Chinese students against Western cultural invasion

BEIJING, Dec 22 (Reuters Life!) - Ten doctoral students from three of China's top universities have posted an online petition slamming local Christmas celebrations and calling on people to "resist Western cultural invasion," state media said on Friday.

The students railed against "American and European culture" expanding throughout China along with "their technological and economic domination," the China Daily said.

"Occidental culture has been more like storms sweeping through the country rather than mild showers," the paper quoted the petition -- dated with China's traditional lunar calendar -- as saying.

It was a "failure on the part of the government to maintain Chinese traditions, while encouraging the economy."

The authors criticized retailers for using the festival to boost business and local people for reveling without knowing the origin of the occasion, the paper said.

"On Christmas Eve, people must wait for seats at nearly every restaurant in Beijing and other cities in China," the authors lamented.

For more of the Reuteurs story