- Title: CHINA: Thousands protest at Japanese embassy in Beijing.
- Date: 15th September 2012
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 15, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING AND HOLDING ANTI-JAPAN SIGNS AND BANNERS MAN STANDING HOLDING SIGN/PROTESTERS SHOUTING "DIAOYU ISLANDS BELONG TO CHINA" PEOPLE MARCHING PAST POLICE VEHICLE VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE PROTESTER SAYING: "I think all the people should unite, and together boycott Japanese products and protest against Japan. The Diaoyu islands are China's!" CROWD MOVING IN FRONT OF EMBASSY GATE VARIOUS OF CROWD SCUFFLING WITH GUARDS CROWD SHOUTING LINE OF GUARDS PUSHING BACK CROWD ARMED PARAMILITARY POLICE ARRIVING HELMETS OF ARMED PARAMILITARY POLICE FLAGS PARAMILITARY POLICE IN FRONT OF CROWD BOTTLES AND OTHER OBJECTS LANDING ON PARAMILITARY POLICE SMOKE OVER POLICE AND CROWDS MORE PARAMILITARY POLICE ARRIVING IN FRONT OF CROWD PARAMILITARY POLICE IN FRONT OF FLAGS VARIOUS OF MORE POLICE ARRIVING VARIOUS OF POLICE CROWDED IN FRONT OF FLAGS PROTEST IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 30th September 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA9PBYQD2EBKVUJR2UN7LRZM1B9
- Story Text: Thousands of Chinese protest Japan's purchase of disputed islands and scuffle with police in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
Thousands of protesters besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday (September 15), hurling rocks and bottles at the compound as police struggled to keep the situation under control.
Paramilitary police with shields and batons barricaded the embassy, holding back the anti-Japan slogan-chanting, flag-waving crowd protesting Tokyo's purchase of disputed islands.
"Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!" some of the protesters shouted. One of them held up a sign reading: "For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan".
"I think all the people should unite and together boycott Japanese products and protest against Japan. The Diaoyu islands are China's!" said one unidentified protester.
As tensions between Asia's two largest economies grow and reports of protests around China emerge, Japan said its foreign minister had cut short a visit to Australia and arrived back in Tokyo on Saturday morning to deal with the situation.
The long-standing territorial dispute escalated dramatically on Friday (September 14) when six Chinese surveillance ships entered waters where the group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea are located.
China had sent the ships in response to the Japanese government's decision on Tuesday (September 11) to buy the islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu, from a private Japanese owner despite Chinese warnings against doing so.
The purchase has raised tensions between the two countries to their highest level since 2010 when Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain whose boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the islands.
Diplomats say Tokyo and Beijing want to keep the row from spiralling out of control, but managing the situation can be difficult given that China is undergoing a leadership change, an election is looming in Japan and mutual mistrust runs deep.
Sino-Japanese relations have long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Japan's military aggression in the 1930s and 1940s and present rivalry over resources and regional clout. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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