文档介绍：If 22 Million Chinese Prevail at ., Japan Won't
The petition(请愿) effort, conducted through popular Chinese Web sites, enjoys tacit(默许的) support from the government, which has allowed state-controlled media to cover the campaign prominently.
Japan is expected to be among several nations granted a permanent seat on a revamped Security Council under a plan that e up for a vote in September. As one of the five existing permanent members, China has the power to veto(否决) the proposal. It has not said how it plans to vote.
If China were to prevent Japan's elevation, it would be the most direct confrontation between Asia's leading powers since they re-established diplomatic ties in 1972.
Relations between the countries have sharply deteriorated(恶化) in recent weeks, strained petition for energy resources, disputes over the way history textbooks assess Japan's role in World War II, Japan's pledge to aid the United States in defending Taiwan and the recent incursion of a Chinese submarine into Japanese waters.
By allowing millions of people to sign their names to a petition against Japan, Beijing's new leadership seems determined to show that recent Japanese actions have so inflamed popular sentiment that China has no choice but to adopt a tougher diplomatic line.
Officials may also see the petition as leverage(杠杆) to force concessions from Japan as the price of admission to the Security Council. It could also serve as cover for a veto, which would be one of the most bold assertions of Chinese authority in many years. But the campaign has the potential to restrict China‘s diplomatic leeway(退路), making it harder to reach a promise. China could also feel pressured to veto the whole United Nations overhaul(检查)if the plan promotes Japan, an unusual position for a country that has rarely used its veto power to oppose an international consensus.
In Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "The Chinese government has said the . needs reform, so we believe that the Chinese