Japan sends letter to
Beijing amid tension
¡¥DEPLORABLE¡¦: The ¡¥Global Times¡¦ tried to
downplay an incident in which unknown assailants damaged the car of the Japanese
ambassador, calling their attack ¡¥stupid¡¦
AP, TOKYO
Japan¡¦s prime minister sent a senior diplomat to Beijing yesterday with a letter
for Chinese President Hu Jintao (JÀAÀÜ) in an apparent attempt to ease tensions
between the two Asian giants over a territorial dispute.
The trip by Japanese Parliamentary Senior Vice Foreign Minister Tsuyoshi
Yamaguchi comes a day after a car carrying the Japanese ambassador in the
Chinese capital was attacked by a man who ripped the Japanese flag off, damaging
the vehicle¡¦s flagpole and prompting protests from Tokyo.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba called the incident ¡§deplorable¡¨ and
demanded an investigation. He said a national flag ¡§is a symbol to the nation¡¦s
dignity that needs to respected.¡¨
Thousands of Chinese have gathered in anti-Japanese street protests in recent
weeks amid renewed diplomatic tension over a cluster of uninhabited islands in
the East China Sea controlled by Japan, but also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Earlier this month, Japan detained and later released 14 activists from Hong
Kong who landed on the islands, called the Diaoyutais (³¨³½¥x) in Chinese and
Senkaku in Japanese, which are also claimed by Taiwan and are near key sea lanes
and surrounded by rich fishing grounds and as-yet untapped underground natural
resources.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda¡¦s letter to the Chinese president touches
on ¡§developing Japanese-Chinese relations in a stable manner from a broad
perspective,¡¨ Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said.
Yamaguchi was to meet with Chinese counterparts to discuss a range of regional
and global issues, including tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Japanese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Masaru Sato said.
The Japanese embassy in Beijing said in a statement that Ambassador Uichiro Niwa
was returning to the embassy on Monday when his official car was stopped by two
other vehicles. It said a man jumped out of one of the vehicles and pulled the
flag off the front of Niwa¡¦s car. Only the flagpole was damaged, the embassy
said.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep regret over the incident
and said authorities would spare no effort to prevent a recurrence.
It said the government has consistently fulfilled its international obligation
to protect the safety of foreign embassies and personnel.
An editorial in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper yesterday said that
the man involved in the attack had not yet been identified, but that if he were
Chinese, his act was ¡§a stupid one¡¨ and not representative of the Chinese
people.
Chinese authorities face the tricky balance of appearing tough on territorial
claims without stirring anti-Japanese sentiment that could threaten relations
with Tokyo or even backfire into criticisms of China¡¦s government.
¡§Chinese people should remain calm and civilized when expressing their
patriotism. Any actions and protests must remain within the law,¡¨ the editorial
said.
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