SOUTH KOREA / CHINA: South Korean activists hold anti-China protest over the death of a coastguard officer, who was killed by a Chinese fisherman, Beijing says the "isolated" incident will not affect bilateral ties

Record ID: 213515

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA / CHINA: South Korean activists hold anti-China protest over the death of a coastguard officer, who was killed by a Chinese fisherman, Beijing says the "isolated" incident will not affect bilateral ties
  • Date: 15th December 2011
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (DECEMBER 14, 2011) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN PROTESTER PAINTING "APOLOGY" IN KOREAN ON CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG PROTESTER RIPPING CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG WITH A KNIFE PROTESTERS STANDING IN A ROW AND THROWING EGGS AT THE RIPPED FLAG ON GROUND THE RIPPED CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG STAINED WITH EGGS A PROTESTER STANDING ON THE FLAG PROTESTANTS SPRAYING ON PORTRA
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China, Korea, Republic of
  • City:
  • Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • Topics: Crime,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8JQOXVSAYFV5CPKDL4VTU8T70
  • Story Text: Anti-china sentiment mounted in South Korea on Wednesday (December 14) as hundreds of activists took to the streets to protest over the death of a coastguard officer, who was stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman.
    Earlier in the day, a funeral was held for the coastguard, who was killed on Monday (December 12) in an operation to apprehend a Chinese vessel operating illegally near South Korean waters.
    Angry protesters, chanting anti-China slogans, ripped Chinese national flag with knife and stained it with eggs in front of the Chinese embassy in central Seoul.
    They also painted "X" on Chinese President Hu Jintao's portrait before tore it apart with knife.
    Protesters urged the Chinese government to stop the illegal fishing acitivities of its fishermen.
    "I heard there are more than 10,000 Chinese fishing boats illegally fishing, an issue the Chinese government and police can handle in a second. But the Chinese government has chosen to neglect the matter. If the Chinese government takes a stronger position against it, those Chinese fishing boats, like pirates, may no longer appear in the West Sea from tomorrow," said Park Sang-hak, one of the protesters.
    Chinese fishing boats are frequently caught fishing in South Korean waters, sometimes leading to violent clashes with South Korean maritime police.
    South Korea last month vowed a crackdown on illegal fishing by Chinese fishing boats in its EEZ (exclusive economic zone).
    Some 2,600 Chinese fishing boats have been caught illegally fishing in the South Korean EEZ since 2006 and nearly 800 Chinese fishermen have been arrested, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
    Despite the public uproar in South Korea, China said it believed the "isolated" incident will not affect the two countries' relationship.
    "China has already expressed regret regarding this incident. We believe this is an isolated incident. We believe that under the combined effort of both countries, the incident will not affect the overall China-Korea relations. China places a lot of importance on the incident, and is in close contact with the Korean side," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
    To add to the tension, South Korea's Beijing embassy was hit by a small projectile that cracked one of the windows on Tuesday (December 13) afternoon, but no one was injured.
    Liu said Chinese authorities were taking the embassy incident very seriously.
    "According to preliminary investigations at the site, the damage to the South Korean embassy after office hours was not caused by a gunshot. China has already taken relevant measures, deployed more police and increased patrols to better protect the South Korean embassy," he said.
    The killing of the South Korean coastguard and tensions that arose following his death made headlines in Chinese newspapers on Wednesday.
    Residents in Beijing urged both governments to clarify the situation, and solve the issue through dialogue.
    "We don't know what happened exactly, we don't know the process, we just know the result. We were only told one side of the story. Of course, they have to investigate to find out what the situation really is, and how it happened," said Chen Bingyuan.
    "The two countries' governments should sit down and talk about this properly, after all we are neighbours. We should maintain good relations with our neighbours. Relatives living far away are not as close as nearby neighbours," said another Beijing citizen Li Chang.
    Seoul has asked China for security guarantees at its embassy and an investigation was under way.
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