Mr. Hague said that more than a week after he was informed of the case and instructed officials to seek a probe, on Feb. 15, the deputy head of mission of the British Embassy in Beijing met officials from the consular department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey the message.

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The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to the family and was in close contact with its international partners and a wide range of other contacts in order to establish the facts of the situation.

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Angela Aggeler , a spokesperson for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the U.S. State Department, agrees that information is everything.

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