Boy the Chinese know when to fold; the thought of Jesse Jackson coming to China was just too much - and Clinton as backup man? Diplomacy is like, never having to say I apologize - but I am sorry will suffice....all save face - no Hari Kari (Chinese do they do this) and our 24 returns home - eveybody Happy - and Jesse can go back into retreat. Wonder what that pilot and co pilot were doing when they were on automatic pilot - reading novels in the John? Saba China says it will free U.S. crew U.S. says it's 'very sorry' for Chinese pilot's death, violation of sovereignty when U.S. plane landedApril 11 -- NBC's Ned Colt reports that China has agreed to release the crew of a U.S. reconnaissance plane. MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS April 11 � China said Wednesday it would free the detained crew of a U.S. spy plane after receiving a letter from President Bush saying he was "very sorry" that an American spy plane was forced to land in Chinese territory after a crash that apparently killed one of China's fighter pilots. U.S. officials confirmed the deal and told NBC News that a plane would leave Guam shortly to retrieve the 24 Americans, who have been held in China for 11 days. 'The U.S. ambassador has received verbal assurances from the Chinese government that the air crew will be allowed to leave promptly.' � WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT THE FATE of the high-tech EP-3E spy plane was not immediately clear, although Chinese officials indicated they still needed to conduct a lengthy investigation. U.S. officials had previously said they expected the aircraft to be returned. The wording of the letter from Bush will allow officials in both countries to claim victory after the 11-day diplomatic standoff, with China portraying it as the apology it had demanded and the United States saying it was not, Pentagon sources told NBC News. Chen Ci, a Foreign Ministry spokesman on Hainan Island, where the crew was being detained, said that U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher delivered the letter Wednesday afternoon to the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying the U.S. government was "very sorry" about the incident. Advertisement "Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss," Chen said. He said the letter goes on to say that Washington is "very sorry the entering of China's airspace and landing did not have verbal clearance." The American letter also expressed appreciation for "China's efforts to see to the well being" of the crew, he said. 'VERBAL ASSURANCES' FROM CHINA The White House issued a statement saying, "The U.S. ambassador has received verbal assurances from the Chinese government that the air crew will be allowed to leave promptly." Bush was to make a statement at the White House within the hour. The 21 men and three women have been held on Hainan island in the South China Sea for 11 days. They made an emergency landing on Hainan after their U.S. Navy EP-3E surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet, which crashed at sea, apparently killing the pilot. U.S.-China face off�Latest news�WashPost: Detainees develop a routine�Newsweek: Special report�Newsweek: Crash in clouds�Crew of the U.S. plane�Opinions: Diplomacy tips�China's military: MSNBC special report�NBC: Was pilot top gun?�Interactive: China's military�What's your opinion? Sound off on our BBS Pentagon officials said that Chinese objected to the use of a military aircraft to retrieve the crew, so the U.S. was dispatching a commercial charter from Guam. The plane will carry specialists who will begin debriefing the crew on the return flight and psychologists for possible counseling, the officials said. After retrieving the crew, the charter will return to Guam to be refueled, but the crew will likely remain on the plane until it arrives in Hawaii, they said. The crew will spend several days there "decompressing" and being debriefed about the accident, the landing and their incarceration. China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said the crew was being released on "humanitarian grounds" and expressed hope that the dispute would not damage relations between the two governments. "China puts great importance on its relations with the United States," Tang said. Tang urged Washington to cooperate in settling the dispute, and to do nothing that would damage relations between the two governments. U.S. OFFERS EXPRESSION OF REGRET The compromise language that cleared the way for the release of the crew was hammered out Tuesday. The letter also notes that while the U.S. plane violated Chinese sovereignty, it was crippled by the crash, was flying under a mayday signal and had to make an emergency landing. Bush's expression for the U.S. plane landing on Chinese soil was part of a larger U.S. proposal offered to Beijing several days ago, with no immediate response, officials said. At only his second news briefing since opening the trip last Thursday in Chile, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said China's position was "sufficiently clear" as he stood by demands that the United States apologize for the downing of the Chinese jet April 1. The pilot is missing and feared dead. Jiang's response to a question about the stalemate was terse. When asked what the key to finding a way out was, he alluded to his repeated demands for a U.S. apology. "Our position on this issue is sufficiently clear," said Jiang, adding that he had already spoken about China's demands during his last news conference, Thursday in Santiago, Chile. In Washington, President Bush counseled patience in the standoff, saying "diplomacy sometimes takes a little longer than people would like" but also again demanding the U.S. crew's release. INCREASED POLITICAL PRESSURE Bush's plea for patience came amid increased pressure from both ends of the political spectrum to bring the 24-member crew home without major capitulation to China. The president also was confronted by a politically tricky offer by the Rev. Jesse Jackson to visit China to try to win the crew's release. Earlier, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he had phoned the leader of the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and told him that while the administration appreciates his offer of help, it will continue to work through diplomatic channels. Powell, meanwhile, went ahead Tuesday with a trip to Europe, including a stop in Paris, on his way to the Balkans. He said he planned to keep in close touch with Bush and other top advisers, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. U.S. PLANE ON AUTOPILOT? Should Congress move to block China's entry into the World Trade Organization? Yes. No. Vote to see results Even as the diplomatic efforts continued apace, Pentagon officials on Tuesday were leaking details of the April 1 collision between the U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet that amounted to the strongest challenge yet to Beijing's account. Senior Pentagon officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity quoted a State Department cable reporting the pilot said the plane was on autopilot at the time of the collision. Officials offered this new information as more proof for their argument that the U.S. spy plane was flying straight and steady, not deviating in speed, altitude or direction. China has said the U.S. plane swerved into the fighter jet. A Pentagon official speaking on condition of anonymity also said the crew has reported that the Chinese jet made two close passes � coming within a few feet of the U.S. plane � before the collision. The pilot of a second Chinese fighter who witnessed the accident has said the pilot of the Navy plane caused the accident by suddenly swerving into the path of the jets. FIFTH MEETING WITH CREW U.S. diplomats led by U.S. Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock met with crew members for the fifth time on Tuesday night, the 10th day of the crew's detention, on China's Hainan island. Sealock said the detained crew members remain in high spirits and were exercising and getting regular news reports and e-mails from home. The resolution of the standoff comes amid growing signs of impatience in the United States. Conservatives had stepped up their anti-China rhetoric and begun to question Bush's handling of the situation in recent days. Criticism of Bush's go-slow approach also began to surface outside his party. This page is too big to be shown completely.
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