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‘War footing’ in China after mass protests

Beijing has instructed local governments to go on a “war footing” after a riot by 10,000 people in Guizhou province turned violent Saturday. Rioters, angered over the alleged rape and murder of a local girl by the son of an official, set police and government buildings on fire during the protest. So, are the wheels ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
594387_080630_china5.jpg
594387_080630_china5.jpg

Beijing has instructed local governments to go on a "war footing" after a riot by 10,000 people in Guizhou province turned violent Saturday. Rioters, angered over the alleged rape and murder of a local girl by the son of an official, set police and government buildings on fire during the protest.

Beijing has instructed local governments to go on a “war footing” after a riot by 10,000 people in Guizhou province turned violent Saturday. Rioters, angered over the alleged rape and murder of a local girl by the son of an official, set police and government buildings on fire during the protest.

So, are the wheels coming off the bus ahead of the Olympics? Not likely, says Simon Elegant of Time:

[I]n the cold calculus of power, most [of] these incidents can be safely ignored as they are by nature self-limiting and often take place in poor and remote places. There will be a flutter on the internet for a while, the local authorities will crack down and and then the incident will be forgotten.

Image via EastSouthWestNorth.

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

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