Powell promises a `thorough' probe into beating case (Xinhua) Updated: 2004-07-30 01:14
US Secretary of State Colin Powell promised in a letter to his Chinese
counterpart Li Zhaoxing that the United States government would thoroughly
investigate the beating case of a Chinese citizen Zhao Yan according to US laws.
In a letter that Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing received Thursday,
Powell said he felt deeply disturbed when he learned of the mistreatment that
Chinese citizen Zhao Yan underwent at the hands of US Customs and Border
Protection officers.
Powell said that the accused officer has been suspended from his post and
detained on charges of felony assault, pledging that the US government would
continue its thorough investigation.
Zhao Yan, a Chinese business woman from Tianjin, was on her first US business
trip when she was attacked at Niagara Falls near the US-Canadian border on July
21 by US Customs and Border Protection police. The attack came in disregard of
all normal procedures.
Zhao said she had a broken tooth and severe back pain, which forced her to
ride in a wheelchair. Because of sharp physical pain and mental trauma caused by
the beating, she could "barely sleep two to three hours a day."
Zhao's experience has drawn much attention from the Chinese government and
media. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Monday urged the US government
through a telephone conversation with Powell to carry out a thorough
investigation into the attack.
Those responsible for the incident should receive legal punishment, Li said.
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