Protests rock Chinese cities
2005-04-10 09:28
Beijing - A total of about 20 000 anti-Japanese protesters gathered in two southern Chinese cities on Sunday, a Japanese diplomat told AFP, one day after a violent rally in Beijing.
About 10 000 people, some shouting and throwing stones, were outside the Japanese consulate in Guangzhou while a similar number gathered at a Japanese supermarket in Shenzhen, another city in Guangdong province.
The protest in Guangzhou started in the morning with about 3 000 people and quickly grew to 10 000 by the early afternoon, Japanese embassy spokesperson Keiji Ide said.
"More and more people are gathering. They are shouting and starting to throw stones," Ide said.
A diplomat at the consulate general said about 500 police officers were dispatched to the scene.
Gathering at supermarket
"About 10 000 people are gathering in Shenzhen today," the embassy spokesperson added. "We don't have a consulate general office there, but there is a Japanese supermarket there, Jasco, and they are gathering there. They are shouting."
On Saturday, more than 10 000 anti-Japanese protestors hurled rocks, bottles and eggs and shouted abuse at the Japanese embassy and the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Beijing, condemning Japan for its handling of its wartime past.
Tokyo has demanded Beijing apologise, calling the incident "extremely regrettable", and has requested China take measures to protect its citizens and businesses.
China's foreign ministry has appealed for calm from the demonstrators.
Tensions between the two countries are high as they compete for energy resources and due to Beijing's anger over Tokyo's recent approval of nationalist history textbooks.
- AFP