
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 19, 1990                   TAG: 9005190100
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

MAVERICK CHINESE OFFICIAL MAY SEEK ASYLUM IN U.S.

A senior Chinese official who disagreed with the military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators last year has quietly arrived in the United States, apparently seeking refuge, U.S. officials said Friday.

The arrival of the official, Xu Jiatun, who until last fall served as China's top representative in Hong Kong, could further strain U.S.-Chinese relations, which are already upset by American outrage at the killing of protesters in Beijing last June.

Xu arrived in Los Angeles with two relatives around May 1, traveling on a tourist visa arranged by the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, administration officials said Friday.

They said Xu has not applied for political asylum, but they said they believed that he left China to escape attacks by hard-liners.

Xu could not be located for comment, and his plans remain unclear.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said it had been told by the official New China News Agency in Hong Kong that Xu had come to the United States "for a rest," and was in this country "just as a tourist."

He said the embassy had no information on how long Xu would remain.

Xu, 74, was a member of the Communist Party Central Committee, and if he does seek asylum he would be the highest-ranking Chinese leader to ask for refuge in the United States.

Xu was serving as director of the New China News Agency in Hong Hong.

by CNB