chart:

Postcards From A Furious China

A banner on a store called pattad reads: "pattad firmly defends China's right to the Diaoyu Islands. / We will give a 15% discount to customers who yell THE DIAOYU ISLANDS BELONG TO CHINA! in the store / We will give a 20% discount to customers who yell JAPAN ALSO BELONGS TO CHINA!"

"JAPANESE GUESTS ARE NOT CURRENTLY BEING ACCOMMODATED BY OUR HOTEL"

A man in Xi'an holds a sign that reads CAR SMASHINGS AHEAD, JAPANESE CAR OWNERS SHOULD TURN BACK NOW

A hair salon named "Korean-style Haircuts" hangs a banner that says JAPANESE AND DOGS NOT ALLOWED INSIDE

Employees at a dealership hold up a sign that says WE WILL KILL EVERY JAPANESE PERSON EVEN IF IT MEANS DEATHS FOR OUR OWN; EVEN POVERTY WILL NOT DETER US FROM RECLAIMING THE DIAOYU ISLANDS

Protestors in Chaoshan hold up a sign that says GET OUT OF THE DIAOYU ISLANDS, JAPANESE DOGS

Japanese brand cars are overturned by rioters

A woman tries to stop rioters from demolishing her Japanese brand car

The sign in the foreground reads DEFEND DIAOYU ISLANDS TILL OUR DEATHS and **** JAPAN

A woman discovers her Japanese brand car has been demolished

A Honda owner drove his car to the nearest Honda dealership and set it on fire; banners in the back read DEFEAT THE JAPANESE DEMONS

A Toyota dealership in Shanghai is set on fire

The annotations are to the photographs enclosed in the link. So much for economic miracles on either side, it took the Chinese 70 years to remember the past of WW II Manchuria, compared to Germany's twenty - the South China sea is the big divider here and limits logistics, but now that the Navy is built up & ready to party, the games can finally begin.

---------- Post added at 18:48 ---------- Previous post was at 18:39 ----------

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/coast-guard-on-lookout-for-1000-chinese-fishing-boats?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2012-09-18_PM

Coast guard on lookout for 1,000 Chinese fishing boats

TOKYO —

Japan said Tuesday it was bolstering its defenses around the disputed East China Sea islands after Chinese media reported a flotilla of around 1,000 Chinese fishing boats was sailing toward them.

The Japanese coast guard said it has so far been unable to confirm the arrival of the fishing boats, but it spotted one Chinese fisheries patrol ship in waters near the disputed islands shortly before 7 a.m.

The Japanese government has set up an information-gathering operation to monitor the movements of the Chinese fishing boats. However, the boats may have been delayed by a typhoon which pummeled South Korea on Monday.

The most attentive listeners will recall that Japanese ambassador to China died on Sunday in a Tokyo hospital, after collapsing on the street.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/japans-ambassador-china-dies-chinese-police-use-tear-gas-water-cannon-anti-japan-protesters

Japan's Ambassador To China Dies As Chinese Police Use Tear Gas, Water Cannon On Anti-Japan Protesters

Yesterday we described that anti-Japan sentiment across China was spreading like wildfire with some even suggesting it is time to declare war on Japan (see picture) in retaliation for the unprecedented shift in Japan's status quo vis-a-vis the Senkaku Islands. Today it has gotten even worse. From Reuters: "Chinese police used pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon to break up an anti-Japan protest in southern China on Sunday as demonstrators took to the streets in scores of cities across the country in a long-running row over a group of disputed islands. The protests erupted in Beijing and many other cities on Saturday, when demonstrators besieged the Japanese embassy, hurling rocks, eggs and bottles and testing police cordons, prompting the Japanese prime minister to call on Beijing to ensure protection of his country's people and property.

...

And while the populist reaction was widely expected, the most surprising development came from Japan, where the designated ambassador to Beijing mysteriously died several hours ago after collapsing in the street without any obvious cause.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Iroquois Pliskin

[instagoat 133]

China is pretty much on the upsurge. They know that they are beginning to matter in the region more than ever now. And they are realizing that their old enemies are on the back-foot. Seeing the amount of control the CPC has, I would almost expect a large amount of the protests over there to be engineered by them. The chinese are still -very- upset about the war crimes Japan committed, which largely haven´t been formally apologized for, and the perpetrators of which are still revered in shrines on the japanese mainland.

Even small regional disputes like this could be enough to seriously enrage the chinese population, and along with North Korea, the Iranian/middle eastern powder keg and the persisting tensions between Pakistan/India this is another conflict the world doesn´t need. Because, contrary to 20 years ago, the self designated world police is already at its breaking point, and if anything happens in this region, it´ll really be Japan alone against China.

