Last week in the post Out of Hand, we presented opinions suggesting that the recent anti-Japanese mass demonstrations in China were a manifestation of a conflict at the upper levels of the Chinese government. This article by Bennett Richardson in the Asia Times takes the idea one step further and suggests there has been a power struggle between moderate elements represented by President Hu and Premier Wen on the one side and more hard line, anti-Japanese elements on the other.

Richardson’s article relies heavily on the opinions of Ryosei Kokubun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Keio University in Tokyo:

“Past mass demonstrations have always had a political power struggle element to them,” says…Kokubun…”I don’t think the current leadership of Hu and Wen is really that strong or secure.”

It’s worth noting in passing that while the battle between the two factions is taking place behind closed doors, both are using the Internet as one of their primary weapons to manipulate public opinion. This would seem to run counter to the conventional wisdom that the information age will inevitably result in greater openness and democracy. This repressive dictatorship is finding ways to use the net as a tool, too.