He had travelled thousands of miles in the hope of earning some money，but 18-year-old Lin Kongming never knew danger was waiting for him. He and six other migrant workers from Fujian Province spent 36 hours in Iraq as international hostages（人质）. But luckily，they were set free last Tuesday morning，unharmed by the people who had taken them hostage. After hard work by Chinese diplomats（外交官）in the region the Iraqi kidnappers（绑架者）agreed to hand them over to a local religious group.“The friendly relations between the Chinese and Iraqi peoples have played a key role in the release of the hostages,”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. China refused to join the US-led coalition（联军）in the Iraq war. Since April 4，over 60 hostages from 12 countries，including America，Italy and Japan，have been taken in Iraq. Some have been released, others were killed. The Iraqi resistance groups have started taking foreigners hostage in an attempt to force the US-led troops out of their country. As a result，many foreigners have left，fearing the situation will get worse. Some nations are also considering removing their troops from Iraq. Thailand has ordered its forces not to leave their camp and may bring them home before September as originally planned. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is considering similar action. But Dan Senor，spokesman for the US-led coalition in Baghdad，said that it would not negotiate（谈判）with “terrorists or kidnappers” to get hostages released. 小题1:The seven workers from Fujian were set free mainly because ______.
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