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China urges Spain to punish arsonists
By Hu Xiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-09-24 01:18


Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang called in the Spanish ambassador to China Thursday after violence against Chinese shoe shops in Spain's Elche city.

Shen urged the Spanish Government to take concrete measures to fully investigate the case immediately and punish those involved, according to a Chinese foreign ministry source.


Heavy smoke billows from a wharehouse of a Chinese shoe shop in Elche, Spain, on September 16, 2004. [newsphoto/file]
Shen also requested compensation for the losses of Chinese businessmen and action to guarantee the safety and property of Chinese people living in Spain.

Ambassador Jose Pedro Sebastian de Erice condemned the violence and said the Spanish Government has promised to"protect the integrity of (Chinese nationals) and avoid a repetition of such acts," according to the ministry source.

On Thursday, around 500 people demonstrated in the Carrus industrial zone at Elche chanting"Chinese out" and set fire to the warehouse of a Chinese shoe shop and a container causing losses of 800,000 euros (US$984,000).