Macau-based Deputy Foreign Affairs Ministry Commissioner Zhang Jinfeng Tuesday praised Macau compatriots for using all sorts of ways to show their determination to protect the nation’s sovereign territory including the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
“It is normal that Japan is being strongly condemned and greatly opposed by the Chinese government and the people because it was the Japanese government and the right-wing [Japanese activists] who brought up the issue about ‘purchasing the islands’ and ‘nationalising’ them, which is a serious violation of China’s territory,” Zhang said.
According to The Macau Post Daily Zhang pointed out that while the central government has already adopted several measures to protect the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, the Japanese should immediately cease all actions to violate Chinese territory and “return to a path where conflicts are solved through talks.”
Zhang said that the measures taken by the central government effectively preventing the Japanese from invading the islands north of Taiwan were legal and reasonable, which were supported by the people, adding that the effectiveness of the measures would soon be seen.
“There will probably be some economic loss as the two countries are in this state of conflict. China is governed by laws. The Chinese government will protect Japanese people’s rights and properties in the mainland,” Zhang also said.
Japan seized the Diaoyu Islands in 1895 when it also occupied Taiwan and the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait. While Japan returned Taiwan and Penghu to China in 1945, the Diaoyu Islands came under US control after Japan’s surrender. The US government handed the islands to Japan in 1972.
The central government and the Taiwan authorities agree that the Diaoyu Islands have been part of China since ancient times.(macaunews)
