Chinese President Jiang Zemin sent a message to United States President George W. Bush on Sunday to express deep condolences over the US space shuttle Columbia tragedy and the loss of its seven-member crew a day before.
Jiang said the Chinese government and people deeply regret the disaster and the death of Columbia's crew. However, he believed that the mankind would continue and make further progress in space exploration despite the setback.
On the same day, the Chinese President also sent a message to Israeli President Moshe Katsav to express condolences over Israel' s loss of its first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, 48, on board Columbia.
Columbia broke up Saturday over central Texas shortly before its scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(Xinhua News Agency, February 2, 2003)
