Thu, Apr 12, 2001 page1

• China, US agree on freeing plane crew

  WORD PLAY The deal came about after US Ambassador Joseph Prueher delivered a letter, which twice used the words `very sorry' but did not actually apologize for the collision of the planes

  • REUTERS AND AP
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  China and the US said yesterday that they had reached an agreement on the release of the 24 detained crew members of a US spy plane.

  China said it would free the crew -- who have been at the center of an 11-day-old Sino-American standoff -- on humanitarian grounds once the "relevant procedures" had been completed.

  US President George W. Bush, expressing sorrow for the death of a Chinese fighter pilot in the April 1 collision with the spy plane over the South China Sea, said plans were under way to bring home the crew from Hainan island as soon as possible.

  "This morning the Chinese government assured our American ambassador that the crew would leave promptly," Bush said in a brief statement at the White House. "We are working on arrangements to pick them up and to bring them home."

  China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (唐家璇) announced the breakthrough in remarks quoted by the official Xinhua news agency after receiving what Chinese state media portrayed as a letter of apology from Washington.

  China's Foreign Ministry said the 24 crew, which includes three women, would be freed together, and that this should not take long if Washington "is cooperative enough" in carrying out what it called the "relevant procedures."

  US Ambassador Joseph Prueher handed Tang the letter, which twice used the words "very sorry" but did not actually apologize for the collision.

  "As the US government has already said `very sorry' to the Chinese people, the Chinese government has, out of humanitarian considerations, decided to allow the crew members to leave China after completing the necessary procedures," Tang said.

  Wang Wei (王偉), the pilot of the Chinese fighter jet, is missing and presumed dead.

  "Both President Bush and Secretary of State [Colin] Powell have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft," read Prueher's letter.

  "Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss," it said.

  "We are very sorry the entering of China's airspace and the landing did not have verbal clearance," it added. Earlier, China's state-run media prepared the angry nation for a resolution which could be presented as the apology from the US that Beijing had demanded. Washington has refused to apologize for the collision, arguing that it was not the spy plane's fault.

  Prueher's letter described what happened as being "still unclear" and said the two sides would meet on April 18 to discuss the causes of the incident and other related issues.

  China's state television earlier told the nation of 1.3 billion people that US Secretary of State Powell had expressed "regret" and "sorrow" for the E-P3 spy plane's incursion into Chinese airspace after the collision.

  US officials complained key context had been edited out of the report, but a Western diplomat said that did not matter. "The fact that they twisted his words a bit is not the point. The point is they are setting the scene for something to happen," the diplomat added.

  US officials in Washington said earlier that the letter had been thrashed out in negotiations between the two sides. "What the Chinese will choose to characterize as an apology, we would probably choose to characterize as an expression of regret or sorrow," one senior administration official said.

  The wording of the letter has already been interpreted in different ways by the two sides.

  According to a Chinese-language copy of the letter released by the US Embassy, it doesn't use the term that China had insisted on -- "daoqian" (道歉) -- a formal apology that accepts blame.

  A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sun Yuxi (孫玉璽), said it expressed "shenbiao qianyi" (深表歉意). A dictionary published by the Chinese government's Commercial Press translates that as "deep apology or regret."

  However, that term doesn't appear in the Chinese-language version of the letter released by the embassy. It says Bush was "feichang baoqian" (非常報歉), or "extremely sorry," that the US plane landed without permission. He expressed "feichang wanxi" (非常惋惜) or "extreme sympathy," for the Wang's family.

  US officials had resisted using the term "daoqian." Linguists have suggested that could have carried legal or diplomatic obligations, such as acquiescing to demands by China to stop surveillance flights near its coast. Bush insisted the collision was an accident, and both governments agreed that it occurred in international airspace.

  Meanwhile, Chinese media yesterday also appeared to be preparing the nation for an announcement of the death of Wang. The search for him and the grief of his family has dominated media reports for days.

  In Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed an end to the standoff. "We are happy for the 24 crew members who will soon be released," foreign ministry spokeswoman Catherine Chang (張小月) said by telephone.

  The Letter that secured the crew's release

  The following is the text of the letter released by the White House from US Ambassador Joseph Prueher to Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan.

  Dear Mr Minister:

  On behalf of the United States Government, I now outline steps to resolve this issue.

  Both President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have expressed their sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft. Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss.

  Although the full picture of what transpired is still unclear, according to our information, our severely crippled aircraft made an emergency landing after following international emergency procedures. We are very sorry the entering of China's airspace and the landing did not have verbal clearance, but very pleased the crew landed safely. We appreciate China's efforts to see to the well-being of our crew.

  In view of the tragic incident and based on my discussions with your representative, we have agreed to the following actions:

  Both sides agree to hold a meeting to discuss the incident. My government understands and expects that our aircrew will be permitted to depart China as soon as possible.

  The meeting would start April 18, 2001.

  The meeting agenda would include discussion of the causes of the incident, possible recommendations whereby such collisions could be avoided in the future, development of a plan for prompt return of the EP-3 aircraft, and other related issues. We acknowledge your government's intention to raise US reconnaissance missions near China in the meeting.

  Sincerely,

  Joseph W. Prueher

  source: ap
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