On the morning of August 15, hundreds of people from several Hong Kong organizations held rallies and demonstrations to strongly protest against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's sixth visit to Yasukuni Shrine on the same day. They also sent their representatives to the Consulate General of Japan in Hong Kong to present their petitions. These organizations include the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) and Hong Kong Reparation Association.

About 30 district board members and staff members organized by DAB paraded from the General Post Office in Central Hong Kong to the Japanese Consulate General to protest against and denounce the Japanese prime minister's behavior on the morning of August 15. They said the action of Koizumi has deliberately hurt the feelings of the Chinese people who suffered tremendously from Japan's aggression during World War II; that his behavior defies the resolve of all nations, including China, to safeguard peace across the world; and that his visit to the shrine is an act of challenging international justices and trampling upon the conscience of humanity and should be subjected to harsh criticism by the governments and people of all nations, including the Japanese people.

Besides, 250 members of the Hong Kong Reparation Association converged onto the Charter Garden of Hong Kong and exhibited pictures of the atrocities by the intruding Japanese troops and pictures about World War II as well as evidences of aggression by the intruding Japanese army. After that they paraded to the Consulate General of Japan and sent 20 representatives to deliver their letter of protest to the Japanese consulate to voice their firm opposition to Koizumi's Yasukuni Shrine visit. They also demanded the Japanese government cash the "military scrips" that Japan issued in Hong Kong during the era of their occupation.

The Action Committee for Defending the Diao Yu Islands, Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong Coalition for Preserving the History of World War II in Asia, China Youth Services & Recreation Centre, among other organizations, also partook in the parade and protests.

By People's Daily Online