Saturday, June 16, 2007

Chinese activists plan protest in front of Japanese Embassy



June 10, Narita Airport - A Chinese man named Xue Yi (薜义) has been taken into custody for throwing two plastic bottles at Lee Teng-hui and his wife, following Lee's visit to Yasukuni Shrine and reiterated support for Taiwanese independence. Not surprisingly, Bi Yi's detention has sparked anger among Chinese netizens on nationalist forums. But news of the incident has also received coverage on official internet portals, some of which have drawn parallels to a similar incident in 2001, when overseas Chinese student Feng Jinhua defaced the entrance to Yasukuni Shrine. Feng Jinhua was given a hero's welcome upon his return to Beijing and is now one of the core leaders of the China Federation for Defending the Diaoyu Islands.

Late last night, I received an SMS saying that there will be a protest Monday morning at 10 A.M. in front of the Japanese Embassy. If the demonstration even comes to fruition, it's unlikely that the event will be large. If not, it will simply join the scrap heap of would-be protests.

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