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Chinese troops on guard for anti-Japanese riots

A dozen busloads of riot troops guarded the Japanese Embassy in Beijing yesterday as China marked a sensitive anniversary amid simmering public anger at Tokyo, but there was no sign of new anti-Japan protests.

The government warned against protests in advance of the anniversary of anti-Japanese protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919 that became a symbol of resistance to foreign domination.

The anniversary is especially sensitive after rioters broke windows last month at the Japanese Embassy and a Japanese Consulate in Shanghai in protests over Tokyo's wartime past and its bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.

In Beijing, paramilitary troops with riot helmets and plastic shields waited on a sidestreet near the Japanese Embassy as scores of police patrolled nearby streets.

In Shanghai, police were stationed at every corner within a three-block radius of the Japanese Consulate. The street in front of the compound was closed, while police with riot gear waited in underground parking garages nearby.

After weeks of acrimony between Beijing and Tokyo, Chinese leaders have appealed for calm, warning against damaging important economic ties with Japan, one of the country's most important trading partners and sources of aid and investment.

Police in Beijing and Shanghai say no protests have been authorized this week and warned the public in messages sent to mobile phone users and spread by state media that demonstrators could face legal action.

"Don't make trouble," said a text message sent by police to millions of mobile phone users in the Chinese capital on Saturday.

Universities in the Chinese capital have told their students for weeks to avoid demonstrations.
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