CHINA: CHINA CONDEMNS ISRAELI'S ATTACKS ON WEST BANK AND RETALILATION BY PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS

Record ID: 355581

  • Title: CHINA: CHINA CONDEMNS ISRAELI'S ATTACKS ON WEST BANK AND RETALILATION BY PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS
  • Date: 2nd April 2002
  • Summary: (W4) BEIJING, CHINA (APRIL 2, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON WALKING INTO ROOM 0.05 2. PAN TO MEDIA AT PRESS CONFERENCE 0.10 3. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ZHANG QIYUE, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON, SAYING: "The most urgent thing now is that Israel must withdraw its army from Palestine immediately. But
  • Embargoed: 17th April 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Reuters ID: LVAI9MKAN1OU4967VZHWB0E22BC
  • Story Text: China has condemned both Israel's recent attacks on
    the West Bank and the retaliations by Palestinian suicide
    bombers.



    China warned Israel on Sunday (March 31) of disastrous
    consequences for the Middle East if Palestinian leader Arafat
    was harmed.

    Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan spoke on the phone
    with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres urging Israel to
    withdraw immediately from Palestinian territory.

    Violence in the Middle East escalated last week when a
    suicide bomber killed 20 people at a feast for the Jewish
    holiday of Passover.

    In response, Israel declared Arafat an enemy and ordered
    tanks and troops to isolate him in his headquarters.

    China also condemned the spate of Palestinian suicide
    bombers who have responded with half a dozen attacks in
    recent days.

    About 100 protesters gathered on the grounds of the
    Palestinian embassy in Beijing on Monday to condemn the
    latest Israeli crackdown in the West Bank and show support
    for holed-up Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

    "The most urgent thing now is that Israel must withdraw
    its army from Palestine
    immediately. But at the same time China condemns the violent
    activities targeted at the innocent people in Israel. We
    condemn the use of violence to fight violence, because this
    will lead to a vicious cycle," said Foreign Ministry
    spokesperson Zhang Qiyue.

    The once regular demonstrations of Chinese Falun Gong
    practitioners in the capital's Tiananmen Square have petered
    out in the last year since the government sent thousands of
    followers to "re-education" camps.

    However, since November, nearly 100 foreign followers of
    the group have been expelled from China for protesting in
    the central Beijing square.

    In May, Falun Gong followers hacked into a state cable
    television station in the northeast and aired a propaganda
    video for nearly an hour before the signal was cut.

    Falun Gong, which combines a mixture of traditional
    Chinese exercises, Taoism and Buddhism, says more than
    1,600 followers have died as a result of abuse in
    police custody or detention centres since the crackdown began.

    The government says only a handful have died, mostly from
    suicide or natural causes.

    "The foreigners participating in Falun Gong activities in
    China violate Chinese law. It is therefore reasonable if the
    relevant department deals with those people according to law.

    China also asks the relevant countries to instruct their
    citizens coming to China to follow the Chinese law," said
    Zhang.

    The issue regarding U.S. compensation for an April 2001
    mid-air collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese
    fighter jet remains unresolved.

    The Chinese fighter involved in the collision crashed into
    the South China Sea and the pilot was killed and declared a
    revolutionary martyr.

    The crippled EP-3 Navy surveillance plane made an emergency
    landing at a military airfield on Hainan Island, where
    authorities held the 24 crew members for 11 days.

    China released them only after Washington said it was
    "very sorry" for the death of the Chinese pilot and for
    the spy plane's landing on Hainan without permission.

    The plane remained on Hainan until July 3 when it was
    dismantled and flown back to the United States for repairs.

    The Chinese and U.S. sides have failed to agree on the
    amount of compensation the U.S. owes for the lost plane and
    pilot.

    "The Chinese position on this issue has not changed. It is
    reasonable that China asks for compensation from the United
    States. The United States is responsible for giving us a
    reason for this incident," said Zhang.

    Beijing reiterated its support of nonproliferation through
    the signing of nonproliferation protocols.

    The U.S has accused China of supplying missiles to unstable
    regions in violation of a November 2000 agreement to tighten
    missile export controls.

    The Chinese side said they are bringing nuclear, chemical
    and biological export controls up to compatibility with
    international standards.

    Beijing is currently co-hosting with the United Nations an
    international conference on disarmament which hopes to check
    the rise of non-state entities from obtaining weapons of mass
    destruction.

    "What China did is helpful to accelerate the implementation
    of additional protocols and to consolidate international
    nonproliferation mechanisms. We hope other countries can finish
    the necessary legal procedures to implement the additional
    protocols as soon as possible," said Zhang.
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