Protesters angry at ex-president Lee's comments

Protesters burned an effigy of former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and threw eggs at his home yesterday. They were venting their anger over his alleged statement that a group of disputed islands actually belong to Japan.

Before torching Lee's effigy, the small group of demonstrators kicked, stabbed and slapped the figure.

They chanted "traitor" and demanded that the retired president apologize for his comments.

They were reacting to a newspaper interview in which the former president was quoted as saying there is no historical evidence for Taiwan's claims to a group of uninhabited islands that are claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan.

The islands, called Diaoyutai in Chinese and the Senkakus in Japanese, are surrounded by rich fishing waters and possible mineral wealth.

They are located about 180km north of Taiwan.

Both Taiwan and China say their claims to the islands date back at least to the Qing dynasty from 1699.

Earlier this month, Lee reportedly said in an interview with the Okinawa Times that he personally believed the Diaoyutai islands belonged to Japan.

The paper quoted him as saying that there was no evidence for China's and Taiwan's historical claims.

Lee could not be immediately reached for comment yesterday, and he did not respond to the protesters who tried to hit his home with eggs.

But Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) told reporters yesterday that "Diaoyutai is part of our territory, and we are very firm on our territorial claims."

Officials in Japan's southernmost Okinawa islands barred Taiwanese from fishing in the Diaoyutai waters in 1969. The event triggered massive protests by Chinese communities worldwide.