Thread: U.S. Aircraft Carrier Denied Access To Hong Kong

U.S. aircraft carrier denied access to Hong Kong

Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:22pm EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page | Recommend (15) [-] Text [+]
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HONG KONG (Reuters) - China has refused permission for a U.S. aircraft carrier and accompanying vessels to visit Hong Kong for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

The Kitty Hawk group and its crew of 8,000 U.S. airmen and sailors had been expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but will now spend the holiday on the South China Sea.

Hundred of relatives of crew members of the USS Kitty Hawk had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate Thanksgiving with their loved ones. Hong Kong has been a regular port of call for U.S. sailors on "R & R" (rest and recuperation) since the Vietnam War.

The Chinese move comes as a surprise just weeks after a visit to China by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, which he said he hoped would lead to a long-term dialogue.

"At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said.

The United States was pressing China for an explanation and to reconsider its decision, she added.

There are several possible sources of discontent that may have prompted the decision -- including U.S. plans to sell Taiwan a $940 million upgrade to its missile system and a meeting last month between President George W Bush and the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader who Beijing considers a traitor.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing declined to make an immediate comment.

Last year, a Chinese submarine surfaced uncomfortably close to the Kitty Hawk near the Japanese island of Okinawa, an incident that highlighted the potential for friction between the two powers.

"The U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong is in touch with the Kitty Hawk families," said Anthony Hutchinson, a Public affairs director at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.

"I've seen some spouses and family come in, they're now sightseeing ... they'll adjust," said another U.S. consular official who asked not to be named.

The move by Beijing coincides with "airspace controls" on Wednesday which Xinhua news agency said affected the air travel plans of 7,000 people in south and east China.

The controls were introduced for "unspecified reasons".

The Kitty Hawk, laid down in 1956, has the second longest active service of any ship in the U.S. navy after the USS Constitution, a 208-year-old ceremonial sailing ship kept in Boston Harbor.

It is the only conventionally fuelled carrier in the U.S. fleet and is due to be decommissioned next year.

(Reporting by Joanne Allen, James Pomfret and Lindsay Beck; editing by Nick Macfie)

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/ ... 22&sp=true

shows just how much were are respected around the world huh?

I guess they are a little upset about the toy recalls.

Now they are mistreating our sailors and their families.

People! Stop Buying Crap from China Commies.

Stay out of the dollar stores and turn over merchanidse before you buy it. Leave the crap on the shelf and I don't care how cheep the price gets. It aint worth it!

Dixie

We should give restriction to Chinese nationals in our country. No college visas possibly? No HB1 visas from China? The list can get long!

Please consider, "Made IN China" a warning label.

Try not to buy it. Perhaps a similar item is a nickle more and purchase it. It still won't be made in the USA, but it won't be Communist Chinese.

I agree - no Chinese products - at least as far as possible and as well as we can identify them.

Originally Posted by magyart

Please consider, "Made IN China" a warning label.

Try not to buy it. Perhaps a similar item is a nickle more and purchase it. It still won't be made in the USA, but it won't be Communist Chinese.

I wholeheartedly agree! You can find wonderful gifts in antique stores, flea markets, and secondhand shops. My kids and their friends (teenagers) are really into 'vintage' these days anyway- and some of these kids are even asking their parents to stay away from the Chinese made crap!

A little of quality is better than a lot of cheap. We should learn to do with less clutter anyway it simplifies your life and makes housework easier. Less is more when you consider you're saving the environment from junk in the landfills, saving money and the obvious avoidance of 'unfriendly products'.

Our money is acceptable to them, but not our sailors.

Sounds like China is ten times more of a threat than Iran...