Chinese living in the Netherlands attend a protest in front of the Peace Palace, The Hague, the Netherlands, July 15, 2016.
(Xinhua/Zindziwe Janse)
THE HAGUE, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Over 1,000 Chinese living in the Netherlands gathered in front of the Peace Palace here on Friday to protest again an ad hoc tribunal's ill-founded ruling on the South China Sea arbitration.
The protest, staged at a small triangle square facing the main gate of the Peace Palace, started around noon, and lasted until 2 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).
The protesters held banners written in Chinese, English and Dutch with messages slamming the so-called final award issued from The Hague on Tuesday, while shouting slogans supporting China's stance in the case.
"No jurisdiction means the ruling is null and void," one of the banners read. "The 'arbitration' is nothing but a political farce," another banner read.
The merely 200-square-meter square could only hold around 100 protesters at a time. Many people, who came from across the Netherlands, waited nearby in good order for their turns to participate.
"We originally expected around 300 people, but as soon as we posted the information on social media, Chinese communities in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and other cities all responded. Now we have definitely surpassed 1,000," said Huang Yue, head of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification in the Netherlands, one of the organizers of the protest.
The Chinese communities in the Netherlands have been following this case very closely, and they are furious about the decision of the tribunal, which is based on exceeding its power and ignoring China's historical and legal rights, according to Huang.
"It upsets us even more that such a law-abusing political farce happened in the Netherlands, a country with a long tradition of respecting international law, and in The Hague, the 'capital of international law,'" Huang added.
The main goal of the protest, Huang said, was to reach out to more people in the Netherlands and other Western countries, and tell them the truth about the South China Sea. "It is a righteous act for us to demonstrate our determination to protect the sovereignty and the territory of our motherland. It deserves respect, recognition and support from the international community."
"As overseas Chinese, we live abroad, but our hearts are always with our motherland," said Huang Qichang, chairman of the Holland-China Cultural Exchange Foundation, "We want to convey our peaceful, rational voice to our friends in the Netherlands, and let them know that such a political farce is illegal and useless."
Speaking for the organizing team, he stressed that the protest was planned and carried out strictly in line with the Dutch law.
"The tribunal did not respect the law, but we Chinese do," he said. "We held a meeting shortly after the tribunal issued its award, handed in our application the next day, and received our permission on Thursday. Then we sent out calls on social media."
"The Chinese people are peace-loving and law-abiding. That's also one of the messages that we want to convey," he added.
