Chinese Embassy Bombing Belgrade

News Reports of the protests in China and world wide

Kyodo: Group Protests NATO Bombing at US Consulate

AFP: 'Legal Demonstrations' Continue, UK Embassy Stoned

Further on Beijing Students Protesting at US Embassy

AFP: Thousands Protest at Chengdu Consulate

PRC Fury Escalates Over NATO Embassy Bombing

Thousands Protest in Guangzhou Over NATO Bombing

More than 2,000 Protesters at US Embassy

Protesters Rush British Embassy in Beijing

15,000 Students Protest at US Consulate in Shanghai

More on US Ambassador to PRC Says Staff 'Hostages'

PRC Trying To Rein in Xenophobia After NATO Attack

Nationwide Fury in China Over Nato Bombing

100,000 Demonstrators Occupy Beijing Diplomatic Area

Thousands Protest in Southern PRC City Over Bombing

Further on Protests Near US Embassy in Beijing

10,000 Students Protest at US Consulate in Shanghai

PRC Supports Protests, To Protect Foreign Nationals

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0508
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas
Document Date: 08 May 1999
Division: China, Hong Kong & Macao, North America
Subdivision: China, Hong Kong, United States
Sourceline: OW0805095999 Tokyo Kyodo in English 0946 GMT 08 May 99
AFS Number: OW0805095999
Citysource: Tokyo Kyodo
Language: English
N/A
Subslug: As of filing time, PRC media monitored at Okinawa Bureau have not
been observed to report the following

[FBIS Transcribed Text] Hong Kong, May 8 Kyodo -- A group of demonstrators
marched to the US Consulate in Hong Kong on Saturday to protest NATO's
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade and demand the alliance stop
its air strikes against Yugoslavia.
The 40-member group was led by Tsang Yok-sing, chairman of the
pro-Beijing democratic alliance for the betterment of Hong Kong.
"We are shocked to learn that NATO missiles hit the Chinese embassy and
caused severe casualties and damage," Tsang said.
He said he hoped the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would
apologize to the Chinese Government over the attack late Friday, in which
China has confirmed two people were killed and more than 20 injured.
A US Consulate staffer came out and received a protest letter from the
group.
[Description of source: Tokyo Kyodo News Service in English--Japan's largest
domestic and international news agency, owned by nonprofit cooperative of
63 newspaper companies and NHK]

