More than 10,000 Chinese have joined the Saturday rally in
Beijing protesting Japan's distortion of its wartime past and
Tokyo's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
People, echoing a call on Internet bulletin boards, came to the
Hailong shopping center in northern Beijing's Haidian district,
carrying Chinese flags and anti-Japanese banners.
Japan officially approved new textbook on Tuesday which glosses
over Japanese wartime atrocities.
The gathering participants called out slogans as "boycott
Japanese-made products," "safeguard Diaoyu Islands," and "smash
Japan's daydream of seeking permanent seat on the UN Security
Council."
About 1,000 people started the gathering in the morning and more
people joined the protest. The number reached 10,000 at noon, and
the group marched from Zhongguancun street to the east part of
Beijing where the Japanese Embassy locates.
The police were keeping the order along the route.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2005)