Not a happy prospect at all.

I hope that the calmer minds prevail, and that the Chinese government doesn´t fan the flames on their side anymore, and that the Japanese back down from claims they can hardly afford backing at this time.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Not a happy prospect at all.

I hope that the calmer minds prevail, and that the Chinese government doesn´t fan the flames on their side anymore, and that the Japanese back down from claims they can hardly afford backing at this time.

Bad prospects all around. Calmer minds would have limited the printing press action, courtesy of U.S debt issuance to the Chinese. People have no idea what will happen, the second the Chinese en masse find out, that the their GDP growth and global consumerist economy have reached their respective peaks, and that the principal on the debt, counting in the trillions of Benny bucks, is not going to be repaid.

[PELHAM 10]

Yeah amazing isn't it - since this charade started almost no one in China has grasped the fact that there is a huge political vacuum because the next leader Xi Jinping disappeared from public view with health problems and the succession process was halted with events cancelled. There is great uncertainty over the future and the political elite are nervous. Those looking for a gift wrapped, cast iron conspiracy with a gift tag that says "To whom it may concern, this is a giant conspiracy!" might find it here.

Who knows, since he seems to be getting back to good health and has appeared once in public it may start to calm down now? Or, if it is some demonstration of power by China, as some suggest, it will continue until they get their way. They seem to have a fetish for land and resources at the moment. I half suspect the Chinese have something to do with the trouble in South Africa with the mines. Mugabe is their chief ally in the area and it's his friends that are doing much of the organising. Someone has decided the time is right to unseat the ANC which would benefit those looking for mining access with a new Gov't.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Both Japan & China are loaded on U.S. debt, the game now is to play them off one against the other, and then come in later to pick up what remains, similar to the Marshall Plan and various Paperclip projects during and after WW II.

As The China-Japan Conflict Escalates, Whom Will The US Support?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/china-japan-conflict-escalates-whom-will-us-support

The net result is that the spread between Chinese and Japanese US Treasury holdings has declined to a tiny $33 billion, from $430 billion one short year ago (we know that China is now actively buying gold with its current account cash instead of US paper but that is irrelevant for the time being). What is more importantly is which of its top US Treasury holders (the Fed being naturally the largest) will the US end up disappointing: China or Japan, because as much as it wants, it won't be able to support both. What happens if and when the snubbed party decides to dispose of its $1.1 trillion in US securities?

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/09/China%20and%20Japan.jpg (143 kB)

Scary chart, Japan has been loaded on even more U.S. debt in this past year, as a prerequisite to its survival as the protectorate state.

And the third angle to all of this, is the anniversary of invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese. Here's a good article by Reuters,

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/china-japan-idUSL4E8KI0RZ20120918

Anti-Japan protests reignited across China on Tuesday, the sensitive anniversary marking Tokyo's occupation of its giant neighbour, escalating a maritime dispute which has forced major Japanese brandname firms to suspend business there.

Relations between Asia's two biggest economies have faltered badly, with emotions running high on the streets and also out at sea where two Japanese activists landed on an island at the centre of the dispute.

China reacted swiftly to the news of the landing, which risked inflaming a crisis that already ranks as China's worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades. Beijing described the landing as provocative, lodged a complaint with Tokyo and said it reserved the right to "take further action".

The dispute over the uninhabited group of islands in the East China Sea - known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - led to another day of protests that were smothered by a heavy blanket of security.

Japanese businesses shut hundreds of stores and factories across China and Japan's embassy in Beijing again came under siege by protesters hurling water bottles, waving Chinese flags, and chanting anti-Japan slogans evoking war-time enmity.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda urged Beijing again to protect Japanese citizens in China.

"Today is our day of shame," said a Beijing protester, Wei Libing, a waiter in his 40s. "Japan invaded China on this date."

"Wipe out all Japanese dogs," read one banner held aloft by one of thousands of protesters marching on the embassy, which was ringed by riot police standing six rows deep. Japan's foreign ministry said some embassy windows had been smashed.

Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Japan's military aggression in the 1930s and 1940s and present rivalry over resources - the islands are believed to be surrounded by energy-rich waters.

For China, Tuesday marks the day Japan began its occupation of parts of mainland China in 1931.

Rowdy protests sprang up in other major cities including Shanghai, raising the risk they could get out of hand and backfire on Beijing, which has given tacit approval to them through state media. One Hong Kong newspaper said some protesters in southern Shenzhen had been detained for calling for democracy and human rights.

