50 Mexicans 'falsely quarantined' in China

Beijing: Mexican diplomats complained bitterly to China on Sunday, saying about 50 of their countrymen had been placed under quarantine despite showing no signs of swine flu.

While Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa called the action "unjustified" and warned Mexicans against visiting China, Ambassador Jorge Guajardo was refused access to 10 people held at Beijing Guomen Hotel.

"We are objecting to the fact that they are holding Mexicans in isolation for fear that they might have the flu virus, even though they have no signs of having the flu virus," Guajardo told reporters.

Guajardo engaged in a brief stand-off with a Chinese official at the hotel, who initially blocked access, but later let in the ambassador without allowing him to see the group.

The ambassador said several of those held in China had no connection with the Shanghai-Hong Kong flight which carried an infected Mexican man -- Asia's first confirmed swine flu case.

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"There are people here who arrived on a plane from Newark on Continental Airlines. There are other people who arrived from Los Angeles that are being quarantined," he said.

At a press conference in Shanghai, a Chinese official defended the handling of quarantine measures. China was hard hit by the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and has a continuing problem with bird flu.

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