SMALL PROTEST AT JAPANESE EMBASSY OVER LEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 004075 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2017 TAGS: PGOV CH JA SUBJECT: SMALL PROTEST AT JAPANESE EMBASSY OVER LEE TENG-HUI'S VISIT TO JAPAN Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Susan Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Chinese authorities allowed a small group of approximately 20 protestors to stage a demonstration at the Japanese Embassy on the morning of June 18 over the recently completed visit of former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui to Japan. Emboff observed the demonstrators, who claimed to be part of a group called the "Patriots' Association," waving banners and shouting slogans in front of the Japanese Embassy for approximately 10 minutes before handing a petition to a Japanese staffer, after which the group was escorted away by Chinese security. The group's banners, in English and Chinese, read, "Lee Deng Hui Must Die!" "Release Xue Yi" and "Japan: Support for Taiwan Independence = Die." (Note: Xue Yi is the name of a Chinese national reportedly arrested in Japan for throwing a water bottle at Lee Teng-hui during his visit there. End note.) ¶2. (C) The group almost certainly had the approval of local authorities to conduct the demonstration, as it was escorted at all times by a large contingent of Chinese police and observed by a gaggle of some 30 overseas and Chinese reporters, some of whom said they had been notified of the event in advance. (Comment: Given what had to be official approval for today's demonstration, Chinese authorities likely viewed the event as convenient way of reminding Tokyo and the Japanese public that, despite the recent thaw in Sino-Japanese relations, Taiwan remains an issue of extreme sensitivity for Beijing. End comment.) PICCUTA