Rebecca MacKinnon: China says U.S. knows what actions will end standoff

Q: Yesterday U.S. officials said that the Chinese are risking "damage" to U.S.- China relations by not releasing the crew members being held in Hainan. How are Chinese officials reacting to those statements?

MacKinnon: Chinese officials today responded to those statements saying that the United States should not confuse the situation further by bringing up unrelated events. They say they believe that the United States is very clear about what it needs to do in order to resolve this crisis. They repeated their demands which they say they know the United States is very well aware of--that China requires a full apology, that it requires the United States to take full responsibility for the collision and that China is requiring an explanation from the United States to the Chinese people. So this demand continues, the Chinese government insisting they are in the right, and they are not to be blamed for problems in the relationship.

VIDEO A description of the fifth meeting between the crew and U.S. officials, from CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver by videophone Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon has more on the ongoing problems caused by the spy plane accident Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Jamie Mcintyre reports autopilot makes unlikely sudden movement by the U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver reports on the meeting live on CNN Monday morning by videophone (April 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Listen to Condoleezza Rice on CNN's "Late Edition" regarding the standoff between the United States and China Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    Audio Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson says he wants to travel to China in attempt to secure release of detained crew members 654KB/60 sec AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Rebecca McKinnon reports on comments made Tuesday by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman 986KB/1 min 31 sec AIFF or WAV sound    IN-DEPTH U.S.-China Collision: A diplomatic solution  • About freighter returning EP-3  • Look: Inside the EP-3  • Facts about the EP-3  • Map: Locating the incident  • Big picture: High stakes  • Classroom discussion guide  • Historical US-China timeline  • Whidbey arrival images  • Crew speaks out  • Crew's return images    ALSO China's military takes hard line More related stories

Q: Satellite photos show that the downed U.S. plane is flanked by a row of trucks. Many speculate that the Chinese are dismantling it. Are the Chinese commenting on what is happening with the damaged U.S. plane?

MacKinnon: They are not commenting beyond a statement made today that the plane has not been moved. The foreign ministry said that today; however, regarding any issues of equipment that may have been removed, they would not comment.

Q: Specific language seems to be so important to the Chinese in ending this situation. Is the formal apology the main sticking point for the Chinese?

MacKinnon: The Chinese government needs to be able to show the people, the public, that it has obtained some kind of apology from the United States. This is what the public has been made to expect through the media, and if the government does not get that, leaders feel that they will appear weak in the eyes of the public. And so now what needs to happen is, even though the Bush administration has said it will not apologize, an agreement needs to be worked out in which the Bush administration can claim to the public that it did not make a full apology, while the Chinese leadership can explain to their public that they did extract some concessions from the United States and win some sort of apology.

Now it seems that the sticking point on this is the language in which the way that you translate apologize into Chinese. There are several words that you can use. One word for apology in Chinese is pronounced dao qian. That word implies not only that you apologize, but that you are assuming responsibility for your actions that you are apologizing for. That is the most extreme form of apology. There is another word in Chinese for apologize, which is bao qian, which is slightly less extreme. It is an apology without assuming the same degree of responsibility. So, diplomatic observers say they believe this is one of the sticking points as the two sides try to work out an agreement. And when I asked the foreign ministry spokesman specifically today whether China is demanding that the United States use the first term, dao qian – whether China is insisting on that or whether China will accept the milder form of apology, bao qian-- the spokesman would only reply by saying, consultations are still ongoing. That appears to imply that there might be some wiggle room.

Q: When is President Jiang Zemin expected to return from his South American trip, and how active has he been in the present negotiations in abstentia?

MacKinnon: President Jiang is scheduled to return to Beijing on the 19th, so that means late next week. The Chinese authorities here we have spoken to insist that President Jiang is very much in the loop on the negotiation, that both he and Vice Premier Qian Quichen, who is the highest level Chinese level to have met President Bush to date, must sign off on any movement on the Chinese side and that the decision making is being made in the end by these two leaders. This is what we are being told. It's not clear the extent to which other leaders are involved. It does appear people do admit that even though they say that Jiang's absence is not slowing down the process, that the issue of time differences and that things need to be cleared with Vice Premier Qian and President Jiang as they travel around Latin America--the feeling is here that inevitably this must be slowing down the process somewhat.

Q: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has offered to help resolve the standoff. Have the Chinese reacted to this offer?

MacKinnon: The Chinese have said that they do not require any further assistance at this time and that the U.S. and China both feel happy with the bilateral diplomatic channels that they currently have established to deal with this crisis. They have indicated that they do not feel the need for any third party envoys to get involved.

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