A six-member team left for
Israel yesterday to handle the aftermath of the death of Chinese UN observer Du
Zhaoyu, who was killed in an Israeli air raid on a UN post in south Lebanon a
day earlier.
The team, consisting of personnel from the Foreign Ministry and the
Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defence, will escort
Du's remains back home in a few days.
Du's wife Li Lingling, who is also with the PLA, accompanied the team.
According to sources with the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon, Du's body has been
sent to the UN headquarters in Israel and the Chinese diplomatic mission there
is liaising with Israeli authorities.
Du, 34, was a lieutenant-colonel in the People's Liberation Army (PLA); and
was sent to Lebanon last December as a UN observer.
An Israeli bomb destroyed the UN observer post on Lebanon's southern border
on Tuesday, killing four UN observers. The other three were from Austria, Canada
and Finland.
Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan called for efforts to prevent similar
accidents from happening again.
Cao and Liang Guanglie, chief of the PLA general staff, expressed deep
condolences over Du's death and utmost sympathy for his family.
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Wednesday described Du and his three UN
colleagues as "outstanding sons of their countries."
Li said their blood should not be shed in vain, nor should people in the
Middle East shed more blood.
In Du's hometown of Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, his
former teachers and schoolmates grieved his death.
Yin Ning, Du's high school classmate, described him as a sincere friend who
was always helpful to others.
All his schoolmates burst into tears when they learned about his death, Yin
said.
"Du is the pride of not only his parents, but also the entire neighbourhood,"
said Wang Xiaoyun, a colleague of Du's father.
