China seeks to contain patriotic outbursts

By Jason Subler and Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - China sought on Sunday to contain an outpouring of nationalism triggered by protests along the route of the Olympic torch relay, with state media urging people to channel their patriotism into "rational" expressions.

However, demonstrations against Tibetan independence and Western media coverage of the recent unrest in Tibet continued in a number of cities, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 1,000 students and other people in Xi'an, in northwestern Shaanxi province, held banners in front of an outlet of French supermarket chain Carrefour, criticizing anti-Chinese protests during the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay.

"They chanted 'Support the Olympics', 'Go China' and 'Condemn CNN' through loudspeakers," Xinhua said.

The U.S. broadcaster has come under fire in China in part for remarks made by one of its commentators last week, and has become a symbol of Chinese frustration with what they say has been biased coverage by Western media of recent riots in Tibet.

The protests on Sunday extended to the northeastern cities of Harbin and Dalian as well as Jinan, capital of eastern Shandong province, Xinhua said. They followed similar protests on Saturday, accompanied by calls to boycott French goods.

In a sign of concern over the outbursts of nationalistic fervor, Chinese state media on Sunday published calls for calm.

The People's Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, issued a signed commentary titled, "How can patriotism be more powerful?," saying people had a duty to express their love of their country "calmly and reasonably."

The commentary, later mentioned in a state television broadcast, said people should focus on building up the country's overall strength and deal with problems in a calm manner.

RESOLVING CONFLICTS

"Let the world see that today's China is developing itself step-by-step and that there is nothing that can stand in the way of or disturb this," it said.

Xinhua quoted university students and professors as calling for people to find more "rational" ways of expressing their patriotism, such as studying harder.

It cited Zhang Xingxing, deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies, as saying that, with China becoming increasingly connected with the rest of the world, it will inevitably face conflicts.

"Whether or not it handles them well affects the country's future development," Zhang said, adding that as hosts of the Olympics, Chinese people should show friendliness to win over foreigners.

Radio TV Hong Kong's Radio 3 said on Sunday that reporters from Hong Kong had clashed with police officers in Hefei, in Anhui province, after the officers tried to stop them from filming protests outside a Carrefour store there on Sunday.

At least one TV cameraman was injured, although the city's press office later apologized for the incident.

China sees the Olympic Games in August as on opportunity to present a positive image to the world.

Disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris, San Francisco and New Delhi have triggered an outpouring of frustration and anger among Chinese.

China has accused exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of masterminding the torch protests, a charge he has denied, and Chinese have taken to the streets to stage their own counter-demonstrations in cities on the relay's route.

One popular Chinese online chatroom, Tianya, has called for donations of Chinese flags to support the relay, which includes stops in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

"Countrymen, let our five-star red flag fly high and welcome the Olympic torch!," one post proclaimed.

The torch arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Sunday amid tight security ahead of Monday's relay there.

(Additional reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim in Beijing, Sophie Taylor in Shanghai and Jalil Hamid in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Ken Wills)