Tibet call made in anti-China rally in Japan
Tibetan Review, 15 November 2010
(TibetanReview.net, Nov15, 2010) If anti-Japan protests in China turned into anti-regime calls in places and on occasions recently, an anti-China protest in Japan on Nov 13 turned into a call favour of Tibet, Xinjiang, etc., which are under Chinese occupation rule. Protesters waved the flags of Tibet, east Turkmenistan (sic) and south Mongolia and shouted “defeat Chinese imperialism,” reported the Canadian Press online Nov 13.
About 4,000 demonstrators waving Japanese flags and shouting anti-China slogans marched against Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Yokohama for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) being held there Nov 13-14, the report said. The protest highlighted the strain in relations between the two countries due to their heightened dispute over a cluster of islets in the East China Sea that the Japanese, which control it, call the Senkaku, and which the Chinese, which claim it, call the Diaoyu.
The islets are unoccupied but surrounded by rich fishing grounds which are also considered to be rich in minerals, including oil and gas.
There have recently been anti-Japan protests across China and attacks on Japanese-owned businesses there after a Chinese fishing trawler and its captain were seized for ramming two Japanese coastguard ships on Sep 7. Though the captain was release later, China demanded apology and compensation, only to invite outright rejection thereof and a counter-demand for compensation for damaged coastguard ships.
The report said that though the group that organized the protest was right-of-centre, emotions had been high among a broad swath of Japanese who felt that their country — which invaded and colonized parts of China during World War II — was being bullied by a China newly emboldened by its economic rise and swelling international clout. It added that some shoppers applauded as the march passed by Yokohama’s biggest train station.
Despite continued Chinese flaunting of its newly acquired wealth and power against Japan, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan finally did meet in Yokohama on Nov 13. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes and took place on the sidelines of the 18th Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the APEC, reported China’s official China Daily online Nov 13.
It said Kan welcomed Hu to the APEC summit and the latter appreciated the welcome, expressing confidence in the success of the meeting. The meeting took place during the annual summit of 21 Pacific Rim countries and territories and was announced at the last minute, said an AP report Nov 13.
After the meeting, China’s official Xinhua news agency Nov 13 cited Hu as stressing it was a right choice in the interests of both peoples for China and Japan to follow a road of peace, friendship and cooperation. It further cited Hu as saying China and Japan, being each other’s main trading partner, should continue to deepen their bilateral mutual beneficial cooperation and enhance dialogue and coordination on international affairs in a bid to jointly contribute to Asia’s revitalization and address global challenges.