What is theft? The explanation in the Chinese dictionary is to steal someone else's property, which means to get something illegally. This behavior is shameful, and brings no good to those who commit it.
The dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands seems complicated, but if closely looked into, we will find that the entire dispute stems from Japan's attempt to steal the Diaoyu Islands.
The Diaoyu Islands belong to China and have nothing to do with Japan. Japan has tried every means and made up excuses to prove that the Diaoyu Islands are its territory. Japan claimed that it is Japanese traders who first discovered the islands and the islands are Japan's inherent territory. It is simply confusing right and wrong and trying to cover up its robbery.
Both historical records and maps prove that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China. The islands were named Diaoyu first, records of which appeared in documents of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Japanese name, the Senkaku Islands, was first used by Japanese scholar Hisashi Kuroiwa in 1900.
History also proves that China was the first country to carry out fishing activities around the islands, and included them in maritime defense areas as the affiliated islands of Taiwan.
According to research done by well-known Japanese historian Kiyoshi Inoue, before Japan's Meiji Restoration in 1868, no documents concerning the islands could be found in Japan or Okinawa save for Chinese documents.
It is evident enough that the owner of the Diaoyu Islands is China, not Japan. It's not the case that as long as Japan changes the name of the Diaoyu Islands, the islands would become theirs. It's like a car thief, who steals another's car and puts a new plate on it, believe this makes the car his own and hoping no one will find out.