AFP: 'Legal Demonstrations' Continue, UK Embassy Stoned

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas, West Europe
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America, West Europe
Subdivision: China, United States, United Kingdom
Sourceline: OW0905073099 Hong Kong AFP in English 0715 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905073099
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. hong kong afp english 090645 -- afp: beijing students said cajoled to
demonstrate
2. beijing zhongguo xinwen she chinese 081533 -- guangzhou students
protest nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - Angry demonstrators stoned
the US embassy here Sunday and tried to storm the building as an
estimated 20,000-strong crowd protested for the second day against NATO's
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
"This is a legal demonstration," said one of the hundreds of police
officers lining the streets of the diplomatic quarter, in a clear
indication that the largest protest since the 1989 pro-democracy movement
enjoyed official support.
Some protestors threw stones and broke windows in the US embassy. Others
gathered outside the British embassy just a street away, throwing
missiles and shouting slogans.
The US embassy area looked like a war zone, AFP correspondents reported.
The embassy building, an adjacent residential building, the consular
section and cars parked inside the compound all had windows smashed by
flying rocks and water bottles.
The demonstrators frequently tried to charge through the seven-deep
cordon of military police in front of the embassy gate.
At one point four or five protestors, hoisted on the shoulders of their
friends, leapt over the policemen's heads and scrambled over the gate
into the compound.
Military police followed in hot pursuit, also climbing over the gate into the
compound. Bystanders said the protestors were caught.
The bulk of the demonstration was relatively orderly, with shouts of
"Down with US imperialism" and loud renditions of the Chinese national
anthem audible several blocks away.
The students, led by a group from the prestigious Beijing University,
carried banners which read "Down with fascism" and "Give peace a chance".
While the protests appeared to have been eased by the authorities, many
ordinary people applauded the students as they passed and genuine
nationalistic fervour was much in evidence.
"I think China should launch nuclear missiles at the United States --
we have far more people than they have," said a taxi-driver in his
thirties, who blasted his government for reacting too weakly to the
accidental missile attack early Saturday.
A convoy of buses pulled up in the Jianguomenwai diplomatic quarter
early morning near the US and British embassies, unloading thousands of
university students. They Marched to the embassy, joining the hundreds
that had spent Saturday night there.
The demonstrators were led by flag-carrying student-leaders who told
others what to chant, where to go and what to do.
"We were not amongst the demonstrators yesterday but after we heard
about the protests we decided to come along," said one female student.
"Chinese are furious with NATO...the embassy in Belgrade was a part of
Chinese territory," one student from the prestigious Beijing University
told AFP, stressing his disbelief at "the lies" of NATO.
"The bombing of our embassy could not have been an accident, especially
given the technical prowess of NATO," said another student.
Arriving at the gates of the US embassy overnight, protestors shouted slogans
such as "Down with American imperalists", "Admit your guilt, US," before
launching rocks, stones and water bottles at the building.
Some demonstrators made a makeshift US flag on which the stars were
replaced with Nazi swastikas. Others pinned paper targets on their shirts
in a show of solidarity with Yugoslav protests at the NATO bombings.
Many student groups shouted "Jiang Qi" -- Chinese for "Lower your flag"
-- at the embassy where the US flag had not been lowered to half-mast.
"Chinese people are infuriated that their countrymen have been killed in
Yugoslavia as a result of US-led bombing but the Americans show no
remorse and their flag is still flying high," one Beijing University
student said.
US ambassador James Sasser and his staff Sunday issued a statement
expressing profound sorrow at the loss of Chinese lives. China says at
least three people were killed by the NATO missiles while Yugoslavia's
Tanjug news agency said four died.
"It was a tragic mistake and I want to offer my sincere regrets and
condolences to the leaders and people of China," US President Bill
Clinton said Saturday.
"I'm convinced NATO should continue their mission," he added.
NATO officials said the building was mistaken for a Yugoslav weapons
procurement and supply office.
The attack has sparked public fury and stirred a nationalistic streak.
"If Chairman Mao had been around, he would have been done something. It's
a sovereignty issue," said one demonstrator.
"Since Mao died, Americans have been bullying us. We should stop
cooperation with US."
In the southern city of Guangzhou Sunday, students threw stones and
shouted slogans in front of the US consulate from 10 a.m. in groups of
several hundreds, US officials there said.
An AFP photographer said the crowd had swelled to several thousand by
mid-afternoon.
The US has evacuated all personnel from its consulate in the
southwestern city of Chengdu after protesters stormed the compound and
set the residence of the consul-general ablaze, a western diplomat said.
Over 2,000 people are protesting in the eastern city of Hangzhou, said
the Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China.
In Shanghai, demonstrations at the US consulate were mostly spontaneous
and comprising mostly students, an AFP correspondent said.

