Chinese leaders look for ways to defuse unrest as revolt fizzles out

IN THE end, the call for a Chinese response to uprisings in theMiddle East fizzled out, but leaders are clearly rattled by howquickly the Jasmine Revolution spread online and have called for newways to defuse unrest.

There were no signs of protests in Beijing on Monday, and theprospects of the Middle East's revolutions spreading to China lookthin.

China's economy grew by more than 10 per cent last year, andthere appears to be broad support for the Communist Party. However,rising prices and flagrant abuse of privilege by elites have led todissatisfaction. High-profile speeches in the last week or so,including remarks by President Hu Jintao, show that the CommunistParty is taking this seriously.

Mr Hu has warned of the need for better "social management" andprovincial and ministerial officials have been meeting in Beijing todiscuss how to cope with strains within the system.

Zhou Yongkang, the party's top law-and-order official, became thelatest to issue a statement on the issue. Rather than blame a lackof democracy or widespread corruption, he said that North Africa andthe Middle East had failed to get to grips with economic and reformissues.

"Strive to defuse conflicts and disputes while they are stillembryonic," he told an official meeting on Sunday.

Disgruntled citizens did gather in China's major cities after theinternet call went out, but the authorities were ahead of them. OnSaturday they rounded up the major dissidents not already in jailandwere a major presence in areas where protesters gathered.

China's annual parliament, the National People's Congress, meetsnext month. It will be interesting to see if it deals with theissue.

One striking aspect about the calls for a revolution were therequests for people to meet every Sunday afternoon at the same time,which echoes the Monday meetings in the former East Germany in therun-up to regime change there.

In one of the more surreal footnotes to the weekend's gatheringsin many Chinese cities, a theme from Puccini's opera Turandot hasapparently fallen foul of censors because it is based on a folksong, Mo Li Hua, which translates as "jasmine flower".