Activists to protest plan to buy islands

A group of activists from Hong Kong and Macao are expected to arrive near the Diaoyu Islands as early as on Wednesday.

The group of 14 activists left for the islands on a Chinese-flagged fishing boat from Hong Kong on Sunday.

The activists, who belong to a group called the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, will be joined at sea by two other vessels on Tuesday - from Taiwan and Xiamen city of Fujian province in East China.

"We are protesting against Japanese lawmakers' plan to land on the islands on Aug 19," said Chan Miu-tak, the group's chairman. "We want to reach the islands before the Japanese lawmakers and place the Chinese flag there to show our determination to safeguard China's sovereignty over the islands," he told AFP.

Just before the Bao Diao II vessel set off, the activists shouted slogans like "Japan out of the Diaoyu Islands! Down with Japanese militarism!" The Japan Daily Press reported.

The owner of the Bao Diao II, Lo Chau, says Japan once invaded China, and now they are trying to take the Diaoyu Islands, according to The Japan Daily Press.

Chan said the vessels are expected to reach the islands on Wednesday if they are not turned back by authorities.

The activists told Japan's national public broadcasting organization NHK on Sunday evening that Hong Kong's Coast Guard ordered them to cancel the trip but it did not prevent them from leaving.

In January, Hong Kong's Coast Guard made the group cancel a plan 3 hours after departing from Hong Kong.

The group has made repeated attempts to reach the islands, but apart from one successful foray in 1996 they have been blocked by Japanese patrol vessels.

A member of the Hong Kong Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands said, "The South Korean president (Lee Myung-bak) landed on the Dokdo Islands. China should take similar action (toward Diaoyu)", the Asahi Shimbun reported.

According to the Central News Agency, a fishing boat carrying Taiwan activists sailed to the Diaoyu Islands on July 4, when five patrol boats sent to protect the activists and the fishing boat were confronted with three Japanese navy vessels with some crashes on the way.

China Daily-AFP