I think this is very interesting and significant.
(And if anyone thinks my position is contradictory I would reply the world is full of contractions.)
The demonstrations in Taiwan and Hong Kong are particularly interesting as a signal of national solidarity with the People's Republic of China, which has implications for the momentum towards re-unification.
The demonstrations in Singapore, Japan and Pakistan (the last a muslim country) suggest that China is stepping forward ahead of Japan as the most influential power in East Asia. This represents the demand of the peoples of Asia for equality of respect and equity in the management of the global economy. (Whether the Chinese are literally right about the bombing they are certainly not silly. The logical framework may be different. That is different.)
Provided the PRC can handle the internal contradictions that may be stirred up by these demands for international respect, and can have a successful economic and political policy for working with non-Han nationalities, this flashpoint could represent something much bigger on world scale, with which the people of Europe and the people of the United States of America should have absolutely no fundamental conflict of interest whatever.
Chris Burford
London