Following is the text of a letter formed by
Chinese and
American diplomats after days of intense
negotiation to find a wording that would please both sides.
Dear Mr. Minister,
On behalf of the United States Government, I now
outline steps to resolve this issue.
Both President Bush and Secretary
of State Powell have expressed their
sincere regret over your missing pilot and aircraft.
Please convey to the Chinese people and to the family of
the pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their
loss.
Although the full picture of what transpired is still
unclear, according to our information, our severely
crippled aircraft made an emergency landing after
following international emergency procedures. We are very
sorry the entering of China's airspace and the landing
did not have verbal clearance, but very pleased the crew
landed safely. We appreciate China's efforts to see to the
well-being of our crew.
In view of the tragic incident and based on my discussions with your representative, we have agreed to the following actions:
Both sides agree to hold a meeting to discuss the incident. My government understands and expects that our aircrew will be permitted to depart China as soon as possible.
The meeting would start April 18, 2001.
The meeting agenda would include discussion of the cause of the incident, possible recommendations whereby such collisions could be avoided in the future, development of a plan for prompt return of the EP-3 aircraft, and other related issues. We acknowledge your government's intention to raise U.S. reconnaissance missions near China in the meeting.
Sincerely,
Joseph W. Prueher
The interesting thing about the wording of this letter is the Chinese
spin on it. The U.S. used the terms
wan xi and
feichang baoqian in their Chinese
translation of the letter, which both involve sorrow and regret, without being
the ultimate apology. They expressed regret, but didn't take
blame for the collision. The translation the
Chinese government released to the public used the term
shenbiao qianyi, the formal term they had been calling for from the beginning, which does carry the weight of responsibility for the
accident.
The press has likened this to
President Nixon's agreement with China over
Taiwan. The U.S. "acknowledged" China and
Taiwan as a single entity, but the
Chinese spin said that the U.S. "
accepted" the relationship.