US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has called the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC and expressed his regret over the beating of a Chinese businesswoman by a US border inspection guard last week.

Businesswoman Zhao Yan, 37, was pepper-sprayed and beaten up last week as she and two friends were crossing the Rainbow Bridge over Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border.

According to a Xinhua report from Washington, Ridge phoned Lan Lijun, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy, and apologized and expressed his deep regret over the case to the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

Ridge said in the phone conversation that the beating was completely unacceptable and regrettable, saying he has ordered the border inspection officers to take remedial measures to prevent any occurrence of similar incidents.

Lan Lijun urged the US side to make thorough investigations into the case, punish persons responsible and keep the Chinese side informed of the investigation and handling process.

The case got high profile attention and was discussed by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in a phone call last weekend, and Powell promised to look into the matter.

Li had told Powell the United States must carry out "a serious and thorough investigation" and that "those responsible for the incident should receive legal punishment."

"We regret the apparent mistreatment of a Chinese national by a US customs officer in Niagara Falls," the US State Department said in a statement Thursday.

"We have communicated to the Chinese government that the US customs officer was arrested by Customs and Border Patrol Police and his case referred for criminal prosecution," it said.
 
Powell also wrote to his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing after their phone conversation that the United States government would thoroughly investigate the beating case of a Chinese citizen Zhao Yan according to US laws.

In a letter that Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing received in Beijing on Thursday, Powell said he felt deeply disturbed when he learned of the mistreatment that Chinese citizen Zhao Yan underwent at the hands of US Customs and Border Protection officers.

Powell said that the accused officer has been suspended from his post and detained on charges of felony assault, pledging that the US government would continue its thorough investigation.

Zhao Yan, a Chinese business woman from Tianjin, was on her first US business trip when she was attacked at Niagara Falls near the US-Canadian border on July 21 by US Customs and Border Protection police. The attack came in disregard of all normal procedures.

Zhao said she had a broken tooth and severe back pain, which forced her to ride in a wheelchair. Because of sharp physical pain and mental trauma caused by the beating, she could "barely sleep two to three hours a day."

Her eyes were nearly swollen shut, the front of her forehead was also swollen and she had bruises around the eyes and a contusion high on her forehead.

Zhao's nightmare has drawn much attention from the Chinese government and media.

"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 State Department statement said.

It said the United States would ensure that such incidents did not recur.

The department had pledged earlier this week that the US authorities would get to the bottom of the case.

Zhao, from Tianjin city, had complained that she told the officers who stopped her that she had legal documents, including a passport and business visa, but they beat her anyway, according to the Chinese media.

"I have been to many countries in the past for business purposes, and the United States is the most barbarous," Zhao was quoted as saying.

(China Daily July 30, 2004)