Beijing expresses ‘strong discontent’ over Japanese Coast Guard vessel collision with Taiwanese boat in East China Sea; Chinese Vice-President praises Sudan’s ‘unremitting efforts’ on Darfur
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    • Beijing expressed “serious concern” and “strong discontent” over a Japanese coastguard vessel’s collision with a Taiwan boat in the East China Sea. In a briefing over the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang stated that the Diaoyu Island “has been Chinese territory since the ancient time. China holds indisputable legal evidence of ownership1.”

    Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with the Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha appreciated “the unremitting efforts” Sudan has taken on Darfur. Both the leaders also expressed their willingness to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields, including in the agriculture sector2.

    A Chinese diplomat at Beijing’s UN Office in Geneva, Qian Bo, addressing a regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, stated that Tibet was not an ethnic or religious issue, but an issue to safeguard national territorial unification. Qian also asserted that Tibet was “entirely an internal issue of China which concerns the country’s sovereignty3.”

    In other developments, Israel’s Consulate in Shanghai and the Hongkou District authorities have decided to build a database on Jewish refugees during World War II. The effort would collect information including name, gender, birthplace, career, biography, among other data4.

    Reports also noted that China would soon launch a new communications satellite, Zhongxing-9, with a long March-3B rocket carrier at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. The, ordered by China Satcom from the France-based Thales Alenia Space (TAS), would be used for television broadcasts5.

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