South China Sea video shown at NYC Times Square

The publicity video explaining China's right to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands is being shown on the big screen in Times Square in New York City on July 25, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

A publicity video explaining China's right to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands is currently being shown in Times Square in New York City (NYC), Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

The video, lasting three minutes and 12 seconds, features a collection of facts to illustrate that China has indisputable legitimate sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands, clarifying the truth regarding the so-called "South China Sea arbitration case" and demonstrating that dialogue and consultation is the only proper solution to the dispute between China and its neighbors.

The video started airing on the big screen at Times Square in Manhattan District on July 23 and will be played 120 times a day until August 3.

Using the image of the blue sea merging with an azure sky, the video opens with some of scenic splendors of the South China Sea. It tells how Chinese people were the first to discover, name and develop the islands now in dispute.

Various experts explain from different angles that China's sovereignty has a sufficient historical and legal basis. They are Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, John Ross, former Director of Economic and Business Policy to the Mayor of London and now a Senior Fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, Catherine West, shadow secretary of state for Foreign Affairs of Britain and Masood Khalid, the Pakistani ambassador to China.

They point out that the unilateral request made by the Philippines for arbitration cannot be established, and suggest direct stakeholders resolve their differences through peaceful negotiations.

The video has attracted many people to stop and watch, and won a ready response among Chinese people residing in the United States. A man surnamed Chen from China's Shandong Province commented that the publicity video is well-founded and very necessary. "We should let the whole world know the truth."

Ma Yue, head of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, said that the video not only clearly illustrates the legitimacy of China's sovereignty, but also shows China's attitude to the so-called South China Sea arbitration, a fallacy that collapses on its own.

Times Square is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with the number of visitors reaching several hundred million each year.