China's quarantine measures "proper and necessary"

Chinese ambassador to Mexico Yin Hengmin (R) says good-bye to Chinese

citizens waiting for boarding at Benito Juarez international airport in

Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 5, 2009. A total of 79 Chinese citizens

left Mexico City early Tuesday aboard a chartered flight sent by the Chinese

government. The plane took off from Mexico City, heading towards Tijuana,

northern Mexico, to lift 20 more Chinese before returning to China.

(Xinhua/David De la Paz)
Photo Gallery>>>

BEIJING, May 5 -- China and Mexico Monday agreed to
send chartered flights to each other's countries to fetch their citizens,
dampening a row that stemmed from Beijing's quarantine of Mexican nationals

in
the country amid the global H1N1 flu outbreak.

On Sunday, China Southern Airlines canceled a
chartered flight meant to pick up more than 200 Chinese citizens stranded in
Mexico as it could not secure landing permission from Mexican airports.

The plane finally left Guangzhou for Mexico City at
10 p.m. Monday and is expected to return to Shanghai at 9 am Wednesday, the
airline said.

The Mexican government Monday accused China of singling out its citizens

for forced isolation despite the fact they showed no symptoms of the virus.



A Chinese citizen waits for boarding at Benito Juarez international airport

in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 5, 2009. A total of 79 Chinese

citizens left Mexico City early Tuesday aboard a chartered flight sent by the

Chinese government. The plane took off from Mexico City, heading towards

Tijuana, northern Mexico, to lift 20 more Chinese before returning to China.

(Xinhua/David De la Paz)
Photo Gallery>>>



A Mexican embassy official said that there were
nearly 70 Mexicans quarantined across China - in Beijing, Shanghai and
Guangzhou.

Some had traveled to China aboard the same flight
that carried an infected Mexican man - Asia's first confirmed H1N1 flu case -
who is now in a Hong Kong hospital.

Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa called
China's actions "unjustified" and warned Mexicans against visiting China.

China rejected the charge, saying it was not
discriminating against Mexicans and called for Mexico to be "objective and
calm."

"The measures are not targeted at Mexican citizens,
and are not discriminatory. This is purely a question of health inspection

and
quarantine," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Monday.

"China understands the Mexican side's concern for the rights and

interests of its citizens in China, and hopes to jointly address the epidemic

situation," he said.



Chinese citizens wait for boarding at Benito Juarez international airport in

Mexico City, capital of Mexico, May 5, 2009. A total of 79 Chinese citizens

left Mexico City early Tuesday aboard a chartered flight sent by the Chinese

government. The plane took off from Mexico City, heading towards Tijuana,

northern Mexico, to lift 20 more Chinese before returning to China.

(Xinhua/David De la Paz)
Photo Gallery>>>



The WHO's representative in China, Hans Troeddson,
said Monday the measures taken by Beijing are proper and do not violate
current regulations.

"It's really up to each country and should be in
accordance with their own regulations and legislation on public health and
protection of the population," he said.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned medical expert and member
of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, also defended the quarantine measures.

Medical circles are still unclear over the pathology
of the H1N1 virus, he said. "We're not sure whether H1N1 carriers transfer

the
virus before showing symptoms," Zhong said.

As such, quarantine for a certain period is necessary
to check whether those monitored are infected, he said.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations
at Renmin University of China, said Mexican authorities' criticism of China's
quarantine moves could slightly affect their relations.

"If the flu had broken out in China and other
countries had taken similar action, I don't think Beijing would have
complained," he said, pointing out that China has also quarantined its own
citizens returning from Mexico.

"(But) we can understand the Mexican reaction, which
has been affected by their domestic situation. Not many will mention it after
two or three weeks," he said.

Most Chinese online users also support the decision
to quarantine Mexicans.

A poll by major information portal Sina.com showed
that 92.5 percent of 4,263 online users said the quarantine was "a necessary
preventive method and had nothing to do with discrimination".

China offered 5 million U.S. dollars in aid to
Mexico last Wednesday - 1 million dollars in cash and 4 million dollars in
medical supplies - the first country to send aid after the epidemic broke

out.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon received the Air China chartered flight
carrying the supplies on Friday.

The second batch of aid material reached Monday.

In China, the authorities have beefed up preventive
measures.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said Monday
although the mainland has not yet reported any cases of H1N1, there is a
possibility of the virus making its way.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said Monday six more supervision teams
had been sent to Shandong, Hebei, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei

and
Shaanxi provinces to work with local authorities in epidemic prevention. It

sent
five teams to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in late April.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Monday
raised its tally of confirmed human H1N1 cases to 1,003 with 26 confirmed
deaths. Twenty countries and regions have reported laboratory-confirmed cases

so
far. Mexico, the center of the outbreak, has reported 590 cases and 25 deaths
from the virus.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)