Eighty years have passed, these guys are more bitter than the Russians and their Velikaya Ote4estvennaya Voina. I suppose, propaganda can make a whole new generation feel the pain of the past events.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Iroquois Pliskin

[Tonci87 163]

Mark my words, this may escalate very fast!

[Jastreb 69]

Serious shit. For profit even WW3 is fine. I hope not.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

If something horrendous happens, it won't be for profit - there's a very apparent lack of resources, or at least lack of efficient distribution and application of said resources in China due to the political system; Japan isn't any better, they import all of the raw materials, that's why they will cling desperately to any nearby contested island and islet, be it against China, or Russia.

Via ZH - http://www.zerohedge.com/news/re-retaliation-fire-spotted-gate-chinese-school-kobe-japan

Re-Retaliation: Fire Spotted At Gate Of Chinese School In Kobe, Japan

https://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2012/09/183108.html

Fire spotted at gate of Chinese school in Kobe

KOBE, Sept. 19, Kyodo

A fire was spotted at the gate of a Chinese school in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, at around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, prompting police to launch an investigation on suspicion that somebody set the fire in a protest against China, where anti-Japan demonstrations are continuing.

The fire was detected by a police officer on patrol and extinguished immediately, the police said, adding it caused no major damage.

[4 IN 1 0]

Well, the only "winner" will be US for sure, China have very limited choose of action, and japan are happily living under the shelter of "farther" USA, as long as nukes don't start flying over our heads.

Eighty years have passed, these guys are more bitter than the Russians and their Velikaya Ote4estvennaya Voina. I suppose, propaganda can make a whole new generation feel the pain of the past events.

Yeah, you tell that to the victims of mass massacres, rapes and force prostitution.

Edited September 19, 2012 by 4 IN 1

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Yeah, you tell that to the victims of mass massacres, rapes and force prostitution.

I'm impartial here and have read of raping of Nanking and the following massacres, but one has to be reasonable here, haven't the Japanese been nuked and subdued post-WW II, do the Chinese want to punish them personally on top of everything else? If China wants to go forward with this populist action, then its their call, but in any hot scenario, tactical nukes will be flying all over the place.

Photos of thousands of boats swarming the disputed islets - http://www.chinesedefence.com/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/3824-diaoyu-island-conflicts-4.html#post32825 How does one counter that? Heh. :)

---------- Post added at 02:42 ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 ----------

Japan would appear to be but one, though significant, chess piece, because if anything comes down, it will be on all fronts equally, including Taiwan, the Philippines, North-South Koreas and Vietnam even.

---------- Post added at 02:49 ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 ----------

A year old and very relevant article on the dynamics of the area,

The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/the_south_china_sea_is_the_future_of_conflict

Europe is a landscape; East Asia a seascape. Therein lies a crucial difference between the 20th and 21st centuries. The most contested areas of the globe in the last century lay on dry land in Europe, particularly in the flat expanse that rendered the eastern and western borders of Germany artificial and exposed to the inexorable march of armies. But over the span of the decades, the demographic and economic axis of the Earth has shifted measurably to the opposite end of Eurasia, where the spaces between major population centers are overwhelmingly maritime.

[4 IN 1 0]

I'm impartial here and have read of raping of Nanking and the following massacres, but one has to be reasonable here, haven't the Japanese been nuked and subdued post-WW II, do the Chinese want to punish them personally on top of everything else? If China wants to go forward with this populist action, then its their call, but in any hot scenario, tactical nukes will be flying all over the place.

Photos of thousands of boats swarming the disputed islets - http://www.chinesedefence.com/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/3824-diaoyu-island-conflicts-4.html#post32825 How does one counter that? Heh. :)

---------- Post added at 02:42 ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 ----------

Japan would appear to be but one, though significant, chess piece, because if anything comes down, it will be on all fronts equally, including Taiwan, the Philippines, North-South Koreas and Vietnam even.

---------- Post added at 02:49 ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 ----------

A year old and very relevant article on the dynamics of the area,

The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/the_south_china_sea_is_the_future_of_conflict

Not that I think people should take personal revenge on such thing, but the current situation is caused by the lack of formal apologies, sometime even completely denial the crime that had been commited, which further fuels the anger and hostility towards Japan. But then again, I do not expect you to understand that.

[Tonci87 163]

Not that I think people should take personal revenge on such thing, but the current situation is caused by the lack of formal apologies, sometime even completely denial the crime that had been commited, which further fuels the anger and hostility towards Japan. But then again, I do not expect you to understand that.

I doubt that the situation would be any different if there were apologies. These protests are fueled/allowed by the chinese leadership.

