Anti-Japan protests erupted for a second day in China yesterday, as Tokyo demanded an apology and better protection for its citizens and interests a day after demonstrators smashed windows at Japan's embassy in Beijing.
Demonstrations against Japan have spread in China since Tokyo approved a new history textbook that critics say glosses over atrocities by Japan's military in the first half of the 20th century, including forcing tens of thousands of women into sex slavery. Beijing slammed the decision, calling the book "poison" for youthful minds.
Some 10,000 protesters surrounded a Japanese-run Jasco supermarket in Shenzhen on Sunday, said Ide Keiji, a spokesman for the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.
PHOTO: AP
They shouted "Boycott Japanese goods!" and some threw plastic bottles of mineral water at the store.
About 3,000 people marched toward the Japanese Consulate General in Guangzhou for a "spontaneous demonstration" and police were maintaining order, said a spokesman with the Guangzhou municipal government who refused to give his name when reached by telephone.
Police prevented demonstrators from getting near the consulate, Keiji said.
Hong Kong Cable Television showed a huge crowd of people protesting outside a shopping center in Guangzhou. They were trying to knock down police barriers set up around the center, and police were shoving the crowd as they struggled to contain it. A correspondent said protesters threw eggs at Japanese restaurants as they passed by.
On Saturday, about 1,000 protesters hurled rocks and broke windows at Japan's Embassy in Beijing, demanding a boycott of Japanese goods to oppose the new schoolbook. They also urged their government to prevent Tokyo from gaining a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
China said yesterday it had ordered anti-Japanese protesters in Beijing to stay "calm and sane" and mobilized extra police to maintain public order but Japanese officials complained that not enough was done.
When the protesters arrived at the embassy, security forces allowed people to throw stones, said Keiji.
"They let them do that, they didn't stop, they didn't arrest," he said.
Japan's ambassador to China, Anami Koreshige, called the incident "gravely regrettable" and called on Chinese authorities to protect Japanese citizens and businesses, as well as the embassy and other consulates in China, Keiji said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura also summoned China's ambassador yesterday to protest the rally and demand compensation for damages.
Keiji said Japan used diplomatic channels to "repeatedly request" protection of Japanese interests last week following demonstrations in Shenzhen and Chengdu and were given assurances from Beijing.
Saturday's protest outside the embassy came after a noisy rally by more than 6,000 people in the university district in Beijing's northwest, where some burned a Japanese flag.
Most protests in the Chinese capital are banned, but the government occasionally allows brief rallies by a few dozen people at a time outside the Japanese Embassy on key war anniversaries. Anti-Japanese sentiment runs deep among Chinese, with many resenting what they see as Tokyo's failure to atone for its wartime aggression.
Saturday's protest was the biggest in Beijing since 1999, when the US Embassy was besieged after NATO warplanes bombed Beijing's Embassy in Belgrade during the war over Kosovo.
A trade association for Chinese chain stores called last week for a boycott of beer, coffee and other products made by Japanese companies that it claims supported the textbook revision.
Protesters also oppose Tokyo's campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council -- a status held now by only China, the US, Russia, Britain and France.
The Chinese government has not said whether it will oppose a Security Council seat for Japan. But Beijing regards Tokyo as its rival and could be unwilling to give up its status as the only Asian nation with a permanent council seat, which carries veto power over UN actions.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned