A day of history and determination

The public took to the streets on Tuesday to defend China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands as wailing sirens marked the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion amid a new provocation.

Listeners are enthralled by a war veteran's tales in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Sept 18, the anniversary of Japan's invasion in 1931. Tao Qi / for China Daily

On a solemn and emotion-filled day for every Chinese citizen, two Japanese nationalists landed on the islands.

The Foreign Ministry immediately condemned the act as provocative and demanded that Tokyo explain "its endorsement of right-wing activists''.

Relations between China and Japan have been severely strained over the islands. On Sept 11, Japan said it had finalized what it described as its "purchase" of part of the islands from a "private owner".

Beijing lodged strong protests against Japan's "purchase'' and has beefed up patrols around the islands that have belonged to China for centuries. Coordinates of the islands, clearly identifying their position, have been issued and submitted to the UN.

"These measures have effectively offset the legal consequences of Japan's illegal purchase of the Diaoyu Islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Lu Yaodong, director of the department of Japanese diplomacy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Tokyo turning a blind eye to the nationalists landing on the islands has further enraged Chinese public opinion.

"Japan has not shown any sincerity in easing tension and made no bid to resolve the diplomatic deadlock," Lu said, referring especially to Tokyo's decision not to detain the two right-wing activists.

Chinese fishery administration vessel Yuzheng 35001 arrived on Tuesday in waters near the islands, and 10 more patrol ships arrived later, China Central Television reported.

Another two fishery administration vessels also set sail on Tuesday for the islands, China News Service said.

The waters off the islands have been a traditional fishing ground for generations of Chinese fishermen. Records show that around 1,000 Chinese trawlers fish in the waters annually.

Given Beijing's measures to assert sovereignty and safeguard fishing operations, the number of fishing boats heading for the waters will increase, compared to last year, according to the Agriculture Ministry's Regional Fishery Administration Bureau of the East China Sea.

China on Tuesday also issued a thematic map on the Diaoyu Islands, a move viewed as another concrete measure taken to enhance China's administration of the islands.

"According to international law, China may take further measures to define its exclusive economic zone around the islands to safeguard and enhance fishing patrols," said Li Guoqiang, deputy director of the Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Japan illegally seized the islands at the end of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). But key declarations following World War II returned the islands to China.

Protests

On Sept 18, 1931, Japanese soldiers blew up a railway as a pretext to take control of the entire northeastern region of China.

The date marks a "day of national humiliation''.

Sirens wailed at 9:18 am Tuesday in Shenyang, provincial capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, kicking off nationwide activities.

Thousands of people in Beijing marched to the well-guarded Japanese embassy, chanting slogans including "Never forget the national humiliation''.

The Japanese Consulate-General in Shanghai and key tourist sites, including People's Square and the Bund, also saw large numbers of protesters.

Qiu Yan, a 29-year-old online game developer, said his boss allowed him to leave work early to attend the protest.

"The demonstrations have been orderly," said Wang Chengguang, a resident of Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou who joined the rally at the city' Japanese Consulate General.

During a demonstration in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, onlookers cheered as protesters waved flags and banners.

The Chinese community in the UK also rallied. Shouting "Hands off Diaoyu Islands", "Japan get out" and "Diaoyu Islands belong to China", about 200 Chinese people carried signs and demonstrated peacefully through central London.

"We express our anger at the Japanese government's illegal 'purchase' of the Diaoyu Islands," Dong Mei, a 30-year-old woman from Fujian province who works in London's Chinatown said as she held a banner proclaiming "UK Chinese say No to Japan Imperialism''.

The protesters started from the Chinese Pagoda in Chinatown and went to the Japan embassy in London.

Escalating tension has also hit the commercial sector.

Honda said it had closed all five of its plants in the country on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Nissan temporarily shut two of three factories.

Canon and Panasonic have also said they were temporarily shutting some China operations.

Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

Liu Yedan in Beijing, Xu Junqian in Shanghai, Liu Ce in Shenyang and Sun Li in Fuzhou contributed to this story.