[vilas 477]

Not that I think people should take personal revenge on such thing, but the current situation is caused by the lack of formal apologies, sometime even completely denial the crime that had been commited, which further fuels the anger and hostility towards Japan. But then again, I do not expect you to understand that.

Tonci87 of course might be right too

but you of course are right

to understand people's will to revenge , you have to be in shoes of that person,

in one nation during WW2 there were loses 1/1000 people, in other nations/regions there were loses like 1/4 people (+all houses) and every family lost at least one loving person etc.

so if someone comes from region when he had losts like 1/1000 and no house burned he looks totally different way than someone who had 2 grandfathers killed, one grandmother raped + house burned etc.

[4 IN 1 0]

he

I doubt that the situation would be any different if there were apologies. These protests are fueled/allowed by the chinese leadership.

I would use a slightly different approach to that sentence, mainly, by adding that the china leadership using the japan ignorance to further fuel the fire, just like the US use china problems of just about everything to gain political advantage.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Not that I think people should take personal revenge on such thing, but the current situation is caused by the lack of formal apologies, sometime even completely denial the crime that had been commited, which further fuels the anger and hostility towards Japan. But then again, I do not expect you to understand that.

Looks to be the case of Eastern "saving face". I'm not sure how appropriate would an official apology be, given that Japan had been nuked and demoralized into oblivion for their initiative to start the Pacific war.

[jefferspang 2]

Looks to be the case of Eastern "saving face". I'm not sure how appropriate would an official apology be, given that Japan had been nuked and demoralized into oblivion for their initiative to start the Pacific war.

Not just 'starting' a pacific war. This is because Japan has the audacity to deny and refuse any apologies for the atrocities they have committed in Manchuria. The Chinese has never had an opportunity to avenge the occupation and therefore there is a build up of tension/steam within nationalists. Bear in mind that a lot of those who have survived the Nanking massacre/rape (including my grandmother) are still alive, there will always be a bitter resentment towards the Japanese even though I do not endorse it.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Still, doesn't justify the following,

One probable translation reads as, "Though the whole of China should be a tomb, we will exterminate the Japanese; though grass grows no longer in China, we will take back the Diaoyu (senkaku) islands." This is an Audi dealership.

Should the Poles and Czechs feel the great need for revenge after their countries had been systematically leveled to the ground, ran over, occupied, repossessed and subjugated to both Nazi and Communist regimes for the most part of the XX century? I suppose, there's a bit of remedy here in the form of Nuremberg trials for the former, and the latter - the Communist regime, somewhat fogged the atrocities of the War itself.

---------- Post added at 12:30 ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 ----------

The glass building parable in the photo is very apropos to the situation. :)

[jefferspang 2]

Still, doesn't justify the following,

http://i.imgur.com/UDVzR.jpg

One probable translation reads as, "Though the whole of China should be a tomb, we will exterminate the Japanese; though grass grows no longer in China, we will take back the Diaoyu (senkaku) islands." This is an Audi dealership.

Should the Poles and Czechs feel the great need for revenge after their countries had been systematically leveled to the ground, ran over, occupied, repossessed and subjugated to both Nazi and Communist regimes for the most part of the XX century? I suppose, there's a bit of remedy here in the form of Nuremberg trials for the former, and the latter - the Communist regime, somewhat fogged the atrocities of the War itself.

---------- Post added at 12:30 ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 ----------

The glass building parable in the photo is very apropos to the situation. :)

I do feel that some of the slogans are extremely over the top and if anything, antagonises the Chinese. However, after the war US was known to have offered amnesty to several Japanese war criminals (including members of the Unit 571 who conducted biological human experiment) and Emperor Hirohito. Not that I condone genocide in anyway, but the Japanese massacre was in no way systematic, and were done solely for sadistic pleasure. It wasn't like the blitzkrieg where cities were destroyed because of heavy fighting or civilians die in cross fires in the European front, the Japanese hand pick, rape and mutilate women at their disposal and the bayonet babies for fun, and no I am not under any 'communist' brainwash as you have implied as the war crimes were confirmed to every detail by eye witnesses (both Chinese and Western). As I mention before, the lack of formal apologies and even denial of the war crimes further fuels the Chinese nationalistic anger and therefore they are using every opportunity to slam the Japanese.

[kireta21 13]

I believe You mean Unit 731?

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

It wasn't like the blitzkrieg where cities were destroyed because of heavy fighting or civilians die in cross fires in the European front, the Japanese hand pick, rape and mutilate women at their disposal and the bayonet babies for fun, and no I am not under any 'communist' brainwash as you have implied as the war crimes were confirmed to every detail by eye witnesses (both Chinese and Western).

