Iraqi interim government Deputy President Rowsch Nuri Shaways
said during a meeting with Chinese Vice President Zeng
Qinghong on Thursday that he regrets the abduction of eight
Chinese citizens by militants in his country.
Shaways, on a previously scheduled visit to China, said that the
Iraqi people and government have strongly condemned the militants
for holding the Chinese from Fujian
Province.
Zeng stressed that China's leaders consider resolving the
situation a matter of great importance, and said the government and
people hope the Iraqi government will use all possible means to
assure the safety of the hostages and help reunite them with their
families.
Jia
Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), expressed
similar wishes in a meeting with Shaways.
Shaways, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, is one of
two deputy presidents of the interim government of Iraq, which is
preparing for national elections on January 30. He arrived in
Beijing on Wednesday for a five-day working visit.
Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing said the government is working day and night on the
hostage issue. "Every hour, we are in contact with our embassy in
Baghdad," he stated.
In Iraq, the Chinese Embassy is in constant touch with the Iraq
Muslim Presbytery, which assisted in securing the release of seven
Chinese hostages last April.
Chinese officials also visited the presbytery's chairman, Harih
Al-Dhari, requesting his assistance in locating the hostages and
appealing to the kidnappers for their release.
The kidnappers have demanded the Chinese government clarify its
position on Iraq as a condition for the hostages' freedom.
Arab TV stations and websites on Wednesday broadcast the stance
of the Chinese government on Iraq and its people after a press
conference held by Chinese Ambassador Yang Honglin on Tuesday
evening.
The pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel, which showed a videotape of
the eight Chinese flanked by masked gunmen, also aired an interview
with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said on Thursday that there
was nothing new to report on the status of the hostages, but
reiterated that all government departments were doing their utmost
to secure their release.
(China Daily, China.org.cn January 21, 2005)