"For Good Luck in the Year of Rooster. . . ."

A found object on the Net, courtesy of Au Lait:

According to Xiao Qiang of the China Digital Times, this is "one of many anti-Japanese animations circulating among young Chinese netizens recently" ("Anti-Japanese Animation in Chinese Cyberspace," 7 Apr. 2005). The animation doesn't convey a sophisticated political criticism -- it is, rather, a measure of raw anger with the history of Japanese imperialism and Tokyo's continuing refusal to take responsibility for it, rekindled by Tokyo's ambition to gain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

This animation and others like it, moreover, give a lie to the notion that Chinese (as well as other Asian) protests against Tokyo are generated by the government. The protests, instead, are a testament to the democratic power of viral communication.