China says president's jet bugged-FT

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LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China has said its intelligence officers found
more than 20 spying devices in a Boeing 767 meant to become President Jiang
Zemin's official plane after it was delivered from the U.S., the Financial
Times said on Saturday.

Citing Chinese officials, the newspaper said it was unclear when the
aircraft was fitted with the bugs, said to be tiny and operated by
satellite.

The devices were detected after the plane emitted a strange static whine
during test flights in China in September, shortly after it was delivered.
One device was found in a lavatory and another in the headboard of the
presidential bed.

The discovery came ahead of a planned summit between U.S. President George
W. Bush and Jiang in Beijing next month. The Chinese president was said to
be furious about the find, the FT said.


The aircraft was made at the Boeing factory in Seattle and then fitted with
VIP equipment and upholstery by another company. The plane was under
surveillance by Chinese officials throughout, the newspaper said.

Boeing had no comment on the report but spokeswoman Debbie Heathers told
Reuters a 767-300ER plane, which was delivered to Delta Air Lines in June
2000, was re-sold to China United Airlines -- the air force-run airline that
ordered the aircraft -- and customised for executive use by Jiang Zemin by a
modification company in Texas.

A Delta spokesman said he had no immediate comment.

The FT quoted Chinese officials as saying the security forces had launched
an investigation into possible negligence within China United Airlines and
state-owned China Aviation Supplies Export and Import Corp (CASC), which was
responsible for importing the plane.

Some 20 air force officers had been held for questioning and two CASC
officials had been taken into custody for questioning, the FT said.

The U.S. and China clashed over espionage issues in April last year when a
Chinese fighter jet and U.S. spy plane collided over the South China Sea,
resulting in the death of the Chinese pilot and the grounding of the U.S.
plane in China.

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