Further on Beijing Students Protesting at US Embassy

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, East Europe
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, Balkan States
Subdivision: China, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Sourceline: OW0905040799 Hong Kong AFP in English 0339 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905040799
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. hong kong afp english 081330 -- afp: 'ordinary citizens' protest at us
embassy
2. hong kong afp english 081319 -- afp: protesters regroup in beijing,
stone embassy
3. beijing xinhua english 090310 -- students in beijing continue to condemn
nato attack
4. beijing xinhua english 090130 -- london demonstrators condemn nato
bombing of embassy
5. hong kong afp english 090314 -- afp: beijing students throw projectiles
at us embassy
6. hong kong afp english 090037 -- afp: protests continue in beijing
against nato bombing
7. beijing xinhua english 090202 -- russia condemns nato bombing of prc
embassy in belgrade
8. beijing zhongguo xinwen she chinese 081801 -- demonstration near us
embassy in beijing continues
9. beijing xinhua domestic service chinese 081738 -- chengdu students
express outrage at nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - Stone-throwing
demonstrators among an estimated 20,000-strong crowd broke windows at the
US embassy here Sunday in protest at NATO's bombing of the Chinese
embassy in Belgrade, witnesses said.
Thousands of students, some throwing rocks and water bottles, shouted anti-US
slogans as they converged on Beijing's diplomatic quarter for the second
day of protests against the accidental bombing, which left three people
dead according to Chinese officials.
Four or five protesters scaled the wall of the US embassy, AFP reporters
at the scene said. Chinese police in turn climbed the wall, apparently to
try to eject them.
Hundreds of students camped out in front of the British embassy and the US
ambassador's residence in central Beijing overnight and busloads more had
arrived in the area by mid-morning.
At least 18 city buses carrying students from Beijing Science and
Technology University pulled up about 9:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) outside the
south gate of Ritan Park, between the British embassy and the US
ambassador's residence.
The students immediately lined up and began shouting slogans including
"Down with American imperialism," before Marching toward the cordoned-off
Jianguomenwai diplomatic quarter as police looked on.
Police were allowing only selected students to enter the diplomatic quarter
from the east end of Guanghua Road, east of the British mission and just
north of the US embassy.
More students continued arriving throughout the morning as Guanghua Road
became a parking lot full of city buses.
"Chinese are furious with NATO ... the embassy in Belgrade was a part of
Chinese territory," one student from the prestigious Beijing University
told AFP, stressing his disbelief at "the lies" of NATO.
"The bombing of our embassy could not have been an accident, especially
given the technical prowess of NATO," said another student.
Beijing's "Silk Alley," a popular tourist shopping area just south of the US
embassy, was completely closed off.
Most access roads to the diplomatic compound were also sealed off, with
police only allowing student demonstrators into the area and preventing
ordinary residents from going in.
Thousands of ordinary citizens watched the students and crowded up to police
barricades surrounding the diplomatic area.
Students appeared angry but organized. Some pinned paper targets on their
shirts, similar to what Yugoslavs have done in a show of defiance at the
continuing NATO bombings.
At Beijing University, in the city's northwestern university district,
large posters condemning NATO and "US imperialism" were pasted up in the
triangular courtyard.
The area has traditionally been the starting point for major student
protests, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy
demonstrations.
China's state press Sunday angrily denounced the NATO bombing of the
embassy, with all major dailies mourning the deaths of three Chinese
killed in the attack.
The official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug said four people died.
A banner headline in the People's Daily cried "Our government issues
serious declaration," while inside pages carried pictures of the bloody
corpses of Guangming Daily reporter Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying, and
Xinhua news agency reporter Shao Yunhuan.
The trio were inside the Chinese embassy in Belgrade when three NATO
missiles slammed into the compound early Saturday morning.
A People's Daily commentary, carried by several papers, ridiculed NATO
claim that the bombings were unintentional and a mistake, calling such
claims "chicanery."
Chinese television continued to report Saturday's nationwide protests
against the bombing. In the southwestern city of Chengdu the US consulate
was stormed and set on fire by an angry mob.
[Description of source: Hong Kong AFP in English -- Hong Kong service of the
independent French press agency Agence France-Presse]

AFP: Thousands Protest at Chengdu Consulate

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0508
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China
Document Date: 08 May 1999
Division: China
Subdivision: China
Sourceline: OW0805161699 Hong Kong AFP in English 1555 GMT 08 May 99
AFS Number: OW0805161699
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug: As of filing time, PRC media monitored at Okinawa Bureau have not
been observed to report the following

