The Seige of Xi'an

by the evening, Chinese government had declared martial law in Xi'an, capital city of Shannxi Province.

The day of Sept 15, 2012 started as an organized protest, but ended as riot with the city burning in flames. A convey of Porsche carried crossed-out Japanese flags proud led the way. Patriotic activities has become a new badge for China's 2nd gen riches. Last month, two young drivers driving a BMW and an Audi forced the Japanese Ambassador's convey to stop, then broke the Japanese flag on his car.

So far the protest has been tolerated, if not encouraged by the government. An intellectual described how he sneaked in the mob who were chanting anti-Japanese slogans in front of the Japanese embassy. He described how police supplied water and make sure everyone had a fair turn to express their anger.

Soon the protest turned into chaos. Angry mob vandalized Japanese brand cars on the streets, in parking lots. Japanese supermarket were looted. Japanese restaurant destroyed.

There would always be comedies, although dark ones in this case. This young man was seen holding a sign which read, 'I will mail-order a wife from Japan, then hang her up and beat her every day.'

By the end of the day, nineteen cities had seen riots against Japanese business and properties. In Wangfujing, heart of business in Beijing, an Armani store was destroyed, because mobs found Japanese characters on its banner. When desperate employee cried we were not a Japanese firm, a mob replied, 'yeah right, but Italy was also a fascist country on Japan's side (in WWII).'

Next, Qingdao of Shangdong Province, the birth place of the boxer uprising which led to a declaration of war against eleven countries in 1900.

The Court of Qing Dynasty quickly changed its mind when it was clear that boxers had caused more trouble then they could handle. An order was issued and soon hundreds of thousands of boxers were rounded up and executed, to appease foreign delegates.

As it says, history tends to repeat itself, the first time a tragedy, the second round a comedy. Does the communist Party really believe they can manipulate people's hatred risk-free?

Japanese embassy published anti-Japanese gathering information in multiple cities one day before they took place, based on messages spread on Weibo, Chinese version of Twitter. There is no excuse Chinese police were not alerted. Furthermore, propaganda censorship officers deliberately deleted messages calling for calm. Reporter Li Miao of the PhoenixTV complained that Weibo deleted her tweets reporting all Chinese visitors were not attacked in Japan. It's clear that the communist government just can't wait to see violence on the streets.

Two days later it will be the anniversary of September 18, 1931. Imperial Japanese Army attacked Chinese troops in Shenyang of Liaoning Province. Had the current violence not curtailed, no-one can be sure what might happen. Now the government of China holds a big bargain power against the Chinese intellectuals for tighter control and elimination of civil liberty.

It's nothing about the dispute with Japan, but all about the ruling power of the Party.

Internet Mobs

Yao Jiaxin was sentenced to death. The Seagull advocated for Yao's capital punishment when signs indicated the court might go the other way. While many are celebrating the victory of people's voice, I am wailing for the lost of another life. This time, a life of a young man who has similar background as myself.

Almost the entire Chinese online community, left and right, mainland and overseas, shouted out loudly that Yao must die. Yao's crime was simply inexcusable. His car struck a person in a dark night. As nobody else was watching, Yao stabbed the person 8 times to kill her. The reason was Yao wanted to avoid medical liability.

Yao should die, as the Seagull had been preaching in the past 2 weeks. However, the Seagull felt the pain of Yao and Yao's own family. The difficult and cruel task of taking away another human's life shouldn't be the burden of a regular person. That's what the government is for. While common people were forced to make life and death decision on daily basis, what will that do to the mental health of this society?

A Letter from Tibet

在我个人看来，此次事件策划非常圆满，从3月10号开始，拉萨周边寺庙的喇嘛尼姑就入城集会闹事，被迅速驱散（市中心大昭寺广场，数十名僧人举藏独的雪山狮子旗呼喊独立口号，两分钟内被抓捕）。之后，拉萨大批警力被派往寺庙周围，城内警力有限。到了14号上午10点，开始有人围攻市区内小昭寺外执勤警察，迅速演化为暴力行为，全城开花。可以说是非常漂亮的声东击西。14 号白天，在骚乱地点是见一个汉人就杀，死亡数据是封锁了的。但在14日晚九点，我同事的爱人在公安厅，当时透露了一个数据，汉族平民死亡大概在一百七八十左右，之后就没有数据了。拉萨各医院住满了伤亡者（我在报社的朋友去医院采访，亲眼见到5个失去了耳朵的伤者，还有一具被点了"天灯"女尸），武警总医院是隔几分钟就抬入一个受伤战士（因为白天不能动武，只靠人墙去挡）。顺便，可以告诉你两例真实的暴行：一是三名藏族男子追上一汉族女子，每人一刀；另一是以纯专卖店的5位花季店员，汽油瓶丢入，卷帘门拉下，被活活烧死。14号夜间，对于冲击武警的，已经可以开枪了。15号凌晨5点（拉萨在西部，此时还是黑夜），军队进城，同时有40多辆轮式装甲车进入。15号15点（在拉萨，这个时间相当于天津13点），三十余辆履带式装甲车入城（对于所有汉族人，振奋人心）；同时，15号开始入户搜捕。16号22点，履带式装甲车撤出，局势基本控制，但仍有零星事件。现在17号11时，我们正常上班。

对于此次事件，在我看来，达赖已经是垂暮之年，他身边的藏独势力是在抓紧时间，充分利用其影响力。之前，所谓的大藏区自治也好、独立也罢，大多通过非暴力方式进行，88年前后拉萨的骚乱，也只是针对军警。但此次，是针对平民的打、劫、抢、烧、杀，是暴力手段之肇始，换不来国际舆论的过多支持。今后，我个人估计，暴力乃至于恐怖活动会加剧，政府的打压也将愈发强硬；和平手段之放弃，将是藏独势力灭亡之始。但在他们灭亡之前，在藏的汉族人，将要经历一段悲惨时光。而且，参与此次骚乱的，有大批藏族中学生，小的11岁，......

补充说明，军警开枪，是针对冲击军警的，是被动开枪，不是主动开枪。

The riot was very well organized and erupted simultaneously all across the city in a sudden. It appears the central government hid the real civilian causalities for fear of provoking larger scale of outcry. There are more than 180 residents killed by the mob in March 14 alone. Military forces entered Lhasa on March 15, and the situation was stabilized in March 16.