A group of 15 patriots from Chinese inland and Hong Kong have
lately reached the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea by a
fishing boat to proclaim that the islands belong to China, thus
launching a defense action of a large scale in recent years.
According to China Youth Daily report, the "Diaoyu Islands
Defense" boat set out from Wenzhou on June 22, and reached the sea
area northwest of the Island by 11:30 the following day. Hanging on
their mast national flag of China and the flag of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the group members read a
statement by speakers protesting the Japanese government's illegal
actions of "leasing and using" the islands and imposing "national
administration" over them. The action, the organizer said, was
aimed to support the Chinese government's claim of indisputable
sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, fight back Japanese
provocations on Chinese territory and defend the national dignity
of the Chinese nation.
The activity was launched by non-governmental organizations and all
group members were volunteers, during which no extreme, illegal
actions were permitted to take. On the morning of June 22, another
defense group gathered in front of the Japanese Consulate General
to Hong Kong, reiterated China's sovereignty over the islands and
protested Japan's control in the way of "leasing".
However, the defense action met obstruction and interference from
the Japanese side. On the morning of June 22, Japan's marine
security departments sent out surveillance planes and then
dispatched three large patrol boats to upset the normal route of
China's fishing boat. As learned, the Japan side has announced to
take responding actions according to Japanese laws.
In
recent years patriots from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong launched
many times such defense actions. On September 1996, four people
from Hong Kong were forced to jump into the sea and one was dead.
On June 1998, a defense boat sank after collision with Japanese
ships, but the Japan side claimed it as a self-sinking
accident.
The Chinese Embassy to Japan has delivered a note to the foreign
ministry of Japan, hoping the latter would draw lessons from the
1996 conflicts and handle the matter with calm.
(People's Daily June 25, 2003)