The protesters gathered in front of the Japanese embassy and shouted slogans, including, “Japanese government release Xue Yi immediately,” referring to the Chinese man who was arrested June 9 at Tokyo’s international airport.

The demonstration followed this month’s visit to Japan by Lee, whom China sees as one the most outspoken proponents of formal independence for Taiwan.

The protesters in Beijing held up placards and long white banners bearing messages in Chinese, including, “A warning to Japan: Supporting Taiwan independence equals death!” and “Down with the national scum Lee Teng-hui.”

“Lee Teng-hui is going to die,” said an English slogan on one prominently displayed banner.

A few of the protesters wore white T-shirts with the slogan “Japan get out of the Diaoyu Islands,” supporting China’s claim to the disputed islands, also called the Senkaku Islands, in the East China Sea.

The protesters handed in a petition to the embassy as dozens of uniformed and plainclothes police waited nearby and blocked several approach roads before and during the 20-minute protest.

Even though the ruling Communist Party forbids most forms of organized protest, it has apparently sanctioned several smaller anti-Japanese protests in Beijing and other cities over the past three years.

About 25 people reportedly gathered in front of the embassy on May 31 to demand compensation and apologies for Japan’s use of forced laborers and sex slaves during World War II.

In April 2005, China allowed thousands of people to take part in larger anti-Japanese protests that were attended mainly by organized groups.

The government ordered an end to the 2005 protests after they became too popular and included minor outbreaks of violence against Japanese-linked property, drawing complaints from Tokyo.

Diplomatic relations between China and Japan have improved since a visit to Beijing in October by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Bilateral ties had been soured by former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi’s annual visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including 14 class-A war criminals from World War II.

Abe’s visit was the first time that leaders of the two countries had met since Koizumi’s visit in 2001 to the shrine.

The 84-year-old Lee visited the shrine himself June 7 to pay tribute to his brother, who served in the Japanese imperial army during World War II at a time when Taiwan was a Japanese colony.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be “reunified” by force if all other efforts fail to persuade it to accept Beijing’s sovereignty.

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