国内英语新闻:Freed Chinese workers arrive in Beijing

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The 29 Chinese workers freed from abduction by Sudanese anti-government forces arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

They took a commercial flight from Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Beijing, escorted by a Chinese government task force.

They were welcomed by Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Ming and the leaders of relevant departments.

Zhang shook hands with each freed worker and asked about their health and family situation, expressing sincere concern to all freed workers on behalf of Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Zhang said the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and State Council made important instructions while asking the foreign ministry to make every endeavor to safely rescue the workers after their abduction.

The Foreign Ministry and other relevant departments, enterprises, Chinese embassies and diplomatic corps were all involved in the rescue work, Zhang said, adding that relevant countries and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also positively coordinated and cooperated with China to jointly ensure the event's peaceful resolution.

In the current situation, overseas security risks are becoming diversified, Zhang said. And Chinese citizens and enterprises are facing more complex living environments abroad.

They should therefore take effective practical measures to improve their self-protection awareness in order to prevent risks, Zhang said.

He emphasized that the Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting the safety of overseas Chinese citizens and organizations.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry will work together with other departments, local governments and enterprises, and guide Chinese embassies by holding a "people-oriented" approach to continue protecting the safety of its overseas citizens and organizations.

The 29 workers were released by the rebels and taken to the Kenyan capital on Tuesday by a plane chartered by the ICRC.

The rescue operation, dubbed a complete success by Chinese authorities, saw close cooperation between authorities in China, Kenya, Sudan and other parties.

A camp of a Chinese company operating at a road construction site near Sudan's Al-Abbasiya Tagali town in the volatile South Kordofan state was attacked by a group of gunmen belonging to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement north sector on Jan. 28.

In the camp at the time were a total of 47 Chinese, 29 of whom were abducted by the assailants while the other 18 managed to flee. Among the latter, 17 were later found by the Sudanese army and transferred to a safe place, and one was confirmed dead after having been missing for days.

The Sudanese authorities handed over the body of the dead Chinese worker to the Chinese side on Tuesday.