Reference:
1. hong kong afp english 081452 -- protesters rush british embassy in
beijing
2. beijing xinhua english 081353 -- beijing students continue protest at
us embassy
3. hong kong afp english 081411 -- beijing protesters hostile, heading for
sasser's home
[FBIS Transcribed Text] Beijing, May 8 (AFP) -- Thousands of furious
Chinese took to the streets of Beijing and other major cities Saturday,
stoning the US embassy in the capital and Marching in protest at NATO's
overnight bombing of their country's mission in Belgrade.
Up to 3,000 enraged protestors, most of them university students,
surrounded the US embassy in Beijing and hurled stones, plastic bottles
and other debris at the compound to loud applause, as scores of police
looked on.
They chanted anti-US and anti-NATO slogans and waved banners condemning
the bombing in Belgrade which left at least three dead, according to
Chinese officials. The official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug said four
people died.
At least 20 people were also injured in the NATO attack, which Chinese
envoy to the United Nations Qin Huasun denounced as a war crime which
should be punished.
"USA are killers," the crowd chanted. "Return Chinese sovereignty." One
banner said: "USA go to hell," while another read "NATO Nazis."
Angry demonstrators shouted in the faces of embassy officials who came to
receive letters of protest from the crowd. They had earlier burned a US
flag in front of the compound.
The apparently well-organised demonstration caused only minor damage --
with windows and an external light broken -- and the protestors left the
area in buses at dusk, but only after some rushed towards the nearby
British embassy, shouting "running dogs, running dogs," and again hurling
missiles.
But hours later, some 1,000 protestors regrouped in front of the US
embassy and again stoned the compound. The protestors ignored police
requests to leave the area, and some were seen digging up the road and
throwing pieces of it at the embassy.
Anti-Western sentiment also saw attacks on foreigners and an attempt to burn and
overturn a US embassy car, as police numbers at the scene reached 1,000.
Several hundred student protesters also gathered outside the nearby British
embassy late Saturday.
Protests against NATO, which said it had bombed the Chinese embassy in the
mistaken belief it was a Yugoslav government building, were also held in
the cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.
According to official provincial television, more than 10,000 Marched through
southern Guangzhou's consulate district Saturday afternoon, waving
banners and chanting anti-NATO slogans.
But officials at the city's US consulate said the crowd had been much
smaller. A spokeswoman added she had received reports that rocks had been
thrown at the consulate at one point, while demonstrators' constant
stream of chanting and banner waving had begun to quiet by late evening.
The Marchers, composed mainly of university students, attempted to
deliver letters of protest to US, German, French, British, Italian and
Danish consular officials, a spokeswoman for the TV station told AFP.
She added the students had vowed to return to the streets Sunday.
In Shanghai, hundreds Marched in the heart of the city's shopping
district, after holding an afternoon demonstration outside the US
consulate.
The protest lasted about three hours, coming to a quiet end when large
numbers of mini buses -- many marked with university names -- met
students to return them to campus.
In southwestern Chengdu, as many as 10,000 students and workers
gathered outside the US consulate late Saturday evening, pelting the US
flag with various objects and shouting "Down with American imperialism."
According to reports from demonstrators, the police presence was thin.
"All of the police here have just said that we can do what we want.
They're not interfering," a protestor told AFP by phone, adding a two
mile (three kilometer) stretch of road leading up to the consulate
remained filled with demonstrators as midnight approached.
A US embassy official in Beijing confirmed 3,000-4,000 people had
gathered outside the Chengdu consulate, throwing rocks and chanting,
while police were attempting to keep the crowd away from the main gates.
In Hong Kong, some 100 demonstrators rallied at the US and British
consulates Saturday to protest against the bombing.
The protestors, including many pro-China activists, Marched between the
consulates brandishing placards saying: "NATO stop killing the innocent."
They also handed a letter of protest to US consulate officials before
dispersing peacefully.
Saturday's protests in China were unusual as authorities routinely block
demonstrations, regardless of their subject. Officials are particularly
concerned at public displays of anger ahead of the 10th anniversary of
the June 4 Tiananmen massacre.