Reread my comment on Commies again - central Europeans were mutilated by two totalitarian ideologies, yet they have come to learn to live in a mutual, interdependent ecosystem, which is the European Union. Since, as you've said it wasn't systematic in China, then I doubt there are lot of direct survivors as ratio of the population there, thus the current rhetoric is totally by official sanction to divert public attention from internal problems.

Nazi Germany circa 1933 comes to mind.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Iroquois Pliskin

[4 IN 1 0]

Here is your problem: you automatic assume that international politics relationship is the same around the world. And then again assume that European Union are all love and peace right now.(pffffffff......)

Also I never say there isn't any degrees of propaganda release by offical(instead, I know well enough that it is quite the opposite that do not need to repeat over and over again), but here is the key point: You have to had fuel in order to start a fire, how high it burn and how wide it spread are totally depend on the amount of fuel you have on your hand, if there is enough fuel (like right now in China), starting a fire is just like a snap of fingers, you don't need much propaganda effort to do just that.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Here is your problem: you automatic assume that international politics relationship is the same around the world. And then again assume that European Union are all love and peace right now.

International politics should be the same around the world: superstition and inane traditions are dying out and fairly rapidly. The core of Europe is very healthy at the moment.

Also I never say there isn't any degrees of propaganda release by offical(instead, I know well enough that it is quite the opposite that do not need to repeat over and over again), but here is the key point: You have to had fuel in order to start a fire, how high it burn and how wide it spread are totally depend on the amount of fuel you have on your hand, if there is enough fuel (like right now in China), starting a fire is just like a snap of fingers, you don't need much propaganda effort to do just that.

That's rather demagogic, I would like to know why do it now? It will further alienate the PRC from the rest of the world. You know, this doesn't help either,

How China's Rehypothecated "Ghost" Steel Just Vaporized, And What This Means For The World Economy

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/how-chinas-rehypothecated-ghost-steel-just-vaporized-and-what-means-world-economy

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/us-china-steel-warehouse-idUSBRE88F0EJ20120916

...when it comes to China, such simple assets as simple steel held in inventories, apparently do not exist.

From Reuters:

"Chinese banks and companies looking to seize steel pledged as collateral by firms that have defaulted on loans are making an uncomfortable discovery: the metal was never in the warehouses in the first place."

This means that in an economy in which the creation of liabilities, and pledging of assets took place at a furious pace in the past 5 years, nobody really knows just what the real state of credit creation truly was. What is 100% certain is that as a result of this revelation, the GDP number of the country, which is and always has been a derivative of credit formation and expansion (and heaven forbid contraction), is massively overrepresenting what it is in reality, and that the Chinese economy has been expanding at a far slower pace if defined not only by the creation of liabilities, but by matched assets.

Lines are being drawn, meat grinder up ahead - don't participate in it, people.

[ProfTournesol 956]

I guess it's quite obvious that, despite the heavy memories of what happened during last century, and which are probably somehow still vivid in China, economic relationships between both countries should prevent them from going too far.

Edited September 20, 2012 by ProfTournesol

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Audi Says Murderous Cravings Of Some Chinese Employees Do Not Necessarily Reflect Company Views

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/audi-says-murderous-cravings-some-chinese-employees-do-not-reflect-company-views

Just two days ago we tweeted the rather stunning 'slogan' that a happy-smiley joy-joy bunch of Audi-China staff 'celebrated' at their dealership. The somewhat subtle translation of the banner: "We will kill every single Japanese person, even if it means deaths for our own; even poverty will not deter us from reclaiming the Diaoyu Islands" has now been addressed by Audi management:

*AUDI CHINA JV SAYS ANTI-JAPAN BANNER INCIDENT AN ISOLATED CASE

*AUDI CHINA JV ASKED DEALERSHIP TO REMOVE BANNER, LU SAYS'

*AUDI CHINA JV URGES `REASONABLE' EXPRESSION OF PATRIOTISM

TbwY1UJLY3A

That's quite a few middle class, educated (?) people standing under that banner. Looks to be the whole staff of this Audi dealership.

---------- Post added at 11:54 ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 ----------

The comments on the video, both Japanese and foreign, restore faith in Humanity. :)

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

the self designated world police is already at its breaking point, and if anything happens in this region, it´ll really be Japan alone against China.

If Iran or Israel makes a move before SEA goes up, we'll fight, but we won't have the resources. If they don't, you'll most likely see the US engaging China on a fairly large scale, while possibly getting help from Vietnam and a few others in the region. North Korea will probably side with China and hit SK, but hell, maybe instead they'd opt for Re-unification on peaceful terms and sit out the war as a neutral party.