A military plane landed in Beijing this morning, carrying home
the body of Chinese UN observer Du Zhaoyu, a lieutenant colonel who
was killed last week during Israel's air raid on Lebanon.
Du's coffin, covered with the Chinese and UN flags, was carried
off the plane by eight Chinese soldiers.
Zhang Qinsheng, assistant to the chief of general staff of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and Assistant Foreign
Minister Cui Tiankai were present along with other Chinese military
and government officials.
Over 100 Chinese army officers stood at attention as Du's coffin
was carried from the plane to a hearse.
Israel pledged yesterday "100 percent" cooperation with China to
handle the aftermath of the incident.
Nadav Eshcar, political and press officer of the Israeli Embassy
in China, described Du's death as a "tragedy," for which Israel
expressed deep sorrow.
"As we have promised, we will be 100 percent cooperative to show
our goodwill in this time of hardship," he told China
Daily.
Eshcar said the Israeli government had cooperated fully with the
Chinese team that was sent to Israel last Thursday to reclaim Du's
body.
The seven-member team included Du's widow Li Lingling and
officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Peacekeeping Affairs
Office of the Ministry of National Defense.
Eshcar said the Israeli ambassador to China, Yehoyada Haim, will
attend a memorial ceremony in Beijing.
Thirty-four-year-old Du, who also left behind a one-year-old
son, died alongside three other UN observers last Wednesday, when
Israeli planes bombed their post in the town of Khiam near the
eastern end of the Israel-Lebanon border.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily August 2, 2006)