This act of terrorism on the embassy is only 1 of a series of events that prove that America had already begun a cold war with China, said a retired colonel of the Chinese army. The attack during the aggression against the then SR Yugoslavia was a deliberate and planned act that was immediately condemned by Serbian and Chinese media alternatively than a consequence of a mistake, as the American side claims.
Life Under Bombs
Three Chinese journalists were killed in this attack and a full of 20 people were injured. 2 dead are recently married journalists – Hsu Singhu (31 l.) and Zhu Ying (27 l.). The young couple worked in the diary “Guanming” (Enlightenment). Hsu, a postgraduate of philology, who spoke Serbian perfectly, described life in Belgrade during NATO aggression in a series of reports entitled “Life Under Bombs”. Zhu Ying worked as an art editor in the paper advertising department. Her mother, erstwhile she found out about her daughter's death, broke down and went to the hospital. The 3rd writer who died was a 48-year-old Shao Yunhuan who worked for the Xinhua news agency. Her husband, Cao Rongfei, was blinded by the explosion. Attaché military embassy returned to China in coma.
"NATO: American Nazi terrorist organization "
For Shen Hong, a Chinese citizen then residing in Belgrade, the attack meant practically "a declaration of war". As shortly as he heard about the attack on the embassy, Shen called a friend of a Serbian police officer who told him that the embassy had actually been hit. "It was only then that I realized that it truly happened, that it was true." erstwhile he reached the embassy, he found the building on fire; staff covered in blood and dust jumped out of the windows.
At 1 point, Shen noticed China's cultural attaché, which tied the curtains to come down from the first level of the building. "We didn't see him hurt and he didn't announcement either. It wasn't until I shook his hand that I realized my hands were bleeding too. I told him:“ You are injured, ” but he passed out at that moment.”
The following day, Shen took part in a protest in Belgrade, where he carried a banner with the inscription “NATO: Nazi American Terrorism Organization”.
The evacuation of the wounded from the embassy continued until morning. Incidentally, the attack on the Chinese embassy occurred in the sixth week of the NATO War against Serbia.
CIA: “We utilized bad maps”
The CIA stated that the attack was a "mistake" and that the agency utilized "bad maps". "Just 1 of our planes attacked the incorrect mark due to the fact that the bombing data was based on an outdated map," said the then US Secretary of defence William Cohen 2 days after the attack, adding that the real mark was the national Directorate for Freight Transport. "The navigation method utilized was imprecise," CIA manager George Tenet later said.
Tenet besides stated that the intelligence and military databases utilized to check targets do not contain clear data on the embassy's location.
This was an explanation in which the authorities of the People's Republic of China never believed. "The Chinese government and the nation cannot accept the conclusion that bombing was a mistake," said the Chinese abroad Minister to an U.S. envoy sent to Beijing in June 1999 to "explain what truly happened". Chinese state media condemned this act as a public and brazen violation of global law.
Protests across China
The next day thousands of people spontaneously took to the streets of Beijing and gathered in front of the American embassy building. The stones broke the windows in the building where respective twelve workers were hiding, including US Ambassador James Sasser. All authoritative embassy vehicles have been attacked and destroyed.
Subsequently, protests involving tens of thousands of participants broke out in the next 10 major cities of China. The demonstrators took to the streets of Shanghai, in Chengdu city the American consulate was set on fire. The Chinese media confirmed what was apparent from the very beginning: that “the Natat bombing of the Belgrade embassy was a deliberate act of aggression.” The protests in Beijing continued the following day. More than 100,000 people attended, who gathered in the diplomatic district, throwing stones and eggs at the embassies of Britain and America.
In his tv speech, Vice president Hu Jintao supported the protests. Retired Colonel Li Mingfu of the People's Liberation Army later stated that "the bombing of the embassy is only 1 of a series of events that proves that America has declared a fresh cold war against China". "It was entirely intended." It was a deliberate, planned bombing, not an accident," the colonel concluded.
On the occasion of the next anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy building, the chargé d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade Tien Yishu wrote in 2022 for the diary "Politika" that this crime would stay in the memory of the Chinese people forever. The diplomat stated that China had never forgotten that NATO brutally bombed the national Republic of Yugoslavia during 78 days of aggression resulting in thousands of civilians being killed and injured. "Over the past 23 years the blood and tears of the Chinese and Serbian people have gathered together in our common desire to defend national sovereignty and preserve peace and security," he said.
The Chinese diplomat besides warned that "humanity is one more time facing unprecedented safety challenges" and that "some countries are relaunching the Cold War policy". “ Neither the planet nor Europe request a fresh Cold War. NATO, like another initiators of the Ukrainian crisis, should become peace stabilizers alternatively than foster conflicts, ” wrote charg d’affaires. "On this road, the iron relationship of China and Serbia, soaked in shared blood, remains inseparable," the authoritative added. "Today, a comprehensive strategical partnership between our 2 countries has become an anchor for peace and stableness in the region, as well as a origin for promoting regional reconstruction and development," said the Chinese diplomat.
Chinese Cultural Center at the site of the demolished embassy
A 4th of a century later, in the place where the embassy was located, a Chinese Cultural Center is being created, which will be an evenant in the Balkans and 1 of the largest in Europe. It includes Confucius Institute, exhibition spaces, business premises for Chinese and Serbian companies, as well as accommodation for diplomatic and another delegations.
The centre was conceived as a platform for deepening cultural and economical cooperation between Serbia and China. It is not only a symbol of Serbian-Chinese friendship, but besides a reminder of the tragedies and humiliations of both countries by the West. Both Serbian and Chinese officials organize celebrations here all year on May 7, which is regularly visited by Chinese guests. In 2016, she was visited by Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Jacek Mędrzycki
