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CNN Saturday Morning News

Diplomatic Missions Continue Between U.S., China

Aired April 07, 2001 - 09:02   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with our top story, the U.S.-China standoff. It's become a high-stakes diplomatic word game, and so far, just the right words have eluded both sides.

The Bush administration has expressed optimism that an agreement is close, but China is continuing with its demand for an apology.

For the latest on the negotiations, here's our John King, senior White House correspondent. Hi, John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

A waiting game at the moment. We are waiting for the diplomatic discussions to resume. The last meeting we know of about nine hours ago now in Beijing between the U.S. ambassador to China and a top foreign ministry official. So we're waiting for those discussions to resume and told there may be more here in Washington later today.

Also waiting for U.S. diplomats to get their third meeting with those 24 crew members now held for nearly a week on Hainan Island, China. We're told that meeting expected to take place, but at least as of a few moments ago had not taken place yet today.

We did see yesterday the first picture of the crew since they have been held there in Hainan Island. Eleven members of the -- 11 of the 24 in this picture, and we're told that after each meeting, the U.S. diplomats who come out, one of them is a brigadier general, Mr. Sealock, he's the military attache, he phones the president here at the White House. We also were released to us yesterday a photograph of the president as part of that discussion.

And we're also told that when they go in to meet with the crew members, they are bringing in toiletries, some communications from family members back home, all of this part of the U.S. effort to help those crew members during this ordeal.

Now, the big item, of course, are the diplomatic discussions. And we do know, as you mentioned, there is a letter being circulated, drafts of a letter. Each side has a version of it in which they're trying to reach, quote, "a common understanding" on this. We're told that in that letter, the U.S. is willing to voice regret for the collision, but the big sticking point still remains the Chinese side wants an apology, the U.S. side is not willing to do that -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: John, back to the crew members for a moment. I understand the diplomats are getting ready for the third visit, and they're doing shopping for them. What exactly are they bringing to the crew members? And are they just checking the conditions and making sure they're OK? Is that the purpose of these visits?

KING: Most of it is just to give them some messages from back home, give them messages from the president, bring them letters from their family members, bring them anything they might need in terms of just personal care items that they might want, and just to give them some people to talk to. These crew members obviously have been held. It's a Chinese military guest house, we're told, two to a room, with the exception of the pilot. At least as of yesterday, he was still being held the whole -- held by himself. And the three women in that crew were sharing a room.

But it's a chance for U.S. officials basically to go in and update the crew members on how all this is playing out, as well as just to check in to make sure their spirits are up.

PHILLIPS: All right, John King, live from the White House, thanks so much -- Brian.

BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: A military base on China's Hainan Island has become the focal point of a diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Washington. For China, regrets over the collision of a Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter do not appear to be enough.

CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon says that China is looking for a formal U.S. apology.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The tears of a woman who fears she may never see her husband again. Her letter to U.S. President Bush on the front page of China's newspapers, in which she called him "apathetic" and "a coward" because he would not apologize for what happened to Wang Wei.

President Bush, shown in this popular Beijing newspaper looking down as he expressed regret for the accident. And now, China's vice premier, Qian Qichen, accompanying President Jiang Zemin in Latin America, says that's still unacceptable. He has replied to the letter of regret from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who he met in Washington last month.

Chen insists the U.S. must apologize to the Chinese people. He says, quote, "This is of utmost importance in solving the problem."

Yet there does appear to have been some diplomatic progress, with U.S. officials on Hainan Island gaining further access to the crew members. And on Saturday, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher continued his intense negotiations despite the fact that the U.S. has said flat out it will not apologize.

JOSEPH PRUEHER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: We're in good communication with the Chinese. We're negotiating. It's at a sensitive stage. And I think we're making progress.

MACKINNON: But many ordinary Chinese believe the time has not yet come to release the U.S. crew. This man says, "Bush's regret means nothing." "I don't think the Chinese government should release the crew without an apology," says this woman. "At least we should arrest the American pilot who knocked down our plane and try him here in China."

Observers say such public sentiment, echoed widely in the Chinese media, has put a great deal of pressure on Chinese leaders.

