Anti-Japanese Protesters Assail Sino-Japan Gas Pact

Text of report by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post website on 19 June

[Report by Stephen Chen: "Anti-Japanese Protesters Assail Beijing's Gas Pact"]

Fifteen Chinese protesters demonstrated in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing yesterday, venting their fury over the sinking of a Taiwanese fishing boat by a Japanese coastguard ship.

A Sino-Japanese deal over oil and gas rights in the East China Sea also angered protesters in the capital and in Changsha , Hunan province, where more than 500 people demonstrated in the city’s central business district.

The 20-minute protest at the embassy began near Ritan Park at 2.30pm. Hours before, police set up barricades, dispersed spectators, took videos, talked to the demonstrators and even assigned a spot in front of the embassy for journalists.

The protest went smoothly with the demonstrators, mostly men and women aged between 20 and 30 from the China Federation for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, passing through metal detectors before marching to the embassy entrance.

“Support Taiwanese compatriots!” they chanted.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou insisted on Tuesday that he backed the island’s long-held claim to the disputed Diaoyus in the East China Sea and demanded a formal apology and proper compensation from Japan over the sinking of the Taiwanese boat near the islets.

But yesterday the most frequently recited slogan was “Japan, move… out of the East China Sea!”

“We oppose signing any agreement over the East China Sea with Japan,” one protester said.

“The fortune is passed down by ancestors. We swear to defend it with our lives,” the activists chanted.

After pouring scorn on Japan’s intention to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a representative dropped an open letter into the embassy mailbox, concluding the event.

The event attracted few onlookers, but caused severe traffic jams on Second Ring Road.

Demonstrator Zhang Likun said they had taken to the streets without having received official approval.

“We submitted a protest application on Monday. The government did not give us a reply whether they approved it or not. It could either mean ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We just interpreted it as ‘yes’,” Mr Zhang said.

“We are expressing a common concern, a concern of any ordinary Chinese citizen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been negotiating with the Japanese under the table for a long time. What the deal is about, we don’t know; whether it hurts the nation’s interest, we don’t know.”

In Changsha, activists handed out more than 5,000 leaflets opposing the oil-gas deal with Tokyo to enthusiastic passers-by.

“In the pamphlet we explain to the people why China has made a mistake by signing the deal with Japan,” an organizer said.

“Citizens are angry. The treasure in the East China Sea belongs to the nation, not the current administration. We should leave it to future generations.”

Originally published by South China Morning Post website, Hong Kong, in English 19 Jun 08.

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