Xi sends special envoy to Kuala Lumpur
Print Edition
CHINA has demanded that Malaysia turn over the satellite data it used to conclude that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went down in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors after turning back from its flight path to Beijing on March 8.
Meanwhile, Chinese relatives, furious that Malaysia had declared their loved ones lost without any physical evidence, marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, where they threw plastic water bottles, tried to rush the gate and chanted: “Liars!”
Among the flight’s 239 passengers, 154 were Chinese nationals, making the incident a highly emotional one for China, and the government’s demand reflected the desire among many relatives of passengers for more conclusive information on the plane’s fate.
Nearly 100 relatives and their supporters marched to the embassy in the morning, wearing white T-shirts that read “Let’s pray for MH370” as they held banners and chanted for three hours before ending their protest.
“Tell the truth! Return our relatives!” they shouted. There was a heavy police presence at the embassy and a brief scuffle when some relatives tried to get past police to approach journalists. The group presented a letter of protest to the embassy before leaving in several buses.
Many of the relatives maintain they are not being told the whole truth. Though some have expressed resignation that their relatives probably are dead, they have accused Malaysian authorities of dragging their feet and withholding information early in the search, when there might have been some chance to save the plane.
“I want the truth, and I believe they have been hiding some information from us,” said Wang Zhen, whose parents were on board the aircraft. “It remains an enigma as to what happened after the plane turned around. What happened when the plane continued to fly?
“I am still hoping for my parents’ return, even though I understand the probability is very, very low,” Wang said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is sending a vice foreign minister to Kuala Lumpur as his special envoy to deal with the matter of the missing plane, Xinhua news agency reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng told Malaysia’s ambassador to Beijing that China wanted to know what exactly led to Monday night’s announcement that the plane had been lost.
“We demand the Malaysian side make clear the specific basis on which they come to this judgment,” Xie was quoted as telling Datuk Iskandar Bin Sarudin in a report on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
There was no immediate response from the Malaysian side.
Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it was doing everything possible to help the families and defended itself against criticism over how it informed them about the government’s conclusion that no one on board the aircraft was still alive. Some relatives were told by text message.
“Our sole and only motivation last night was to ensure that in the incredibly short amount of time available to us, the families heard the tragic news before the world did,” CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said.
“We know that while there have been an increasing number of apparent leads, definitive identification of any piece of debris is still missing. It is impossible to predict how long this will take,” he said. “But after 17 days, the announcement made last night and shared with the families is the reality which we must now accept.”
Monday’s announcement sparked mournful, angry and chaotic scenes at the Beijing hotel where many relatives had gathered. Around 2am yesterday, a group of family members read out a statement accusing Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government and military of procrastination and a coverup.
Nan Jinyan, sister-in-law of passenger Yan Ling, said she suspected Malaysian authorities knew for a long time that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean. “I feel like they are toying with human lives,” Nan said. “What else can be more important than human lives?”
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