MH370: China calls families of passengers ‘radical and extreme’
Weeks of vitriol, conspiracy theories and an informal travel boycott directed at Malaysia by Chinese people upset over the lost jetliner have prompted Beijing to move into damage control to protect the countries' normally friendly relations.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on March 8, carrying mostly Chinese passengers, pitching Kuala Lumpur into a high-profile, unprecedented and so far unsuccessful search for the jet.
Facing frustration at home, the Chinese government was forced to take up its citizens' case with Kuala Lumpur, publicly calling on the government to share more information and speed up the search. That upset many in Malaysia, the government included.
Now Beijing is distancing itself from the shriller criticisms, highlighting the delicate line it must walk in supporting the families without inflicting lasting damage to relations with an important neighbor.
A relative of Chinese passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines plane breaks down as she protests outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, China. Photo: AP.
Speaking to Malaysian reporters, Chinese Ambassador Huang Huikang called some of the relatives' viewpoints "radical," "extreme," "somewhat irresponsible" and not representative of China's view. He emphatically stated Beijing's support for Malaysia's handling of the crisis.
"We never said China was angry about the current situation and we never said we were dissatisfied about the progress so far that has been made," Huang said. "We are good friends. We are partners. This is just an incident which will never affect our good relations."
Officials have warned that the investigation may never answer why the Boeing 777 vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, 153 of them Chinese. A dearth of information has plagued investigators from the moment the plane's transponders, which make the plane visible to commercial radar, were shut off early in the flight.
A relative of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 protests after Malaysian government representatives leave after a briefing in Beijing, China. Photo: AP.
The Chinese relatives have become the human face of the tragedy, their anguish and despair over the uncertain fate of their loved ones illustrating the emotional toll of the plane's disappearance.
That despair has sometimes turned into anger, with family members tossing water bottles at the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing during a rally last week, heckling Malaysian officials as "liars" and staging walk-outs from meetings. Anger has spilled over to the wider public, with celebrities criticising Malaysia and travel companies announcing boycotts of Malaysia Airlines flights.
An American woman whose boyfriend was on the missing plane said the way some Chinese relatives were campaigning was not helpful.
Sarah Bajc, an expatriate teacher, said pressuring Malaysia to devote staffers and resources to the Chinese relatives "is like having baby sitters for a bunch of spoiled brats throwing a tantrum."
"All the Chinese are doing is hurting themselves," she said. "They're interfering with the investigation. They're losing face. They're losing confidence in front of the world's eyes."
The Chinese relatives have become the human face of the tragedy, their anguish and despair over the uncertain fate of their loved ones illustrating the emotional toll the plane’s disappearance is taking. Photo: AP.
Malaysia's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has responded to the Chinese criticism and the relatives' outpouring of anger by defending his country's efforts, saying history would judge the country well, as well as with reminders that 50 Malaysians also were on the missing plane.
China's Communist Party leaders need to show they can protect their citizens both at home and abroad, and the government has been eager to show support for Chinese relatives of passengers, no matter how shrill their criticism and accusations toward Malaysia.
At the same time, the government has sought to maintain its good ties with Malaysia, endorsing the Southeast Asian nation's leadership of the search and pledging Beijing's help with ships, planes and satellites.
The tragedy has "caused a strong backlash among the Chinese public who are displeased that the Malaysian government and airline have not performed their duties properly," said Zhao Gancheng, director of Southeast Asian Center of Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies.
"But the Chinese government does not want this accident to affect the bilateral relationship. That's the bottom line."
There's been a lot of anger in China with family members tossing water bottles at the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing during a rally, heckling Malaysian officials as “liars” and staging walk-outs from meetings. Photo: AP.
Many Chinese relatives are skeptical of accounts by the Malaysian government and have accused it of hiding the truth or even being involved with the plane's disappearance. They were also infuriated when Malaysia concluded without any physical evidence that the jet went down in the Indian Ocean.
Malaysia has been largely patient and accommodating of the Chinese relatives' requests, hosting scores of family members in hotels in Beijing and near Kuala Lumpur and organising high-level briefings with experts for them, most recently on Wednesday. Still, many relatives are unsatisfied.
