Isle protest staged at embassy in Beijing
Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012
BEIJING — A group of about 20 young Chinese activists staged a demonstration Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing to protest Japan’s control of the Senkaku Islands.
The demonstration on the 67th anniversary of the end of the World War II was led by the China Federation of Defending Diaoyudao Islands Ltd. Waving Chinese flags, the activists chanted that the islets belong to China.
Surrounded by more than 100 police officers and a few dozen reporters, the scene was filled with tension.
However, the rally ended peacefully after about 30 minutes. The protesters behaved in an orderly fashion and followed police instructions.
During the demonstration, the activists held up banners with messages suggesting “a war against Japan to take back control of Diaoyu,” the Chinese name for the islet group.
The protesters also shouted that China must defeat Japanese militarism.
Visits irk Taipei
TAIPEI — The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry criticized Wednesday’s visits by Cabinet ministers to Yasukuni Shrine, saying they hurt the national sentiments of neighboring parts of Asia.
“We hope the Japanese government will face the historic facts and refrain from taking any action that will negatively influence the dignity of their nation,” ministry spokesman Steve Hsia said.
The visit to Yasukuni Shrine by transport minister Yuichiro Hata and Jin Matsubara, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II were the first by Cabinet members since the Democratic Party of Japan won the 2009 general election.
Visits by lawmakers to the Tokyo shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, as well as Class-A war criminals, have drawn strong criticism from other nations, especially China and South Korea.
By John Lee