The Times on the Chinese ultra-nationalism

It's no wonder the Chinese government is now sending out text messages to mobile phones warning people against protests against Japan. Over the past hundred years, anti-Japanese protests just haven't worked out well for the Chinese government and they eventually have turned their focus to the government in power. The current regime lost its religion (communism) long ago so the only thing that they had left in their arsenal was ultra-nationalism.

What is surprising here for the government these days is that the protests are not coming from the normal groups who protest in China. This time, the loudest and most radical voices are coming from the urban middle class who have prospered from China's economic boom.

If you look at history and emerging business classes, they only sit back and let the ruling governments run the show for so long before they want a piece of the action. The Chinese government is not a democracy and they are confident (arrogant?) in their own ability to run everything so this situation is going to get interesting. Increasing expectations from a growing business class who hold no political power always seem to work out the same way so this one is going to get interesting.