Not just in China and South Korea, but Taiwan as well!

Dozens of activists from Taiwan's Labor Party yesterday trampled Japan's national and military flags in a furious protest against what they said was Tokyo's refusal to repent over wartime atrocities, witnesses said.

The demonstrators, chanting slogans and holding protest placards, tore apart the Japanese flags in a gathering outside Japan's defacto embassy in Taipei.

"We are here to strongly protest the Japanese government's policies," the party said in a statement. This includes Japan's endorsement of a history textbook that glosses over its wartime atrocities.

Protesters also condemned Tokyo for its role in the disputed islands in the East China Sea and alleged Japan was secretly pushing for the independence of Taiwan, an island Beijing regards as part of its territory awaiting to be unified by force if necessary.

The demonstration came one day after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued Japan's most public apology in a decade for Japan's conduct during the war.

"In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations," Koizumi said, with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) looking on at a summit in Jakarta.

Beijing welcomed the speech, but in Taipei, it drew criticism from May Chin (高金素梅), an aboriginal legislator.

Empty words

"Japan made an apology back in 1995 but since then what has the Japanese government done over the past decade?" the legislator asked.

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http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Politics/2005/04/24/1114310886.htm