At Thursday's regular press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kong Quan reiterated China's stance on the approaching Iraqi election planned for January 30.   

"We think that the election is an important step in Iraq's political reconstruction," he said. "It should be conducive to upholding Iraq's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and to forming a widely representative and authoritative government. It should also protect the fundamental interests of the Iraqi people."

He stressed that the will and opinions of the Iraqi people should be understood and respected. He especially stressed that Iraq should be governed by the Iraqi people.

He expressed his concern as to when that principle can be realized, and when UN involvement in political and economic reconstruction can be begun.

When answering a question on whether the eight Chinese citizens who had been kidnapped in Iraq were illegally working there, Kong said China opposes any form of illegal migration and is willing to crack down on it through international cooperation.

A videotape of the eight being held by masked gunmen was aired on Qatari Aljazeera TV on January 18. Aged between 18 and 40 and all from Pingtan County in Fujian Province, they had been working at a textile factory in the southern city of Najaf and were kidnapped en route to Jordan. They were delivered to the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad on January 23 and returned to Fujian on Wednesday.

Kong said they went to Iraq through intermediaries and that the government will investigate the agencies involved and punish any illegalities.

(CRI.com, Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2005)