"The Malaysian government has been hiding and not forthcoming. They don't even have a direction (in which to search). How can we expect them to find the wreckage?" Jane Bai, whose mother was on the plane, said in Beijing after Wednesday's briefing.
In China, people are generally distrustful of authority and more prone to believe conspiracy theories, or that people in charge are hiding things, said Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
"My view is that so much time has passed, they should cool down a little and deal with it more calmly and not just put this kind of pressure on the other side," Zhan said.
Malaysia PM 'will not rest' until MH370 answers found
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak vowed Thursday "we will not rest" until the fate of flight MH370 is known, as Australia called it "the most difficult search in human history".
Najib toured the military base in Perth being used as a staging post in the hunt for the Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 people that is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.
"We want to find answers. We want to provide comfort to the families and we will not rest until answers are indeed found," Najib said, as he thanked those involved in the eight-nation search.
Despite extensive scouring of the remote southern Indian Ocean, no debris that would indicate a crash site has been found, with time running out to locate the plane's "black box" which only emits a signal for around 30 days.
Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein gestures as he answers queries from reporters during a press conference for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AP.
Najib admitted the exhaustive hunt for the Boeing 777 that vanished on March 8 was a "gargantuan task", but said he was confident that "in due time we will provide a closure to this event, on this tragedy".
Kuala Lumpur's response has been widely criticised, especially by distraught relatives of the 153 Chinese nationals aboard.
Najib left without taking questions, as a reporter called out a query about Malaysia's handling of the crisis.
Adding to the frustration for families affected, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Wednesday a criminal investigation into what caused the flight to veer from its intended route between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing had so far been inconclusive.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, right, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak talk during their meeting at the Commonwealth Parliament Offices in Perth. Photo: AP.
In contrast, Australia's mobilisation since it was handed increased responsibility in the search effort has been praised.
Australia has far more experience than Malaysia of rescue operations, routinely monitoring huge tracts of ocean, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the current search was the toughest ever.
"Every day, working on the basis of just small pieces of information, we are putting the jigsaw together. And every day we have a higher degree of confidence that we know more about what happened to this ill-fated flight," he said.
"It is a very difficult search, the most difficult in human history, but as far as Australia is concerned we are throwing everything we have at it."
- International cooperation -
Eight nations, many of whom do not normally work together, have rallied to look for clues in the Indian Ocean to one of the greatest aviation mysteries the world has seen.
Both Najib and Abbott hailed the "truly remarkable" cooperation between Australia, Britain, China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea and the United States.
"It shows what we can do, and if anyone would ever be unhappy or distraught about the prospects for international peace and harmony, this operation is a marvellous antidote to pessimism," said Abbott.
A British nuclear submarine with underwater search capabilities on Wednesday joined planes and ships scouring the vast oceanic search zone, but again nothing was reported found.
Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre, which is directing the search, said eight planes and nine ships were involved Thursday as they further refined the search area, moving it to west north-west of Perth.
Australia's Ocean Shield naval vessel, which is fitted with a US-supplied "black box" detector, is due to arrive in the area Friday. But without a confirmed crash site, hopes of finding the device are slim.
- Passengers cleared of suspicion -
Malaysian police chief Khalid on Wednesday said all 227 passengers had been "cleared" of suspicion, as authorities probe a possible hijack or sabotage plot.
Police are still investigating the backgrounds of the plane's 12 crew, as well as ground staff and flight engineers.
Authorities still have no idea how or why the plane vanished, and warn that unless the black box is found, the mystery may never be solved.
The battery-powered signal from the black box -- which records flight data and cockpit voice communications -- is expected to expire within days.
On Wednesday, Malaysian officials sought to explain to sceptical relatives their conclusion -- based on complex satellite data -- that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean.
Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion's captain, Wing Comdr. Rob Shearer watches out of the window of his aircraft while searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Photo: AP.
That determination has outraged some families who say wreckage must first be recovered.
"I know that until we find the plane, many families cannot start to grieve," Najib said.
"I cannot imagine what they must be going through. But I can promise them that we will not give up."
Ties between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur suffered a further blow Thursday after a Chinese tourist was kidnapped from a Malaysian diving resort by gunmen.
China's foreign ministry pressed Malaysia to make an "all-out effort" to rescue the woman -- a Filipina resort worker also was abducted -- and to take steps to ensure the safety of Chinese tourists.
