Thousands in China, Japan rally over island claims
Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, October 16, 2010 10:15 am
Thousands of Chinese marched in the streets in sometimes violent protests Saturday against Japan and its claim to disputed islands, a show of anger far larger than past protests over the competing territorial claims.
Photos from the southwestern city of Chengdu and the central city of Zhengzhou showed hundreds of people marching with banners and signs protesting Japan's claim on what China calls the Diaoyu islands. Japan calls them the Senkaku islands.
Japanese retailers Ito-Yokado and Isetan said protesters in Chengdu broke windows and showcases in their stores, Kyodo News agency reported.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said more than 2,000 people protested in Chengdu and thousands of college students gathered in the northern city of Xian.
The report was in English only. The protests were not reported in Chinese-language state media, and many comments and photos were quickly removed from mainland websites.
Protests in China are often quickly shut down or heavily controlled. It was not clear whether the organizers had permission to demonstrate Saturday.
The Chinese demonstrations appeared to be in response to online reports about a planned protest in Tokyo, where about 2,500 people held flags and marched near the Chinese Embassy to protest China's claim to the islands. Some also called for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Chinese dissident who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion.
A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said China had contacted Japanese officials to "express serious concern" over the Tokyo protest, according to a statement on the ministry's website.
Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made no mention of the anti-Japan protests in China _ a difference from last month, when the ministry responded to far smaller protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai with a call for calm.
At the time, tensions were high over a collision between a Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese coast guard ships near the islands in the East China Sea. China repeatedly demanded the return of the detained fishing boat captain. Japan eventually released the captain, but Beijing shocked Tokyo by demanding an apology.
Earlier this month, the tensions seemed to calm after the prime ministers of the two countries held an impromptu after-dinner meeting in the corridor of an Asia-Europe summit.
Police in the Chinese cities of Chengdu, Xian and Zhengzhou would not confirm Saturday's protests, saying they would not talk to the media.
"It was peaceful, with no clashes," said an employee of a Starbucks next to the square in Chengdu where protesters gathered.
The man, surnamed Fu, said by phone that a large number of police had kept order and that the protest had ended.
In downtown Xian, a woman answering the telephone at the Bell Tower Hotel said crowds were still in the streets Saturday evening.
"It started in the early afternoon," the woman said. "There are still quite a lot of people here."
A man holds a banner while marching during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banner reads, "Down with Japan, Protect Diaoyu Island." (AP Photo)
People hold banners during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banners reads, "Boycott Japanese Products," and "Japanese, Get Out Of China."(AP Photo)
People march during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banners read, "Boycott Japanese Products," and "Japanese, Get Out Of Diaoyu Island."(AP Photo)
Japanese protesters spreading a banner with a message reading, "We Don't Forgive China's Invasion of Senkaku Islands," shout slogans before setting out on a march down the streets in central Tokyo as an estimated 2,500 protesters take to the streets during a protest against China on Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)
Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, October 16, 2010 10:15 am
Thousands of Chinese marched in the streets in sometimes violent protests Saturday against Japan and its claim to disputed islands, a show of anger far larger than past protests over the competing territorial claims.
Photos from the southwestern city of Chengdu and the central city of Zhengzhou showed hundreds of people marching with banners and signs protesting Japan's claim on what China calls the Diaoyu islands. Japan calls them the Senkaku islands.
Japanese retailers Ito-Yokado and Isetan said protesters in Chengdu broke windows and showcases in their stores, Kyodo News agency reported.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said more than 2,000 people protested in Chengdu and thousands of college students gathered in the northern city of Xian.
The report was in English only. The protests were not reported in Chinese-language state media, and many comments and photos were quickly removed from mainland websites.
Protests in China are often quickly shut down or heavily controlled. It was not clear whether the organizers had permission to demonstrate Saturday.
The Chinese demonstrations appeared to be in response to online reports about a planned protest in Tokyo, where about 2,500 people held flags and marched near the Chinese Embassy to protest China's claim to the islands. Some also called for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Chinese dissident who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for subversion.
A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said China had contacted Japanese officials to "express serious concern" over the Tokyo protest, according to a statement on the ministry's website.
Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made no mention of the anti-Japan protests in China _ a difference from last month, when the ministry responded to far smaller protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai with a call for calm.
At the time, tensions were high over a collision between a Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese coast guard ships near the islands in the East China Sea. China repeatedly demanded the return of the detained fishing boat captain. Japan eventually released the captain, but Beijing shocked Tokyo by demanding an apology.
Earlier this month, the tensions seemed to calm after the prime ministers of the two countries held an impromptu after-dinner meeting in the corridor of an Asia-Europe summit.
Police in the Chinese cities of Chengdu, Xian and Zhengzhou would not confirm Saturday's protests, saying they would not talk to the media.
"It was peaceful, with no clashes," said an employee of a Starbucks next to the square in Chengdu where protesters gathered.
The man, surnamed Fu, said by phone that a large number of police had kept order and that the protest had ended.
In downtown Xian, a woman answering the telephone at the Bell Tower Hotel said crowds were still in the streets Saturday evening.
"It started in the early afternoon," the woman said. "There are still quite a lot of people here."
A man holds a banner while marching during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banner reads, "Down with Japan, Protect Diaoyu Island." (AP Photo)
People hold banners during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banners reads, "Boycott Japanese Products," and "Japanese, Get Out Of China."(AP Photo)
People march during an anti-Japan protest in downtown Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010. Chinese characters on the banners read, "Boycott Japanese Products," and "Japanese, Get Out Of Diaoyu Island."(AP Photo)
Japanese protesters spreading a banner with a message reading, "We Don't Forgive China's Invasion of Senkaku Islands," shout slogans before setting out on a march down the streets in central Tokyo as an estimated 2,500 protesters take to the streets during a protest against China on Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)
