Younger generation feels wave of emotions(2)

Divergence of opinion

Where opinions diverge is over the necessity of holding such protests: "It (the protest) is not a march without a result. We are showing our attitude here. I can be a soldier if my nation calls on me, or at least I would be able to cook for the soldiers," said Cui Yutong, 23, who joined the crowds outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Sept 6.

After seeing posts on the Internet on Sept 5 calling for people to gather, they arrived at the designated time and place the next day.

Her boyfriend stood at the front of the march, holding a banner that read, "Give the Diaoyu Islands back to China."

Both Yang Yue, a 32-year-old Beijing real estate agent, and her brother requested a half-day's leave from work and joined the protests on Thursday afternoon.

"We took a bus there, but it went straight past the stop at the front of the embassy. So we got off at the next stop and walked back. When we arrived, the embassy was already encircled by a large number of police, spaced out at 10-meter intervals," she said.

"Just as we were wondering how to get to the front gate, a large crowd walked toward us waving the Chinese flag and shouting slogans. We joined the march immediately and were given flags by the others. Talking to the man walking beside me, I learned that all the people had arrived on their own initiative, like us.

"The dispute over the Diaoyu Islands is the biggest topic in my family. We want to express our anger and put pressure on Japan," she said.

Boycotting products

Liu, the lawyer, decided not to join the protests.

"Honestly speaking, I won't go out on the streets, because shouting slogans won't scare away the enemy. I prefer to work hard and make the country much stronger," he said.

"I am boycotting Japanese goods as a show of support. If the dispute leads to a war, I will donate money or even apply to join the armed forces."

Tang Fang, 28, a sales manager at a Beijing branch of Nike China, also decided against joining the protests.

"I worked for a Japanese electronics enterprise for two years and made many Japanese friends. They are very polite and work very hard. Although I left the company some time ago, I still keep in touch with some of my old colleagues," she said.

Jin, the advertising agency manager, said a friend's Japanese restaurant has seen a sharp decline in customers, and one of the Japanese men who eats there tells people that he's from South Korea, for fear of reprisals should the dispute escalate.

Jin's agency has not yet witnessed any marked change in orders from Japanese clients. "But in the long run, if emotions continue to rise, who knows?" he said.

Although he had long wanted to buy a Japanese car, Jin has now dropped the plan, and he's also bought a new watch so he can leave his Japanese one at home.

"Boycotting Japanese goods is the simplest way for people to express their anger toward Japan and to support our country," he said.

However, he admitted that he has previously bought a lot of Japanese products, such as notebook PCs, cameras, watches and household appliances, because the quality is so high.

Yang Yue has also stopped buying Japanese goods, including cosmetics. "There are so many products on the market, why do we have to choose theirs?"

China is already the world's second-largest economy and has a large share of the global production chain, said Liu.

"In a way, made-in-Japan goods only encourage domestic enterprises to keep updating the technology to catch up with them," he said.

In addition to the technology, Tang admires the working methods of Japanese companies, especially in terms of service. She believed their adoption would help Chinese companies to better serve their customers.

She said that in the final analysis the target of the protests should be the Japanese government, not the Japanese people.

"They are innocent, just as we are," she said. "They are no different to people from other countries and just want to be friends with the Chinese."