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| Beijing protesters burn a Japanese flag on September 15, 2012 |
On September 18, 2012, the state-sponsored Global Times published an article entitled "Protests Should Not Turn to the Dark Side." Some excerpts:
The past few days have seen a growing number of Chinese demonstrations protesting Japan's unilateral "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands, with a series of violent activities marring proceedings. Today marks the 81st anniversary of the September 18 Incident of 1931, which preceded Japan's invasion of Northeast China. It has been reported that a few Japanese factories in China have suspended their business temporarily due to safety considerations. Why have some Chinese demonstrators chosen violent means to show their "patriotism?" Will these violent protests really help resolve the Diaoyu Islands dispute?These screenshots show that, at some time between noon and 11:30 pm on September 18, 2012, Sina Weibo began censoring searches for "Anti-Japanese Demonstrations" (反日 示威).
In fact, Sina Weibo began censoring all searches containing either "anti-Japanese" or "demonstration."
