April 8, 2001

China Is Demanding That U.S. Do More to End Standoff

By ERIK ECKHOLM

BEIJING, April 7 — China insisted in a strongly worded statement released today that the United States has not done enough to end the crisis over 24 Americans detained after their spy plane made an emergency landing nearly a week ago. While negotiations to find a way out of the crisis continued, official propaganda in China both reflected popular anger and kept it ratcheted high.

"Regrettably, the U.S. statement on this incident so far is unacceptable to the Chinese side, and the Chinese people have found it most dissatisfying," Qian Qichen, China's top foreign policy official, wrote in a letter delivered to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Friday night and made public today by the official New China News Agency.

The news agency, without providing a direct quote, paraphrased Mr. Qian as saying that the United States should apologize. In his letter, written as Mr. Qian accompanied President Jiang Zemin of China on a tour of Latin America, Mr. Qian stated: "The position of the Chinese government on this incident is very clear. The U.S. side should take up its responsibilities for the incident."

The official Chinese news media also featured the wife of the Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, who collided with the American plane and is presumed dead at sea. He has been turned into a national hero, and Chinese television gave prominent treatment to an angry letter his wife is said to have written to President Bush from her "sickbed."

It showed her being greeted today by China's defense minister, who repeated assertions that "this collision was entirely caused by the U.S. side."

In Washington, a senior American official said that "the multiple signals coming from the Chinese" have created apprehension in the Bush administration that the Chinese military could delay resolution and release of the 24 Americans detained when their spy plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island off southern China after the collision.

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said today that negotiations with the Chinese "remain sensitive" and would continue, but demurred at the continuing Chinese calls for an apology.

"The response is that the United States is going to continue its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the men and women," he said. "There's still a series of ongoing diplomatic meetings in Beijing and the conversations continue."

President Bush was at Camp David, where he was briefed on developments, but officials said there were no meetings today between the two sides in Washington.

Earlier, American officials said that Mr. Qian's letter seemed to be following up on private Chinese demands for an "explanation" from the United States, which the American officials interpreted as being different from an apology.

"It's a word they have been using with increasing frequency since the middle of the week, and we think that may create an opening," said a senior official involved in the talks.

In public, however, China's words were sharp, matching the anger voiced by many Chinese. The obvious ease with which an American plane could spy on China from international waters, and the quick American statements ascribing blame to the Chinese pilot and demanding the immediate return of the plane and its crew, struck raw nerves here.

The exact manner in which the incident is described and resolved has become a matter of national honor, which could complicate efforts to reach a compromise.

The agency report said, "It is essential for the U.S. side to face up to the facts squarely, adopt a positive and practical approach and apologize to the Chinese people." It went on to quote directly from Mr. Qian's letter, saying: "Then, the two sides may move on to discuss matters concerning the U.S. military plane and other remaining problems."

The Chinese report added what it said was a quote from a letter from General Powell to Mr. Qian. "We very much regret the pain this accident has caused," the general was quoted as saying. "President Bush is very concerned about your missing pilot. His thoughts and prayers are with the pilot's family members and loved ones, as are mine and all Americans.' "

On Friday, China's television news, guided by the Communist Party propaganda department, reported President Bush's "regret." But tonight's news broadcast described the uncompromising letter from Mr. Qian and gave featured treatment to the pilot's wife, Ruan Guoqin, who has been described as severely stricken by grief. She was shown being brought to Beijing, supposedly for improved medical care, and where she was greeted in her hospital room by the defense minister, Gen. Chi Haotian.

In the carefully crafted letter to President Bush, written in refined, often literary Chinese and reportedly delivered to the American Embassy in Beijing this morning, Ms. Ruan began by saying, "I'm an ordinary Chinese woman writing you this letter in tears from my sickbed."

She described how the news had wrecked her health and said that "our 6-year-old son has kept asking when his father will come home."

While voicing understanding for American worry over its crew, she added: "What is incredible is your and your government's apathetic attitude towards my husband's life," according to a translation released by People's Daily.

"You are too cowardly to voice an `apology' and have been trying to shirk your responsibility repeatedly and defame my husband groundlessly," she wrote in an apparent reference to Pentagon charges that Mr. Wang was known as a reckless hot dog who had often shadowed planes too closely.

"What the Chinese people desire most is peace," Ms. Ruan said. "In conclusion, please accept my best wishes for your family."

After meeting with Ms. Ruan, General Chi said the People's Liberation Army would not let Washington evade its blame. "It's impermissible for them to want to shirk responsibility. The People's Liberation Army does not agree to it, the Chinese people don't agree to it. The people of the world also won't agree to it."