BEIJING - Protests against the Japanese government's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands sprung up in many cities across China over the weekend.
The Japanese government's illegal "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands has violated China's territorial sovereignty and triggered a strong sense of indignation among the Chinese people.
Many Chinese people protested the Japanese government's "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands and expressed their patriotism in an orderly manner over the weekend. It was a reasonable move and natural reaction toward the provocation from the Japanese side.
The Japanese government should take note of mainstream Chinese public opinion, as voiced in those protests, and think twice about their illegal activities. Otherwise, the foundation of Sino-Japanese relations and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries will sustain damage not seen in the four decades since the normalization of Sino-Japan relations.
At the same time, the Chinese people should be rational and obey the law when expressing patriotic feelings, and they should abstain from "smashing and looting".
Wisdom is needed in the expression of patriotism. When our territorial sovereignty is challenged, the Chinese people should and must show our clear-cut attitude while ensuring that such patriotic sentiment is fully transferred as a strong driving force for adhering to scientific development, promoting economic growth and building a harmonious society.
Wisdom is needed in the expression of patriotism. No law should be broken as the Chinese people strongly condemn the Japanese government's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands, as the expression of patriotic feelings should not come at the cost of disrupting domestic social order.
At this crucial moment, the Chinese people should and must unite, strengthen economic and social stability and show the world the invincible inner force of the Chinese nation.
Wisdom is needed in the expression of patriotism. The Chinese people should and must keep pace with the various efforts made by the Chinese government to form a more efficient combined force against outside provocations.
After the Japanese government announced its plan to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese government issued a statement expressing its firm opposition to, and strongly protesting, the Japanese move.
Moreover, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Li Baodong has met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and filed a copy of the table of coordinates and charts of the baseline of the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands.
Chinese surveillance ships arrived at waters around the Diaoyu Islands Friday morning and started patrol and law enforcement activities there.
