Activists to defend Diaoyu Islands ( 2003-12-29 00:42) (Agencies)
More than 30 activists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other
parts of the world held a three-day forum in Xiamen, a city in East China's
Fujian Province, to show their firm determination to defend the Diaoyu Islands.
People attending the forum, which ended on Sunday, also passed a declaration,
advocating "safeguarding the territorial integrity of China and carrying forward
justice."
Japan claimed the Chinese island chain in 1895 after a war with China, then
under Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) rule. Today it continues to tightly control
access to the area.
Since 1971, various Chinese organizations across the world have launched
drives to defend the Diaoyu Islands, according to activist Gao Xiongfei, an
associate professor at Zhejiang Education College.
The editor-in-chief of China918. net, Wu Zhukang, told China Daily yesterday
that the purpose of passing the declaration is to ensure the legitimacy of
defending the Diaoyu Islands.
He said that they are planning to establish a non-governmental association
for defending the Diaoyu Islands.
Activists attending the forum said that they support the Chinese Government's
sovereignty stance on the Diaoyu Islands.
They also said they would restrict their activities within the scope allowed
by the law.
So far, there is no official reaction to the forum, but the Chinese
Government reiterated earlier that the island and its adjacent islets "have been
an integral part of China's territory since ancient times."
