continued to prevent journalists from reaching the families. Public protests are extremely rare in China. The Malaysia Airlines crisis, which has involved the highly emotional disappearance of 153 Chinese nationals who were on board the plane, has put Chinese authorities in an uncomfortable position. The Chinese government has tolerated -- but stopped far short of endorsing -- the political mobilization of the flight's next of kin. Families have organized committees, issued press releases, and printed t-shirts and hats with the slogan Pray for MH370. But they have also been largely prevented from organizing public displays outside the windowless hotel conference room that serves as the familiesimprovised headquarters. On Friday a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, Qin Gang, called on the families protesting outside the embassy to express their appeals in a legal and rational way while pledging to give them further assistance. He urged the Malaysian authorities to actively pursue the investigation. EXCLUSIVE: Malaysia to release MH370 report, Prime Minister tells CNN