Taiwanese groups gathered in Taipei on August 15, urging the Japanese government to apologize for atrocities committed by its aggressors and to stop moves intended to encroach on the Diaoyu Islands.(People's Daily Online/ Wu Yaming)

Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all angry over Japan’s recent farce of “buying the Diaoyu Islands,” said the spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council of China Fan Liqing at a press conference on Sept. 12.

Taiwan Authorities' stance on defending the Diaoyu Islands has changed

The “practical action of defending the Diaoyu Islands” by the leader of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou deserves to be recognized by both sides of the Taiwan Strait. On the morning of Sept. 12, organizations for unification, including the Labor Party of Taiwan, Alliance for the Reunification of China and the Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Forum, sent delegations to the Japan Communication Association in Taipei to protest Japan's action of “buying the Islands.” The organizers of the activity said that both sides of the strait will jointly defend the Diaoyu Islands and they hope the two sides will defend the sovereignty of China hand in hand.

In a “Cross-Strait Dialogue,” it was implied for the first time that the two sides should join hands to deal with Japan because it accords with the common expectations of the Chinese people on both sides of the strait. If it is feasible, it will without doubt be a great breakthrough in the political contact between the two sides.