LEAD: China regrets soccer fans' attack on minister's car, booing

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 16, 2004

BEIJING, Aug. 9 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN COMMENTS)

Chinese soccer fans' booing the Japanese team at Saturday's Asian Cup final with China and their attack on the Japanese Embassy minister's car after China's loss was a development the Chinese government ''did not want to see,'' a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.

''The excessive actions by a small number of people are something we did not want to see,'' Kong Quan said, according to the ministry's website.

Kong also said ''an enormous amount of effort'' was put into the success of the Asian Cup games, and that has been widely acknowledged.

In Tokyo, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Dawei, in a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, expressed regret over the behavior of the Chinese soccer fans, according to a Japanese official.

A spokesman for the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said Beijing police have also expressed regret over the attack on the minister's vehicle, adding they regretted the incident and acknowledged security defects.

Chinese spectators booed during the Japanese anthem, and pelted a Japanese bus and burned Japanese flags in the aftermath of the soccer match. The chaotic situation prompted Japanese fans to wait in the stadium for safety until the crowds dispersed.

The Japanese Embassy's Minister Chikahito Harada was attacked by Chinese fans as his car left the Beijing Workers' Stadium and the rear window was broken.

Japan won the Saturday match 3-1 to take their second consecutive Asian Cup.