JIN CANRONG, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (through translator): The Chinese government is severely restrained by domestic politics, especially because the Communist Party is facing a power transition. This makes it even harder for Chinese leaders to make decisions. In a sensitive period like this, they cannot afford to make a mistake.

MACKINNON (on camera): As one observer puts it, China's government is something like a corporate board of directors. Chinese President Jiang Zemin will not be able to sign off on the final agreement with the United States without a consensus in the Communist Party Politburo.

Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NELSON: The second Chinese fighter pilot who intercepted the EP- 3E says that the U.S. Navy spy plane caused the in-flight collision over the South China Sea, and the United States, of course, disagrees.

For more now from the Pentagon, we have our national correspondent Eileen O'Connor standing by. Eileen?

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the Pentagon officials are not reacting specifically to what the Chinese pilot said. They're not trying to inflame the situation. The Chinese pilot, though, said that the EP-3 actually made a wide maneuver and turned into the F-8, the fighter plane of Wang Wei, the Chinese pilot that is now missing.

U.S. officials do note, though, that they knew Wang Wei as a pilot who flew dangerously close to earlier surveillance planes. In fact, sources say, there is a photo of Wang Wei which actually shows him holding up a sign that you can actually read an e-mail address on, he was that close. This was a photo taken by a cockpit crew of an earlier EP-3 surveillance flight.

In fact, U.S. military officials had actually complained to Chinese officials earlier this year about those kinds of tactics.

Also, U.S. officials note that, you know, with the rules of the road, if you will, in air space mean that the heavier, less maneuverable EP-3 is the one to watch out for. The F-8, which is much lighter and more maneuverable and faster, should be watching out for any movements of the EP-3 and adjusting accordingly in these kinds of intercepts.

In addition, the damage to the airplane on the underside, mainly, according to Pentagon officials, to them shows that the F-8 was flying much more beneath the EP-3. But they say there are many, many scenarios flying in there, saying that basically they can't tell you what happened until they get to talk to the crew, more, and get some of these questions answered as to their version of events.

They're hoping to get some of those questions answered in this meeting that is scheduled for later today. So far, though, they're very happy, officials are, that there are more meetings, and they say the more the better. But as the Pentagon spokesman, Admiral Quigley, said, the sooner they get released, the better still.

And the former secretary of defense, William Cohen, says the sooner this whole thing is resolved, the better it will be for everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This is an accident, and as President Bush has said, let's see if we can resolve it before it turns into an international incident. And all of the complications and controversy that can generate.

I think it's in the interests of both of our countries to deal with this very quickly and professionally and diplomatically and not, again, escalate the rhetoric or try to characterize it in ways that become more difficult to resolve later on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'CONNOR: Right now, Pentagon officials, of course, are waiting for word of that meeting that is scheduled to take place. They're hoping that they will be able to have a little more time to ask some of these important questions that they do need answers to before, though, these past two meetings have been very tightly controlled, that they are happy that they have been able to ascertain that the crew is in good shape -- Brian?

NELSON: Eileen, can I ask you a question that'll help clear up a point? In the last meeting, the second meeting, which was the last one, with the crew members, U.S. officials managed to spend an hour with the crew members without the presence of Chinese officials. It's natural, I think, to assume, then, that they would have had some indication from the crew of what exactly happened in midair.

Are you saying that that never came up? Or are they just tending not to want to reveal the crew's response so as not to inflame the situation?

O'CONNOR: They're basically not telling us what the crew has been saying about the mishap. And also, you know, there's other questions that they also want answered, how far in the destruct procedures did they get? Pentagon officials had been told from an earlier meeting that the crew had said, in effect, that they had done what they had to do, so they're assuming that much of that sensitive equipment that was on board has been destroyed.

That's another very important question. So right now, we don't know what the answers are to those questions. They're not sharing with us. And as you said, very likely that that is because they don't want to inflame the situation. So they're just letting it play out.

And you know, one of the proposals that the United States has is let's have a joint U.S..-Chinese investigation of this, and let's set up a parameter in which we can exchange some of these explanations. So I'm sure that's one of the things they're waiting for -- Brian.

NELSON: All right, thanks. Eileen O'Connor at the Pentagon.

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