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US Apologizes to Pakistan For Salala Attack

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May 2, 2012

China Demands Apology from U.S.

HONG KONG — The news broke simultaneously from both the Chinese and the Americans on Wednesday afternoon, with U.S. officials speaking to reporters on background just as Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, was issuing its own brief bulletin: Chen Guangcheng had left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing of his own accord and was getting medical treatment at a hospital in the city.

Mr. Chen, 40, a blind human rights lawyer, fled house arrest in eastern China last week, making a daring late-night escape by eluding dozens of guards and finding his way to a getaway car driven by a female accomplice. He eventually sought refuge at the U.S. Embassy.

It was not immediately clear what the terms of Mr. Chen’s departure from the embassy would be. But his wife told the BBC Wednesday afternoon that she and their two children were well. Whether American officials and diplomats had already worked out a comprehensive agreement with their Chinese counterparts also was not certain.

But the demand for an apology by the Chinese side was immediate, coming just 9 minutes after Xinhua’s initial bulletin on its English-language site.

Here is the full text of the second report from Xinhua, which moved at 3:46 p.m.:

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) — China demands the U.S. to apologize for a Chinese citizen’s entering the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry said here Wednesday.

It is informed that Chen Guangcheng, a native from Yinan County of eastern China’s Shandong Province, entered the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in late April and left of his own volition after a six-day stay in the embassy, said Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin.

“The Americans did tread on Chinese sovereignty by sneaking a Chinese national — even one who was being persecuted — into their embassy,” the China scholar David Zweig, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said in an e-mail message.

“But it would be political suicide for President Obama to issue an apology; the Republicans would eat him alive!”

“Today’s events are very surprising to me, and my initial thoughts were that the negotiations did not go well and that the demand for an apology was a result of the impasse,” said Marc Lanteigne of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center at Victoria University of Wellington.

“It would be very difficult for China to withdraw from an apology request given said request’s now-public profile, and a refusal from the United States would cause Beijing to lose face,” Mr. Lanteigne said in an e-mail.

“That said, there could be some kind of quiet arrangement being put into place, but the abrupt demand for an apology is unusual and may further complicate the bilateral economic talks later this week, which were already looking difficult.”


The Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin later expanded on Beijing’s apology demand, as quoted by Xinhua: “It should be pointed out that Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese citizen, was taken by the U.S. side to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing via abnormal means, and the Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with the move.”

It was not immediately clear what the spokesman meant by “abnormal means.”

“What the U.S. side has done has interfered in the domestic affairs of China,” Mr. Liu said, “and the Chinese side will never accept it.
“The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has the obligation to observe relevant international laws and Chinese laws, and it should not do anything irrelevant to its function.”

Mr. Chen, blinded in infancy by an untreated fever, has campaigned for years against the harsh enforcement of the state’s one-child policy in eastern China, alleging that local officials have forced thousands of people to have abortions or undergo sterilization procedures.

A 15-minute video that he recorded about the harsh treatment of him and his family while under house arrest is now available here with English subtitles. In the video, Mr. Chen appeals directly to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao for justice.
 
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Btw in Diplomacy, no one wins .. It's always a balanced act else the failure..

Considering Pakistan was dealing with America, it would have paid a dear price for the negotiations.
 
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Pakistan agrees to open supply lines after U.S. apology

AFP/Getty Images - Pakistan has agreed to open supply lines after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered an apology for the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border U.S. air assault.


By Karen DeYoung, Tuesday, July 3, 8:19 PM

Pakistan has agreed to open its border crossings to U.S. and NATO military transit to and from Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement Tuesday, ending a seven-month diplomatic standoff.

In a conversation Tuesday morning with Pakistan’s foreign minister, Clinton said, she again offered “our sincere condolences to the families” of 24 Pakistani soldiers who were killed in a cross-border U.S. air assault in November.
Pakistan agrees to open supply lines after U.S. apology - The Washington Post
 
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No, Obama will begging sorry infront of Pakistani parliament's building tomorrow. FFS, think for a while what you say for second.

BTW: Why are most Indians sounding unhappy over this development?
offcourse im happy for a settlement but wat did u gain ?

transit fees is zero now . thats y i asked their must something pakistan gained from it wat is it ?
 
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Pakistan, stung by the suspension of American military assistance last year, at first demanded a fee of $5,000 for each truck that crossed its territory from the port in Karachi to Afghanistan. Before the November attack, NATO had paid $250. Pakistan later reduced that demand to about $3,000 a truck; the United States has offered $1,000 per vehicle, although some officials say the two sides have settled for about half of that.


$500 per vehicle??:rofl:
 
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Love how the Indians (not even a third party) are being the nit picks here. !!
:lol:
 
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Its good they accepted their fault..
But i still beleive its too late already.
The internal resistance against working with USA/NATO will be too big to handle.....
 
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Its a shame that Pakistan has invented this new equation Sorry = supply, it is so automatic but insensitive that it doesn't take a time to process.

I could have absorbed the apology and then might have decided to open route in near future.

Please go easy on me I have no intention to troll.
 
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2 Key points

1. Stress on the fact that mistakes were made on both sides that lead to Salala incident
2. America is sorry for loss of life - basically a regret statement and not an Apology. Though enough for the Pakistani govt to spin some face save
3. No change in tariff being charged by Pakistan. Stays at the cost reimbursement of $ 250 per container.

Personally I am disappointed by Item 2. An apology was in order, which is the case for all blue on blue incidents.

A very accurate summation of the statement. Folks who do not have english as their 1st language may latch on to the word Sorry in the statement and mistake it for an apology without looking at the context. And may be that is the plan on the wording of this statement.. Since over 95% of Pakistanis do not have the english language skills to decipher the play on the words. At the same time Americans will have no problem in understanding the real meaning of the statement and hence this will not be taken as a sign of weakness of Obama by American voters..

Thats why they say that diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell in such a way that they start packing for the trip. And American state department seems to have pulled a fast one on Pakistan ;)
 
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Love how the Indians (not even a third party) are being the nit picks here. !!
:lol:

You trollin'? What has that got to do with the topic under discussion? Unlike how many jump onto the poverty/toilet/Hindu terrorism epicenter bandwagon, this is a legitimate defense related topic under discussion. On a public defence forum. With international members.
 
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offcourse im happy for a settlement but wat did u gain ?

transit fees is zero now . thats y i asked their must something pakistan gained from it wat is it ?
they are not stupids dear they will got other way as USA agree to pay for roads and CSF money and many more so its not just here but money is everywhere else too . if we earn 500mn from transit and they offer us 1bn$ for CSF and other funds why not ? you think pakistani gov and forces are stupid ? USA told them open it free and they said yes sir ?:lol:
 
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Well done GOP and all stake holders for making the giant say sorry for his stupid mistake .. we should further consider if we wish to accept the apology or do we need obama on cnn begging Pakistan :pakistan::usflag::yahoo:
 
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@don
leave it yar..people are too emotional in this thread to take it as fun ..i dont wanna get a ban ..i am in bus long journey ahead will die out of boredom if get a ban here ..
 
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