South China Sea dispute spills into KFC protests
China’s government is engaged in a difficult balancing act of emotively rejecting an international tribunal’s award on the South China Sea, and yet restraining rising nationalistic sentiments among its people, who have targeted KFC, the American fast-food chain, in several Chinese cities.
The Chinese news website Sohu News is reporting that protesters gathered outside KFC outlets in several cities, including Hangzhou—the city that will host the G-20 summit in September. Protesters also gathered in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, as well as other cities. The call for a boycott of the outlet by protesters follows Washington’s support for the ruling by an international tribunal that implied rejection of China’s claims in the South China Sea.
The agitators carried extended red banners, with emblazoned slogans such as: “Boycott U.S., Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, love the Chinese nation.” Another said: “You are eating KFC from the U.S., and losing the face of our ancestors”.
The Chinese government’s intent to separate the economic and political tracks in its dealings with the U.S. and its allies could explain the tepidity of the protests. A write-up in China’s state-run tabloidGlobal Times, while noting the weekend protests outside KFC outlets, stressed that “new wave of patriotism among Chinese people” has “aroused suspicion of whether China will continue to open its market to the world”.
It pointed out that with the economy facing a downward pressure “the participation of foreign enterprises, some of which have advanced technology and management experience, is needed in China’s efforts to push forward its economic restructuring to pursue sustainable development”.
