China pressures Japan to prevent Uighur meeting
And Japan will reject Chinese demand.China pressures Japan to prevent Uighur meeting
Last Updated: Monday, April 09, 2012, 16:36 0
Beijing: China urged Japan on Monday not to allow an exiled Uighur group to hold a major conference in Tokyo next month, saying the organisation seeks to damage Chinese sovereignty.
China has blamed violence in its restive far western region of Xinjiang, home to the Turkic language-speaking Muslim Uighur people, on Islamic separatists who want to establish an independent state of East Turkestan.
The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress plans to hold its general assembly from May 14-17 in Tokyo with the opening ceremony to take place in Japan's parliament, according to a statement on its website (World Uyghur Congress).
The group says around 100 Uighur delegates will attend, as well as unnamed Japanese politicians.
"We believe this organisation harms China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They are engaged in activities that harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They engage in separatist activities to split China," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said.
"We have already made representations to Japan regarding this situation. We hope Japan can adopt practical measures to prohibit this organization from using Japanese soil to engage in activities to split China," he told a daily news briefing.
Japan's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.