Activists supporting Chinese sovereignty over the disputed Tiaoyutai islands and surrounding waters said Saturday September 10 that protesters will set out Sunday from Xiamen on a voyage to the area and that Taiwan-based protesters will set out within days.
Huang Hsi-lin, chief executive of the Taiwan-based Chinese Tiaoyutai Defense Association, told reporters at a conference in Chungho, Taipei County, that a number of fishing vessels are scheduled to set out from Xiamen and that, sea conditions permitting, Taiwanese activists will set out as early as Sunday.
The disputed islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan, but they are also claimed by China and Taiwan, who call them the Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively.
In recent years the activists have enjoyed no government or opposition patronage and have little public support. But the protests could exacerbate acute tensions between China and Japan over the continuing detention of a Chinese skipper after his boat allegedly rammed two patrol vessels in Japanese waters near the Senkaku on Tuesday.
Huang was one of more than 100 mostly veteran activists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese communities who attended the conference Saturday.
Miutak Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Protect Diaoyu Islands Movement Committee, used the occasion to announce the formation of a preparatory committee for the World Chinese Tiaoyutai Defense Alliance, a formal grouping of activists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, China and Canada. Source: Kyodo News International, Sep 11, 2010).