Photographer: Philippe Roy
Style: photojournalism photography
Studio: on-location photography
Location: Shanghai, China
“Japanese invaders must die,” “death to the Japanese scum,” and “we love China” screamed the 100,000 protesters that snaked their way through the city of Shanghai to meet in front of the Japanese Consulate on March 16, 2005.
Though the Chinese government is generally against protests and student movements, it supported this one. Protesting Japan’s bid for a U.N. Security Council permanent seat and a text book that ommited certain of Japan’s actions in China during the Second World War sparked protest accross China.
The Chinese government seemed stuck between two realities: 1) the whole Chinese education system teaches to hate the Japanese (“The Chinese flag is made of the blood of those who died fighting the Japanese”) and 2) Japanese foreign investment in China is one of the strongest. To stop the protests would change the Chinese government’s position and make them lose face in front of their people, yet letting the protest continue could and would damage relations with Japan.
Protesters smashed hundreds of Chinese owned Japanese all-you-can-eat restaurants with stones, plastic bottles and excrements… all while laughing and giggling. The police stood by and did nothing to stop them. And, though the international media put a serious twist on the whole protest, on the streets it seemed to be more about going out and having fun.