Govts use micro blogs to call for calm

As protests against Japan's latest claim to the Diaoyu Islands continued to mount across the nation over the weekend, many provincial and municipal governments are speaking through their official micro blogs, calling for "rational" and "peaceful" expression of patriotism.

Statistics from the public-sentiment monitoring office of the State-owned People's Daily Online showed that on Sept 15 and 16, nearly 30 accounts managed by government departments from nine major cities in China - include Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou - made micro-blog posts that asked the public to act reasonably and warned against committing acts of violence and crime.

Shanghai Release, the official account of the municipal government, for example, made a micro-blog post on the night of Sept 15 that said: "While venting your anger through violence won't bring the beautiful islands any closer, unity can make us stronger. Good night."

The hundred-word post was reposted 2,110 times and received 503 comments during the 24 hours it was published on Sina Weibo. And 44 million posts about the Diaoyu Islands were on the platform as of the night of Sept 16.