Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

U.S. Diplomats Meet Again With U.S. Crewmembers on Hainan Island

Aired April 09, 2001 - 11:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's catch up now with the latest on the spy plane standoff between the U.S. and China. Joining us now from the State Department, CNN's David Ensor with the very latest from there.

David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. First of all, there was another meeting today with the U.S. crewmembers on the island of Hainan, where they're being held. General Sealock, the military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing was able to meet with them again and reports back here that they are still in high spirits, and that they are being treated well, receiving e-mails and so forth. So nothing new there, really, except that there is another meeting.

But perhaps more importantly, we tend to focus on the island of Hainan, but where the action really is diplomatically is in Beijing and there was another meeting today between Admiral Prueher, the U.S. ambassador there, and his counterparts at the Chinese Foreign Ministry. No readout yet on how the meeting went.

But U.S. officials noted that for the first time, the Chinese government announced that there was going to be a meeting shortly before it took place, and described the meeting and the diplomatic exchanges and discussions that have been going on in relatively neutral terms, simply saying that the U.S. and China are talking about the incident that led to the collision.

So, some hope here among those who read the tea leaves that perhaps the Chinese government may be just beginning to try to prepare its public for what they all hope will be a diplomatic solution sooner rather than later.

There are two major public messages that the United States wants out there and that senior officials basically were talking about on the talk shows on the weekend, and again, today, Monday. The first is that the United States, while it regrets what happened to the Chinese pilot, while it is sorry about his death, is not going to make an apology. The U.S. officials saying, there is nothing to apologize for.

The second message is perhaps best summarize by the president himself this morning when he met with his Cabinet. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every day that goes by increases the potential that our relations with China could be damaged, and our hope is that this matter gets resolved quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENSOR: So, they're hoping for a quick resolution, but nobody here, Leon is putting the bets on exactly when this will be resolved.

HARRIS: David Ensor in the state department in Washington. Thanks much -- Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's take a closer look now at the purely political side of this ongoing U.S.-China standoff. Joining us is our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, who we tracked down in Los Angeles. There is no hiding from us, Bill.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm the purely political side, OK.

KAGAN: Yes, that's you. You're purely political. Well, good morning, and it's good to see you.

Let's talk about the difference in language we're hearing now. Over the weekend, you started hearing -- actually President Bush and you also heard Secretary of State Colin Powell using the word danger, in terms of there is the danger that relations between the U.S. and China are going to be damaged by this.

SCHNEIDER: That is right. It's a warning to the Chinese that the longer that this thing stretches out, the more trouble there could be because China has a lot of varied interests with the United States: trade, they want to try to prevent or limit U.S. arm sales Taiwan. China is making a bid for the 2008 Olympic games. All of those interests could be hurt, and the president and secretary of state are warning them that this has better be resolved quickly.

KAGAN: On the U.S. side, so what about an apology? The U.S. says it's sorry, things go on, the 24 crewmembers come home, and life goes. Why not?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there is actually division in public opinion about this because when a crisis like this emerges and there are innocent lives at stake, Americans think that the most important thing is to protect the safety and well-being of those innocent lives. That really takes precedent over all other objectives.

So, when we asked people should the United States apologize, I think surprisingly, Americans are divided over that. They asked the same question you just asked, why not?

KAGAN: The standoff is now over a week old. What will you be watching for this week?

SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, this is turning rather dangerously into what some people are calling a hostage crisis. The administration insists it's not a hostage crisis. It's the Chinese government, it's not a group of terrorists, because we're seeing yellow ribbons around the country, flags, 24 flags being put up to honor those who are in custody right now by the Chinese.

The danger is if this turn out to look like a hostage crisis, that really immobilizes the United States. The United States, in that kind of crisis, can look helpless; the president can look ineffectual; it monopolizes the agenda for the administration because Americans are concerned really about only one thing, which is how do we get these innocent Americans back.

KAGAN: Let's turn our attention now to a domestic political story, and that is the mayor's race in Los Angeles, where you happen to be today. A large pool of candidates, a primary tomorrow and I understand, a race that's become a bit contentious.

SCHNEIDER: It has become very contentious. There are six leading candidates competing for what will be two positions in the run-off that'll be held in June. And what we're seeing here in Los Angeles is signs of a new, urban politics which is very aggressively liberal, it's partisan and it's multicultural, and in a way, the left is beginning to fight back, and we're seeing it first in American cities like Los Angeles.

KAGAN: Can you give us a particular candidate that has caught your attention?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think the candidate that is showing the most dynamism is Antonio Villaraigosa. That's a nice name. I like saying that. He was the speaker of the California Assembly. He is, of course of, Hispanic descent. He is actually dividing the Latino vote here in Los Angeles with another Latino candidate.

But what's interesting about him is he is getting a lot of support from white liberal, from Jewish voters and the gay voters because he has a message of inclusion in the city. He is trying to build a dramatically new urban coalition, and we're going to see this happening all over the country because Hispanic voters are becoming a major political force.

KAGAN: And quickly, why is the office open? Where is Mayor Riordan going?

SCHNEIDER: Mayor Riordan is term-limited. He is going out of office. He has served two terms. He has endorsed a man named Steven Soboroff as his successor and Soboroff, like Riordan, has his strongest support among moderate and conservative white homeowners in Los Angeles. He is trying to reach out to white liberal viewers, and he is a Jewish candidate, and there are a lot of those liberals are Jewish. But the fact is, they seem to be preferring Villaraigosa, the Latino candidate, over Steven Soboroff, who is Jewish.

KAGAN: Interesting. We will watch for the primary tomorrow and then the run-off?

SCHNEIDER: That is exactly what we're doing.

KAGAN: Bill Schneider in L.A. It's good to see you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com