On March 25, 2004, Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo summoned Chikahito Harada, charge d'affairs ad interim of the Japanese Embassy in China to once again lodge a solemn representation over Japan's illegal detention of Chinese citizens who landed on the Diaoyu Islands.

Dai said the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands have been China's inherent territory since ancient times and China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands. China strongly protests against Japan's action to illegally block the Chinese citizens from landing on the Diaoyu Islands and forcibly detain them. This is a serious violation of China's sovereignty over its territory and a severe infringement upon the human rights of Chinese citizens. The Chinese Government and people do not accept it.

It is an objective fact that China and Japan are in dispute over the sovereignty issue of the Diaoyu Islands. The Chinese Government has always advocated solution of the issue through consultations and negotiations. Since Japan also accepts that the two countries hold different views, Japan's detention of the Chinese citizens under the pretext of its so-called "domestic laws" in itself is a severe violation of international law. China does not accept Japan's attempts to deal with the issue according to its so-called "domestic laws".

Dai demanded Japan fully recognize the seriousness of the current situation and release the Chinese citizens immediately and unconditionally. Otherwise, this issue will only lead to complication and escalation of the matter and cause more harm to China-Japan relations. The serious outcomes arising therefrom will have to be borne by Japan.

Dai stressed the Chinese Government and leaders care much about the safety of the illegally detained Chinese citizens. China demands Japan ensure their absolute safety and not take any actions to infringe upon their personal dignity and rights.