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U.S. Regrets Mistreatment of Chinese National by Customs Officer

Following is the text of a question taken at the July 29 regular State Department briefing about the apparent mistreatment of a Chinese national by a U.S. customs officer in Niagara Falls; an answer was posted later in the day:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
July 29, 2004

QUESTION TAKEN AT THE JULY 29, 2004 PRESS BRIEFING

China - Update on Niagara Falls Incident

Question: What more can you tell us about the beating of a Chinese national at Niagara Falls? What have we communicated to the Chinese?

Answer: We regret the apparent mistreatment of a Chinese national by a U.S. customs officer in Niagara Falls. We have communicated to the Chinese Government that the U.S. customs officer was arrested by Customs and Border Patrol Police and his case referred for criminal prosecution.

Secretary Powell has been very clear that America is an open society; we welcome visitors from around the world, and our goal is to ensure that they have a safe and enjoyable stay in the United States. The United States will continue to work to ensure that incidents such as this one do not occur again.