Chinese civilians from the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong returned safely at around 7 a.m. Saturday after 88 hours of sailing to the Diaoyu Islands to proclaim China' s sovereignty over the disputed territory.

"We want to remind Chinese people all over the world to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining China's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity," said Dr David Chu Yu-lin, who suffered an injury to his back during the trip.

Chu is a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region legislative councilor and also a Hong Kong deputy to the 10th National People' s Congress.

A group of 10 people, one from Taiwan, five from Hong Kong and four from the mainland, set off Tuesday from Xiamen of the mainland's Fujian Province on the ship "Minlongyu F861" to the Diaoyu Islands, 120 miles northeast of Taiwan.

They met another ship "Xinhang 166" that left Taiwan early Thursday morning and continued the trip together.

However, the relatively small "Xinhang 166" was forced to turn back about 10 a.m. Thursday due to heavy winds and rough sea.

The "Minlongyu F861" managed to reach the vicinity of the Diaoyu Islands four hours later.

The vessel was blocked by Japanese ships and helicopters, and a severe collision badly injured Chu and damaged the vessel.

During the four-hour confrontation, the vessel turned back only 100 meters from the islands and was tracked and monitored by Japanese ships for over five hours on the return journey.

Many Chinese civilians waving national flags and banners welcomed the ship at Xiamen harbor. Chu was immediately sent to hospital, and returned to Hong Kong in the afternoon when he could walk in a normal way following a three-hour treatment.

The operation was initiated by two ex-soldiers from the Chinese Army in September and was widely supported by people from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan who backed the sovereignty proclamation over the Diaoyu Islands.

Operation spokesman Zhou Wenbo said the operation aims to stop the attempts of the Japanese government and right wing activists to seize the Diaoyu Islands, and to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial dignity with action.

Participants in this non-government operation were strictly law-abiding and loved the motherland, and would not use violence against the Japanese, said Zhou.

Before their departure from Xiamen, they issued a statement expressing their determination to safeguard the dignity of the Chinese nation and territorial integrity of China. They called for all Chinese people to join the effort.

The statement also asked the Japanese government to make concrete efforts to shoulder their responsibilities for world peace and the peaceful coexistence of both countries.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2003)