Same situation, too...weak-assed Dem in office with no stomach for dealing with it.
Get Dubya on the job-he'll write two apologies and send them a fuckload of cash. Worked with China...
The Washington Post On April 11th, 2001
BEIJING In the end, it was a matter of what the United States chose to say and what China chose to hear.
The letter that U.S. Ambassador Joseph Prueher handed to Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan yesterday asked Tang to "convey to the Chinese people and to the family of pilot Wang Wei that we are very sorry for their loss."
And it said, "We are very sorry the entering of China"s airspace and the landing did not have verbal clearance."
The word "apology" did not appear in the English-language document handed to Tang.
But in announcing the U.S. move and describing the letter to the Chinese people, China chose to translate the double "very sorry" as "shenbiao qianyi," which means "a deep expression of apology or regret."
In addition to paying for the dismantling and shipping of the EP-3, the United States paid for the 11 days of food and lodging supplied by the Chinese government to the aircraft's crew, in the amount of $34,000. The Chinese had demanded one million dollars compensation from the U.S. for the lost J-8 and their pilot, but this was declined and no further negotiations were held. One Republican congressman, Tom DeLay, described the episode as "communist piracy"
