Chinese relatives turn on Malaysia govt officials

BEIJING, China – Relatives of Chinese passengers on board MH370 vented their fury Friday, March 21 in their first meeting in Beijing with Malaysian government officials, almost two weeks after the aircraft vanished.

The event began in angry fashion, with family members yelling at the group of political representatives and senior military officials to stand up when they were being introduced, rather than nodding while sitting down.

“You have wasted so much time,” shouted one anguished relative, his voice quivering.

Chinese citizens make up 153 of those on board Malaysia Airlines flight 370 – two-thirds of the total – and the meeting took place at a hotel where their loved ones have been waiting for news. (READ: MH370 families have right to know: Australia)

Australia released satellite photos of possible debris in the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday, but officials stressed that the sighting was unconfirmed.

The Malaysian delegation arrived in Beijing late Thursday after repeated, angry demands by relatives for an opportunity to question Kuala Lumpur officials about the search and rescue operation.

Previous daily meetings at the hotel have been with representatives of Malaysia Airlines, and the relatives have been growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of answers.

Relatives have been speaking of hunger strikes and demonstrations in recent days.

Agence France-Presse understands they have also been attempting to organize themselves into groups aimed at putting added pressure on the Malaysian government.

Uniformed police officers ushered foreign reporters out of the room before the more than 3-hour long meeting began, while a handful of selected Chinese state media organisations remained inside.

Domestic media are tightly controlled in China. – Rappler.com