Senkaku activists launch protest voyage from Taiwan+

YELIU, Taiwan, Sept. 13 Kyodo -
Activists claiming Chinese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands set out for the
disputed area in a fishing boat from the northern Taiwan port of Yeliu on
Monday afternoon, and late in the evening reported that two Japan Coast Guard
vessels were tracking it.
The semi-official Japanese envoy to Taipei lodged a protest with the Taiwan
Foreign Ministry after Taiwanese authorities allowed the vessel to leave port,
calling the move ''extremely regrettable.''
Tadashi Imai, chief representative of the Japan Interchange Association Taipei
Office, told the Foreign Ministry the protest voyage ''may adversely affect
Japan-Taiwan relations.'' Japan has no official ties with Taiwan.
An activist spokesman said at 10:30 p.m. Taiwan time that the protest boat was
about 50 nautical miles from the Senkaku Islands and that two Japanese coast
guard vessels were already shadowing the protesters, one in front and one
behind.
He added that the Taiwan coast guard is continuing to observe from a distance.
But the planned symbolism of a joint protest involving activists from Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Macao and China fizzled when Taiwan immigration officials intervened
at the port and warned all non-Taiwanese to leave the boat, leaving two
activists and three crew members.
The government later issued a statement saying the protest is an activity
''purely civic'' in nature, but that the government would ''maintain their
safety.''
''The government will maintain their safety according to the law, and has
solemnly asked the Japanese authorities not to interfere,'' it said.
''The government hopes the Japanese authorities will carefully consider the
bigger picture and work together to maintain mutually beneficial relations and
enduring friendship between the two nations.''
A coast guard official told Kyodo News that the coast guard will escort the
vessel at a distance all the way to the islands, though it was not immediately
clear if the coast guard is prepared to enter disputed waters in the process.
This year's protest, though smaller than in previous years, is significant
because of growing tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over the detention of the
skipper of a Chinese boat alleged to have hit Japanese coast guard vessels on
Tuesday last week.
The disputed islands are known as the Senkakus in Japan, but they are also
claimed by China and Taiwan, who call them the Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai islands,
respectively.
Ho Jung-chun, deputy director general of the National Immigration Agency, told
the non-Taiwanese protesters that if they proceeded they would be prevented
from re-entering the country for up to three years.
After half an hour, the protesters concerned disembarked without incident and
returned to Taipei, among them Hong Kong Legislative Council member Leung
Kwok-hung.
The boat then set out in calm conditions, but the trip would be slower than it
need be, Huang said, to allow for weather and flexibility in the event of
likely interception by the Japan Coast Guard.
He said the voyage was meant to express anger over the detention of the
skipper, the harassment of Chinese seafarers in general and the inability of
Taiwanese fishermen to ply the waters in the area.
Prior to departure, Huang told reporters at Yeliu port that the activists had
intended to set out on a fishing boat and a pleasure craft, but pressure from
the authorities stopped the pleasure craft from getting involved.
Yin Pi-hsiung, one of the Taiwanese activists on board the boat, said they
would attempt to disembark with a statue of Matsu, the patron goddess of
fishermen, and raise the Republic of China flag to express Chinese ownership of
the uninhabited islands, which lie between Taiwan and Okinawa.
Film producer Gao Yuhui, the sole protester from China, but who maintains Hong
Kong residency, said earlier if she had the chance to land on the islands she
would not object to the Taiwanese protesters raising the Republic of China
flag.
''I'm nervous about how the Japanese will respond, but I still want to land on
the island if possible,'' she said. ''It doesn't matter what flag we use
because we are all Chinese.''
Huang also said a concurrent protest voyage from China that was supposed to
leave Xiamen on Sunday did not proceed.
==Kyodo
2010-09-14 16:31:32