Ray Suarez reports on the events leading to the release of the American surveillance aircraft crew from Chinese custody. The initial announcement came at around 6 in the morning East Coast time from Beijing.
TV anchors read a government statement in Mandarin, then in English.
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said that China has decided to release the 24 crew members of the U.S. Spy plane after they complete necessary procedures. Tang Jiaxuan announced this after receiving the letter from the U.S. Government saying it was very sorry for the collision incident. The Foreign Minister pointed out that the release of the crew members was not the end of the case and say the two sides will continue negotiations on the matter and other related issues. Tang Jiaxuan repeated China's position that the U.S. must take full responsibility for the incident, provide convincing explanation to the Chinese people, stop its reconnaissance activities above the Chinese coast and take measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. An hour later, a Chinese representative on Hainan Island added to the official explanation.