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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume II - 2010 Public Opinion and the Limit of China’s “Peaceful Rise” 40 A carefully-balanced action by the Chinese government took place in the televised speech by Vice President Hu Jintao on May 9. Hu made an official protest against the bombing of the embassy, demanded an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and acknowledged the Chinese people’s right to express their anger and patriotism on the condition that the protests should be carried out within the law, in order not to disrupt social order. Meanwhile, he declared that China would not be moved from its foreign policy of independence, self-sufficiency, and peace (Hughes, 2006: 85). It meant the incident would be a short-term crisis that would not affect the overall relations and cooperations between China and the US. However, the protesters’ outburst of anger and attacks on the American Embassy in Beijing had already became news around the world and tarnished the “peaceful” image of China. Six years later, their anger became obvious again in the case of Japan. Anti-Japanese Protests in 2005 In the “collective memory” of many people in China, Japan has been perceived as an aggressor who invaded China several times during the so-called “the Century of Humiliation” (1840-1949) and has not apologized to China for its atrocities. March of the Volunteers, the national anthem of China composed during Japan’s occupation of northeastern China in the 1930s, is full of anti-Japanese sentiments. In other words, the problem of history still haunts Sino-Japanese relations. Anti-Japanese protests in China on April 9-10, 2005 were the result of a coincidence. The first was Japan’s Ministry of Education’s approval of eight history textbooks to be used in secondary schools. Many Chinese citizens claimed that their content glorified Japan’s war with China. The second was Japan’s bid to become one of the permanent members of the UNSC. More than 20 million Chinese “netizens” signed their names to protest against the bid, saying that an unrepentant nation like Japan is ineligible for a permanent seat on the council whose mission is to maintain world peace. In Beijing, tens of thousands of people marched to the Japanese Embassy and the residence of Japan’s ambassador, and smashed windows in these buildings to show their frustrations. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people in Shanghai destroyed Japanese stores, companies, and cars on their way to the Japanese Consulate. The crowd chanted anti-Japanese slogans such as “Japan doomed”, “Go away Japanese” (Khamchoo, 2005: 49-50).