US Diplomats Meet Spy Plane Crew for Fourth TimeWith approval from the Chinese authorities, US diplomats met on Monday evening for the fourth time with the crew members of a US spy plane that landed on China's Hainan Island without permission on April 1.During the meeting, Neal Sealock, defense attache with the US embassy in Beijing, and other US diplomats talked with the 24 crew members for about 40 minutes. The crew are in good health and in high spirits, Sealock told reporters after the meeting. The crew members said they are very much satisfied with the e- mails and daily necessities passed to them by the Chinese side, Sealock added. They reported that their living quarters are very good, with air-conditioning and very clean, and they are treated kindly, Sealock said. According to Sealock, the US crew members also hope that the matter can be settled as soon as possible through efforts by the two sides. Chen Ci, head of the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Department of Hainan Province, briefed reporters on the meeting at a hotel in Haikou. "It's known to all that Hainan Island is a pleasant tourist destination and local residents are used to living in peace and tranquility," Chen said. "However, the frequent surveillance flights near the island by US military planes, and especially this collision caused by the US surveillance plane, have seriously affected the normal life of local people and had a negative impact on the tourism industry of the island province," the Chinese official added. Chen said that the local people demand that the United States stop such surveillance activities and apologize to the Chinese people for the incident. "US tourists are welcome to Hainan for sight-seeing and vocations, but certainly US spy planes are not welcome here," Chen said. Sealock and other US diplomats met the spy plane crew on April 3, April 6 and April 8. The US spy plane landed at an airport in Hainan without permission after colliding with a Chinese jet fighter on April 1. The jet fighter crashed, and the Chinese pilot is still missing. US Diplomats Meet Spy Plane Crew for Third TimeApproved by the Chinese authorities, US diplomats met, for a third time, early Sunday morning with 24 crew members of the US spy plane that landed on China's Hainan island April 1.Neal Sealock, defense attache with the US embassy in Beijing, and others visited the crew in Haikou, capital of the island province. US Diplomats Meet Spy Plane Crew for Second TimeWith the approval of the Chinese side, US diplomats in China met with crew members of the US spy plane Friday for the second time in Haikou, capital of south China's island province of Hainan.Neal Sealock, the US Embassy military attache, met with the press after the meeting. |
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