Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=7/10/2001

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-278054

TITLE=CHINA / U-S SCHOLARS TRIAL (L)

BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER

DATELINE=BEIJING

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: China says it will put a U-S citizen on trial on Saturday, on charges of spying for Taiwan. Beijing correspondent Leta Hong Fincher reports, some expect Beijing to release and expel the U-S scholar after his trial.

TEXT: China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue, says U-S citizen Li Shaomin will be tried in a Beijing court for espionage on the morning of July 14th.

/// 1ST ZHANG CHINESE ACT--ESTABLISH & FADE UNDER ///

Ms. Zhang told reporters (Tuesday) that the trial will not be open to the public, but will comply with a Sino-U-S diplomatic agreement that allows a U-S consular official and a translator to attend.

Mr. Li is a professor at a Hong Kong university who has been in detention since February 25th. He was arrested after crossing the border into China to visit a friend.

U-S officials say they expect another detained scholar -- Gao Zhan, a U-S permanent resident -- to be tried at about the same time as Mr. Li, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says she has no information on Ms. Gao's case. Ms. Gao was a researcher at The American University in Washington. She was separated from her husband and five-year-old son and detained on February 11th.

/// 2ND ZHANG CHINESE ACT--ESTABLISH & FADE UNDER ///

Asked whether China would allow a U-S official to attend Ms. Gao's trial, the spokeswoman said only that Gao Zhan is a Chinese citizen.

China has charged both scholars with spying for Taiwan, and says they have already confessed to their crimes. Both defendants' families deny the allegations.

The detentions have been a source of strain in U-S - Choinese relations, recently fraught with problems. However, the two countries are now searching for ways to improve ties. There is speculation that China may release the two scholars after their trials, as a good-will gesture to the United States. (Signed)

NEB/HK/LHF/JO/WTW