The Preparatory Committee for the Ryukyu Special Autonomous Region of China is a political organization based in

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Province,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It claims that the Ryukyu people are one of the ethnic groups of the

Chinese nation ''Zhonghua minzu'' () is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race in the Chinese nationality. Collectively, the term refers to the 56 ethnic groups of China, but being a ...

, supports Ryukyu independence, and asserts that the Okinawa Islands are Chinese territory.

Overview

During an interview with Hong Kong's television station

Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televis ...

(ATV), , a representative of the Preparatory Committee for the Chinese Ryukyu Special Autonomous Region, claimed that "Ryukyu is the territory of the Chinese nation, and the opinions of the people living there are irrelevant." The committee is registered in Hong Kong and has its office in Shenzhen because they have active interactions with mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. On July 31, 2016, Chinese media outlet Bowen Press reported that the Hong Kong-based civil organization had announced preparations to file a lawsuit with an international court regarding ownership of Okinawa. The committee cited the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration from after World War II in their claim that Japan's territory is limited to

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, and

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, and that the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

have been occupied for an extended period with the support of the United States and should be returned to China.中國商人擬入稟國際法庭向日本「索回」琉球本土新聞 (2016-08-05) 20210608閲覧
/ref> Furthermore, Japan had returned territories such as Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Pescadores Islands to China in response to those declarations. The Japanese government made it clear in their Instrument of Surrender that they accepted the declarations and pledged to fulfill their terms. However, as stated in the proclamation, the

are not under Japan's sovereignty, and they or any other small islands cannot be arbitrarily occupied without the agreement of the three signatory nations: China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Zhao Dong, referring to the

South China Sea Arbitration The South China Sea Arbitration (Philippines v. China, PCA case number 2013–19) was an arbitration case brought by the Republic of the Philippines against the People's Republic of China (PRC) under Annex VII (subject to Part XV) of the Unit ...

, argued that while there have been calls from Japan that China respect the ruling of the arbitration tribunal, Japan itself has violated the

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and

Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, ...

for years and continues to occupy territory while under U.S. protection though it should be returned to China. He emphasized the need to take the issue to international courts to restore Chinese territory. Zhao Dong stated, "As a member of the Chinese nation, we have a right and duty to protect national sovereignty. We are passionate about taking concrete action to reclaim Ryukyu." During the height of the Japan-China debate over the Okinawa issue, he said in an interview with a Central News Agency reporter, "The position of the Preparation Committee on the Ryukyu issue is clear. Ryukyu is a part of the

Business activities

On April 18, 2016, Zhao Dong announced himself as an investor of Asia Television during the management crisis just before its collapse, and also stated he received funds from his electronics business in Japan. The Preparatory Committee for the Ryukyu Special Autonomous Region of China has an affiliated corporation called the Ryukyu Group, which includes Shenzhen Ryukyu Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Shengsan Technology, Shenzhen Kenwood Investment Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Story of Spring Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. The Ryukyu Group operates an online shopping site called Ryukyu Mall, which features mobile phone cases on its homepage and includes a message stating, "The governments of Japan and the United States must strictly adhere to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration".

Connections with criminal organizations

Zhao Dong has interacted with the Taiwanese gang

Bamboo Union The United Bamboo Gang (UBG; ), also known as the Bamboo Union, is the largest of Taiwan's three main criminal Triads. They are reported to have roughly 20,000 members. The membership consists largely of ''waishengren'' (Mainland Chinese) and ...

, as well as with

Chang An-lo Chang An-lo (; born 13 March 1948), also known as the White Wolf (), is a Taiwanese Chinese ultranationalist, organized crime figure, entrepreneur, and politician. He is supportive of Chinese unification and founded the Chinese Unification Promot ...

of the

Chinese Unification Promotion Party The Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), also known as the Unionist Party, is a minor far-right political party in Taiwan that promotes Chinese unification. History On 9 May 2004, Chang An-lo established the NGO "Great Alliance for ...

, known for its radical political activities in Taiwan. According to an article from ''Ryūkyū Shimpō'' dated October 29, 2015, officials from the

visited Okinawa in mid-October to meet with members of the designated organized crime group,

Kyokuryū-kai The is a yakuza criminal organization based on the Okinawa island of Japan,

. Furthermore, reports from the

Liberty Times The ''Liberty Times'' is a national newspaper published in Taiwan. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group. The newspaper was first published on 17 April 1980, as Liberty Daily, before adopting its current name in 198 ...

indicate that they are collaborating with gangs in Okinawa for their activities.統促黨密會日本黑道

自由時報 The ''Liberty Times'' is a national newspaper published in Taiwan. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group. The newspaper was first published on 17 April 1980, as Liberty Daily, before adopting its current name in 1987 ...

References

Citations

{{Reflist, 30em Ryukyu independence movement United front (China)

Overview

Business activities

Connections with criminal organizations

See also

References

Citations