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North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Anti-American Protests Erupt in China Following Embassy Bombing

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Tens of thousands of enraged Chinese protesters, enraged by the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, stormed the diplomatic district in Beijing on Sunday, shattering embassy windows with rocks, flinging paint bombs and burning caricatures of President Clinton as Hitler. The protests, which began just hours after the bombing, also targeted US consulates in Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shenyang.

Key Takeaways:

  • The protests were a response to the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, which killed three journalists and injured many others.
  • The US embassy in Beijing was besieged by protesters, who shattered windows, flung paint bombs, and burned caricatures of President Clinton.
  • The protesters, who numbered in the tens of thousands, also targeted US consulates in Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shenyang.
  • The demonstrations were well-organized, with busloads of college students brought to the diplomatic district and signs pointing out the "protest route".
  • The Chinese press fanned Chinese nationalism by calling the bombing a "barbaric, unprovoked, and intentional attack".
  • Protesters roughed up foreign reporters, including a CNN reporter who was hit while delivering a live telephone report.
  • The government allowed the protests, despite concerns about the tenth anniversary of the Tiananmen student protests, which ended in a bloody military crackdown.
  • US Ambassador James Sasser and his staff were holed up in the embassy, with Sasser saying that a Molotov cocktail had been thrown into the embassy, igniting part of the ground floor.
  • One Marine guard was injured in the eye by glass.
  • The embassy said it would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the continuing violence.
  • President Clinton has tried to contact Chinese President Jiang Zemin to offer an explanation, but has been refused.
  • A western diplomat said he was disappointed that Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao did not mention NATO's apology or explanation for the bombing in his televised remarks.

Statistics:

  • 10,000 protesters streamed through the diplomatic district in Beijing, chanting, singing, and screaming.
  • 3 students were killed in the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
  • 2 foreign reporters were roughed up by protesters, including a CNN reporter who was hit while delivering a live telephone report.
  • 1 Marine guard was injured in the eye by glass.
  • 10,000 protesters stormed the diplomatic district in Beijing on Sunday.
  • 50 riot police were stationed at the US embassy residence.
  • 2 US embassy buildings were damaged in the protests.

Sources:

  • Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services, May 9, 1999.
  • CNN, May 9, 1999.
  • The Beijing Youth Daily, May 9, 1999.

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