Hong Kong knows what to protest

The Associated Press reports that while China has clamped down on anti-Japan protests on the mainland, it's letting them go on in Hong Kong:

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.

...But protests were allowed in Hong Kong, a former British colony that enjoys Western-style civil liberties under Chinese rule.

Lau Kong-wah, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker, introduced a nonbinding motion that condemns Japan for allegedly watering down its wartime atrocities in school textbooks and urges the Japanese government to compensate victims of its past aggression. The motion was passed by all 60 lawmakers on Wednesday.

About 20 people protested outside Hong Kong's legislature building Wednesday in support of Lau's motion, police spokeswoman Kelly Chan said. They carried signs that read "Down with Japanese militarism" and "Shameful."

It would seem that Hong Kong residents could find a more worthy target of their ire than WWII-era Japanese militarism. Like the fact that under Chinese rule, they now need to be "allowed" to protest.

Then again, since only 20 of them showed up to denounce Japan, perhaps the majority of Hong Kongers really do have their priorities straight. Certainly Wednesday's turnout paled in comparison to the number of people at this Hong Kong demonstration last year.