Don't forget brutal truth: protesters

Small groups of protesters including Japanese nationalists rallied yesterday against China during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit.

More than a dozen activists belonging to right-wing and left-wing groups and the Falun Gong, the spiritual movement banned in the mainland, led the noisy protest outside Mr Wen's hotel, but police out numbered them.

'Wen Jiabao, go home,' one protester shouted over a loudspeaker.

'Wen used the word 'peace' in his speech in the Japanese parliament this morning, but don't forget what the Chinese Communist Party has done so far. They oppressed the human rights of people there.'

Another group chanted: 'Don't forgive Wen Jiabao and the Chinese government's massacres and torture of the Tibetans and Uygurs.'

In one of the more unusual statements, one protester held up a sign reading, 'Wen Jiabao, go to Yasukuni Shrine', referring to the controversial Shinto sanctuary that venerates Japanese war dead and war criminals alike.

The shrine is one of the thorniest issues between Japan and China. Beijing was infuriated by former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the shrine which China sees as symbol of Japan's past imperialism.