Shoe-throwing angers Chinese press

The reaction was harsher than when shoes were thrown at George W Bush

The incident in which a protester threw a shoe at the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, as he gave a lecture at Cambridge University has been widely discussed in the Chinese press.

Some newspapers expressed anger over the incident while others praise the calm response of both citizens of mainland China and Premier Wen himself.

Yang Piping in Changjiang Ribao

Wen Jiabao's visit to Europe was very fruitful, and showed China's image as a responsible country, and also showed that China has become more self-confident and calm... [This] was reflected in Premier Wen Jiabao's calm response to 'disturbances' during the visit. What is particularly worth mentioning is the new impression given by the extensive reporting and open attitude of the [Chinese] official media towards this 'disturbance'.

Sun Jiaye in Hong Kong's Ming Pao

China Central TV reported this news during a prime-time slot last night, used online video clips to let the mainland population know the truth, and discussion boards on various major forums have heated up once again ... the response of mainland 'netizens' to the shoe attack had a bit less indignation and fury [than the reaction to Olympic torch protests].

Wu Ting in Dongfang Zaobao

Premier Wen Jiabao's calm demeanour and firm tone won the warm applause of the whole audience for a long time. China Central TV was broadcasting this live, but did not cut the signal.

Chinese Party newspaper Guangming Ribao

While the audience listened attentively to Premier Wen's brilliant speech, a man with a Western appearance in the back corner row of the venue suddenly began to whistle and shout, and hurled a shoe at the rostrum. The entire audience showed righteous indignation and contempt at this act of troublemaking, and amid the scornful voices of 'disgrace!' and 'get out of here!' the man was taken away from the site by staff. Premier Wen was perfectly calm and collected on the stage throughout this incident.

Xu Xenlei in Changjiang Ribao

What must be remembered is that there was only one shoe thrower, and the vast majority of people warmly applauded Premier Wen's speech. We must distinguish between the acts of individuals and the acts of academic institutions, and distinguish between the acts of a minority and the acts of a country.

Wang Yizhou in Beijing's Huanqiu Sibao

This was of course extremely crude and extremely rude behaviour... [The shoe-thrower] may be someone with mental problems or prejudice against China... There were many bright spots throughout Premier Wen's visit, and there is no need to make too much of this odd incident.

Commentary in China's English-language China Daily

The shoe hurled at Premier Wen at Cambridge was a graphic reminder of how little the average European knows about China, and how deeply political nonsense has permeated into European awareness. The ultimate cure for that... is to manage our own affairs well.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.