A year on, Beijing still groveling for comp (China)

The China Post ^ | 3 April, 2002 | AP

[batter]

More than a year after an American spy plane and a mainland Chinese fighter jet collided, Beijing is still asking Washington for compensation over the incident.

Beijing has demanded US$1 million for expenses related to housing (i.e. detaining) the U.S. Navy EP-3E and its crew, who landed on China's Hainan Island after the April 1, 2001 crash in international airspace over the South China Sea.

The 24 crew members were held against their will for 11 days while Beijing demanded an apology from Washington. The plane was eventually dismantled into pieces and flown out aboard a cargo plane at China's insistence.

Beijing rejected a U.S. offer of US$34,000 for expenses as unacceptable.

"China's position on that matter has not changed at all. China has demanded compensation from the United States, and it is a reasonable demand," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday at a regularly scheduled news conference.

The Chinese fighter plane was lost and the pilot presumed dead. Each side blamed the other for the collision, and mainland China accused the U.S. plane of violating international law by landing in its territory without permission.

The incident caused a strain in relations that took months to heal. They have since recovered some ground, with U.S. President George W. Bush visiting Beijing in February. Yet deep differences remain over Taiwan, arms proliferation, and human rights, and China's heavily protected markets.

[batter]

expenses related to housing (i.e. detaining) the U.S. Navy EP-3E and its crew

This from the AP?! I'm guessing The China Post put in some of their own lines in this. If not, I want to know who the AP writer is!

[batter]

Note to Jiang, the PRC, and the CCP:
RE: EP-3 Incedent

Nuts.

- The USA

I found this article via ChiCom Watch.

[hchutch]

Memo

From: Colin Powell, Secretary of State
To: Jaing Zemin, President, PRC
Re: Compensation Request

You'll get compensated for the lodging you gave our crew when we get compensated for the work we had to do to fix up the EP-3, as well as the cost of hiring the transport plane to haul the thing and the plane tickets for our diplomats to fly there and back to sort this whole mess out.

r/s
Colin Powell

P.S. - Rumsfeld's feeling a little touchy, and his trigger finger is getting itchy. Do you REALLY want to press this issue?

[LA-Lawyer]

As soon as the Chicoms pay for the deportation of all the illegals fleeing their country to come to the US, they can give a bill.

[HELLRAISER II]

These Yahoo's just don't know when to stop, do they? I tell you what how about we strap your money to an ICBM & send it air mail you pricks.

[Frohickey]

China is lucky that we even offered $34K. They owe us more than $1Million for the nuclear secrets that Clinton sold them. I think that they ought to call it even.

On second thought, maybe we should give them $966K worth of working nuclear bomb prototypes, of course, it would have to be armed. ;)