From 'regret' to 'very sorry' in war of words
The spy plane affair was a true war of words - not just a skirmish of complaints thrown across the Pacific but a pitched battle over semantics.
US President George W. Bush started the word games rolling one day after the collision when he gave his first public comments. Looking irked and puzzled, Mr Bush told reporters at the White House that he was 'troubled' by how the Chinese Government had handled the accident and demanded the crew and the EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance plane be returned 'without any further tampering'.
The tough comments drew strong reactions from the Chinese side almost immediately. Internet chatrooms were flooded with hostile anti-American remarks and the Foreign Ministry turned down an American offer to help in the search for missing pilot Wang Wei.
Then in less than 12 hours, President Jiang Zemin twice demanded a formal apology from the US and maintained the US side must 'bear full responsibility'.
The stalemate continued in the next two days. While Mr Bush reiterated it was 'time for the plane and crew to come home', Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan denounced the Americans' 'arrogant attitude'.
On April 4, the first sign of change appeared when US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed 'regret' over the missing pilot and sent a formal letter to Vice-Premier Qian Qichen.
Mr Powell's 'regret' was picked up immediately in Beijing. Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi promptly said it was a 'step in the right direction' but repeated the demand for a formal apology, or daoqian in Chinese. In the meantime, more meetings with the detained crew were arranged.
While American diplomats debated whether 'regret' was sufficient as the apology or if the daoqian demanded by the Chinese was required, the emotive word 'hostages' began seeping into Washington's political circles.
At the same time, Mr Bush followed up on Mr Powell's gesture and expressed 'regret'. That was soon followed by a letter of sympathy from the President to pilot Wang's wife.
The momentum for a diplomatic solution picked up on Sunday when Mr Powell went a small step further. In addition to 'regret', the secretary said he was 'sorry' for what had happened to Wang.
'Sorry' which can be interpreted in Chinese as closer in meaning to 'apology' than 'regret' seemed to have the desired effect. Two days later, Mr Sun welcomed it and again hailed it as another 'right step'. Moreover, Xinhua took the unusual step of reporting Mr Powell's words two days after he said them - a move that enabled China's press to report the comment on their front pages yesterday.
The word game reached its finale yesterday when US Ambassador Joseph Prueher - on behalf of the US Government - gave Mr Tang a letter saying the US was 'very sorry' for what had happened. However, it was still short of the full apology for the incident the Chinese Government had demanded.
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