Wednesday, 11 April, 2001, 09:47 GMT 10:47 UK
US public oppose China apology
Schoolgirl wears a yellow ribbon in sup****t of the detained spy crew
The US public is anxious for the return of the crew
By BBC News Online's Kevin Anderson in Wa****ngton
A majority of Americans oppose an apology to China over the collision of
a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane, according to polls.
And although the Bush administration has taken great pains not to
****tray the detained crew as hostages, a majority of Americans view them
as such.
US President George Bush
Two thirds of the public sup****t Mr Bush's handling of the affair
But the same polls do not indicate that US public opinion is strongly
anti-China or is ****fting in that direction in response to the current
stand-off.
In two separate polls, one by ABC News and the Wa****ngton Post and
another by USA Today, CNN and Gallup, 54% said the US should not
apologise.
In the ABC News/Wa****ngton Post poll, 61% of those asked said the US
should also not promise China to cut back on spy flights.
However, ABC News' poll also found that opposition to an apology is not
broad. It found that 40% favour an apology.
Party splits
Beneath those percentages, pollsters found great splits based on
political affiliation.
Half of Democrats polled favour an apology, while 39% of independents
and only 28% of Republicans sup****t an apology.
Chinese military officer outside US embassy in Beijing
Only 20% of Americas see China as an enemy
The poll did not find such political divisions on other moves that the
administration could take to resolve the stand-off. Regardless of
political affiliation, most Americans opposed promises to cut back on
spy plane flights, and most sup****t trade sanctions.
Predictably, Democrats, Republicans and independents were split on
President Bush's handling of the situation.
Overall, Mr Bush received high marks. The ABC News poll found that 64%
of Americans approve of the president's handling of the situation.
But just 52% of Democrats and 57% of independents approve of Mr Bush's
response to the standoff, whereas 87% of Republicans back the president.
Some of the harshest criticism of President Bush's handling of the
situation has come from conservatives.
Robert Kagan and William Kristol wrote a scathing editorial criticising
the administration's efforts to end the diplomatic deadlock.
"The profound national humiliation that President Bush has brought upon
the United States may be forgotten tem****arily when the American
aircrew, held captive in China as this magazine goes to press, return
home," they wrote.
"But when we finish celebrating, it will be time to *****s the damage
done, and the dangers invited, by the administration's behaviour."
Hostages
The USA Today found that 55% of Americans considered the 24 crew members
to be hostages.
And members of Congress - both Republicans and Democrats - are using
that term.
Senator Robert Torricelli, Democrat of New Jersey, asked whether it is
"appropriate to have both an ambassador and hostages in the same country".
Despite the view of the crew as hostages, US attitudes have not turned
staunchly against China.
The ABC poll found Americans more suspicious of China, but added only
moderately so. Some 58% polled described China as an unfriendly nation,
which is 11 points higher than in 1998.
But only 20% of Americans polled considered China an enemy.
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