A six-member team left for Israel yesterday to reclaim the body
of Chinese UN observer Du Zhaoyu, who was killed in an Israeli air
raid on a UN post in south Lebanon on Tuesday.
The team, consisting of personnel from the Foreign Ministry and
the Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the Ministry of National
Defense, 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 mourned his passing.
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
neighborhood," said Wang Xiaoyun, a colleague of Du's father.
(China Daily July 28, 2006)