That's a very unfortunate side of China's growing nationalism, in my mind. I personally have wrestled several principle-less anti-Japanese posts on Chinese forums.
That being said, it shouldn't be generalized as "Chinese hate the guts of Japanese". Immediately after 911, in the US there were several hate crime incidences against people of seemingly middle-east ancestry or in seemingly muslim attire. On the other hand, there were Americans who spontaneously organized together to guard the muslim mosques. That's part of why it's wrong to generalize from the hate crime attacks that "Americans hate muslims".
Similarly, during the wide-spread demonstrations in China, there were posts on all major Chinese forums and SMS spams that call for people to stay calm and refrain from violence. There were also spontaneous efforts to self-police among the demonstrators. Some of the demonstration organizers later reported with frustration that there were instigators who purposedly sought after violence. People circulate conspiracy theories pointing to every possible and impossible directions. Unfortunately, under China's opaque political system, people may hi-jack demonstrations for their own various agenda and it's basically impossible to get these investigated.
That being said, it shouldn't be generalized as "Chinese hate the guts of Japanese". Immediately after 911, in the US there were several hate crime incidences against people of seemingly middle-east ancestry or in seemingly muslim attire. On the other hand, there were Americans who spontaneously organized together to guard the muslim mosques. That's part of why it's wrong to generalize from the hate crime attacks that "Americans hate muslims".
Similarly, during the wide-spread demonstrations in China, there were posts on all major Chinese forums and SMS spams that call for people to stay calm and refrain from violence. There were also spontaneous efforts to self-police among the demonstrators. Some of the demonstration organizers later reported with frustration that there were instigators who purposedly sought after violence. People circulate conspiracy theories pointing to every possible and impossible directions. Unfortunately, under China's opaque political system, people may hi-jack demonstrations for their own various agenda and it's basically impossible to get these investigated.
nice gaijin said:Not to stir the pot or anything, but much of the animosity I hear about against Japanese (those riots in Shanghai foremost in my memory) isn't targeted at the right-wing, it's against any target close enough to lash out at. The restaurant owners and exchange students probably aren't counted amongst the Japanese right-wing extremists, or they likely wouldn't have been anywhere near those riots.
While the action of the right wing might be the catalyst for this vehemence, there seems to be little distinction as to who actually deserves the animosity.