China slams Japan's move on Diaoyu Islands

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China's Foreign Ministry has slammed a Japanese city's move to mark Japan's occupation of the Diaoyu Islands more than a century ago. Spokeswoman Jiang Yu also stressed China's sovereignty over the islands since ancient times.

Jiang Yu criticized the decision of the city assembly of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. On Friday, it decided to declare January 14th as the day of the Japanese "pioneering" of the Diaoyu Islands, known as Senkaku in Japan. Jiang Yu declared any scheme to infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty nothing but fruitless labor.

She slammed what she called Japan's stealthy occupation of the Diaoyu Islands in 1895, saying "the so-called pioneering of this nature is something that should never see the light of day."