Incident at Orly

Eight Chinese diplomats approached passport control in Paris' Orly Airport last week. They wanted to take a Pakistan International Airlines flight to Shanghai. But police immediately saw that something was wrong. One of the Chinese, who appeared to be in a stupor and whose body seemed suspiciously bulky, was being half carried by two of his countrymen. The police, who had been alerted by French intelligence to watch for suspicious Chinese behavior, insisted that the man be examined immediately by an airport physician. The examination established that the Chinese had been injected with powerful sedatives, which had lowered his temperature. Hence he was dressed in six sweaters for warmth.

The victim, who was later identified as Chang Shi-jung, 31, had been serving as an agricultural adviser with the Chinese embassy in Algeria. He had reportedly informed the French embassy in Algiers that he wanted to defect, and the Chinese had learned of his plans. When French officials at Orly told the Chinese diplomats that Chang was too indisposed to travel, they became agitated and shouted "Bullies!" and "Fascists!" at the police. While the Pakistani plane took off without any of the Chinese aboard, both sides swiftly called up reinforcements. Fifty tough riot troopers of the C.R.S. (Compagnies Republicaines de Securite) took up positions outside the police office in which the drugged Chinese had been bedded down. Fifteen members of Peking's Paris embassy rushed to the scene.

For seven hours, passing travelers at Orly were treated to an unusual confrontation. In an effort to retrieve their fellow diplomat, the Chinese made two coordinated rushes at the riot troopers, who fought them off. Once alone Chinese attacked the troopers with karate blows. One Chinese bit a C.R.S. officer. Finally, the French decided to take the man in an ambulance to a Paris hospital. As he was led away, Chang, who perhaps sought to establish an alibi that the French were abducting him, just in case he should decide to go home after all, pretended to protest violently. Once out of sight of his countrymen, he calmed down and chatted pleasantly with a Chinese-speaking French intelligence officer.

France, which was one of the first major Western nations to establish diplomatic relations with Peking in 1964, tried to hush up the Orly incident. But the Ministry of the Interior quietly announced that Chang would be granted political asylum if he decided to apply for it. The French delicacy was probably prompted by a similar incident in The Netherlands five years ago. At that time, a Chinese delegation barricaded itself inside its house in The Hague for five months rather than submit to police questioning about the sudden death of a colleague who had apparently attempted to defect. During that time, the Dutch charge d'affaires in Peking was forced to remain a prisoner in his legation.

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