China refuses envoy's bid to discuss detained Japanese+

BEIJING, Sept. 27 Kyodo -
China's Foreign Ministry has turned down Japanese Ambassador Uichiro Niwa's
request for a meeting regarding four Japanese nationals detained in Hebei
Province, sources well-informed about Sino-Japanese relations said Monday.
The sources said Niwa's request Sunday for a meeting was turned down by the
Chinese side without a clear explanation.
Later Sunday, however, Hidehisa Horinouchi, a minister at the embassy, was able
to establish telephone contact with Qiu Xuejun, a deputy director general of
the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs.
According to an embassy news release, Horinouchi requested that China ensure
''continued access'' to the four through visitations by consuls and meetings
with lawyers, and that it ''swiftly handle the case from a humanitarian
viewpoint.''
In Tokyo on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara summoned Chinese
Ambassador Cheng Yonghua to his ministry and told him Japan wants an early
settlement of the issue ''from a humanitarian viewpoint,'' according to
Japanese officials.
The four men, employees of Japanese construction company Fujita Corp., have
been detained since Sept. 22 for allegedly entering a military zone on the
outskirts of Shijiazhuang without permission and videotaping facilities there.
Qiu was quoted by the Japanese Embassy as telling Horinouchi that China
guarantees the safety of the four.
But Qiu did not say when China would release them, only saying that the case
will be handled in accordance with Chinese law, the embassy said.
The Chinese official, however, said he will inform his ministry's leadership
about Japan's ''serious interest'' in the case.
Qiu added the Japanese Embassy can file requests directly to relevant
authorities in Hebei Province.
The four Japanese are Yoshiro Sasaki of Fujita's international business
department, Hiroki Hashimoto from its sales division, and Sadamu Takahashi and
Junichi Iguchi, both from a local subsidiary.
They visited the area to inspect a potential construction site for a plant that
would process chemical weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military at
the end of World War II.
China strictly controls visitors in military-related areas. While it is not
uncommon for visitors who inadvertently take photos or video to be detained,
they are usually fined and freed the same day.
Some observers suspect the Chinese action may be part of retaliatory steps
Beijing has taken against Japan over Tokyo's earlier detention of a Chinese
fishing boat captain in ship collisions near the disputed Senkaku Islands in
the East China Sea.
==Kyodo
2010-09-27 23:36:46


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next