Chinese Authorities Squash 'Jasmine Revolution'

Is China next? After a mysterious call circulated throughout the country calling for people to gather in more than a dozen cities Sunday for a “Jasmine Revolution,” Chinese authorities cracked down, halting its spread online. The government blocked Internet searches for the word “Jasmine” on China’s largest Twitter-like microblog, and the website that first announced the request was cyberattacked. The request called for citizens to gather in 13 cities and shout, “We want food, we want work, we want housing, we want fairness.” People are unsure whether or not the protest was real, echoing recent protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, and Libya, or merely an act of “performance art.” The Chinese authorities have been limiting reporting on the protests in the Middle East, and warned several activists to not participate in the Sunday protests.