PRC Fury Escalates Over NATO Embassy Bombing

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas, East Europe
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America, Balkan States
Subdivision: China, United States, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Sourceline: OW0905152199 Hong Kong AFP in English 1411 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905152199
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. hong kong afp in english 1401 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp reviews 2d day of
anti-nato protests in beijing
2. hong kong afp in english 1254 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp views nationwide
fury in china over nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of
Chinese joined a second day of angry nationwide protests Sunday over the
NATO bombing of Beijing's embassy in Belgrade.
Ignoring apologies from US President Bill Clinton and other NATO leaders, up
to 100,000 demonstrators besieged the US embassy in the biggest protest
seen in Beijing since the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Crowds of up to 50,000 took part in protests in other cities, witnesses and
state media said .
Public anger was fuelled by state media condemnation of the accidental
bombing of the Belgrade embassy overnight Friday, which left four dead
and 20 injured, according to Chinese officials.
The Chinese Government said it supported the demonstrations but promised
to protect diplomats and other foreigners. In giving an official stamp of
approval to public anger, Vice President Hu Jintao made a nationwide
broadcast in which he described the bombing as "barbaric."
Tens of thousands of protestors poured into the diplomatic quarter in the
capital, waving banners and shouting anti-US slogans.
Demonstrators Marched past the US and British embassies, burning US flags and
effigies of President Bill Clinton and shouting slogans including "Down
with US imperialism."
Some threw stones and broke windows in the US embassy. Others gathered
outside the British embassy just a street away, throwing missiles and
shouting slogans.
The US embassy building, an adjacent residential building, the consular
section and cars parked inside the compound all had windows smashed by
rocks and water bottles.
At one point four or five protestors managed to get past police and
scramble over the gate into the compound, swiftly followed by military
police. No US embassy security personnel were seen.
Hundreds of police armed with handguns manned every intersection in the area.
More than 7,000 police officers, including 5,000 armed police, were
assigned to protect the diplomatic quarter during the demonstrations,
which had been approved by the police in advance, the official Xinhua
news agency reported.
The demonstrators were well organised, with special buses laid on for
Beijing University students. But thousands also came spontaneously.
Students, led by a group from the prestigious Beijing University, carried
banners which read "Down with fascism" and "Give peace a chance." They
were applauded on the streets and, as nationalistic fervour spread,
Westerners were subjected to verbal abuse.
More than 50,000 people staged a protest in the northern city of Xian and
more than 30,000 students took to the streets of the eastern city of
Hangzhou, according to the Xinhua news agency.
More than 10,000 hurled abuse, as well as stones and other objects at the
US consulate in the southern city of Guangzhou, witnesses said. Another
10,000 protested in Shanghai where US flags were burned in the streets.
Other protests were held in Chengdu, Shenyang, Guilin and other cities,
officials said.
Demonstrators set fire to the US consulate in Chengdu late Saturday and all
consulate personnel were evacuated.
All US diplomatic missions in China were to close Monday and Tuesday,
officials said.
US ambassador James Sasser issued a statement Sunday expressing
profound sorrow at the loss of Chinese life in the Belgrade mission.
The attack was due to "faulty information" about the nature of the
building targetted, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said in Brussels.
"I would hope that the Chinese authorities would accept as sincere and
legitimate our apology for the mistake that occurred," he told reporters.
The US president offered his apologies on Saturday. "It was a tragic
mistake and I want to offer my sincere regrets and condolences to the
leaders and people of China," Clinton said, while insisting NATO should
continue with its mission.
But Vice President Hu Jintao expressed strong official support for the
student-led protests. In a nationwide broadcast, he insisted however that
foreign diplomats would be protected.
"China firmly supports and protects in accordance with the law all legal
protest activities against the US-led NATO attack on the Chinese embassy
in Yugoslavia," Hu said.
"China will protect foreign diplomatic mission and institutes, foreign
nationals in China and foreigners who come to China for economic, trade,
educational and cultural activities, according to (international and
Chinese) law."
He said the demonstrations in major cities reflected the Chinese
people's "strong indignation" at the NATO attack and their "keen
patriotism."
In a sign of the new nationalism, several academics said they suspected
the bombing was deliberate.

Thousands Protest in Guangzhou Over NATO Bombing

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America
Subdivision: China, United States
Sourceline: OW0905114299 Hong Kong AFP in English 1056 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905114299
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. beijing xinhua english 090848 -- protests against nato's atrocities
mounting in xian
2. beijing xinhua english 090730 -- hangzhou students protest nato attack
on prc embassy
3. beijing xinhua english 081640 -- 'more than 15,000' students protest at
shanghai consulate
4. beijing xinhua in english 090726 -- 'thousands' of students protest
nato attack in fujian
5. hong kong afp in english 090805 -- afp: hundreds of students besiege us
shanghai consulate
6. hong kong afp in english 090931 -- afp: 10,000 students protest at us
consulate in shanghai
7. beijing xinhua domestic service chinese 081629 -- more on shanghai
students protest at us consulate
8. beijing zhongguo xinwen she in chinese 1329 gmt 8 may 99 -- shanghai
students demonstrate against nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] GUANGZHOU, China, May 9 (AFP) - More than 10,000
people Marched on the US consulate in the southern Chinese city of
Guangzhou Sunday in an angry protest over NATO's bombing of Beijing's
embassy in Belgrade.
Hundreds of police with riot shields were deployed around the complex in the
old colonial district of Shamian, as the crowd demanded revenge for the
deaths of three people who were inside the embassy when NATO forces
attacked it overnight Friday.
"Blood for blood," the protestors chanted, as their numbers dwindled when
dusk fell.
"End the NATO alliance," the crowd shouted earlier, as police looked on.
"Down with America. Down With US Imperialists. Down With US-led NATO
aggressors."
They also attempted to burn a US flag, but it was not clear in the
confused scene outside the consulate whether they succeeded.
Thousands of students were joined by a women's association and other members
of the public outside the consulate, some throwing stones and other
objects at the building over NATO's attack, which the Western alliance
said was made in the mistaken belief the embassy in Belgrade was a
Yugoslav government complex.
About 400 police were on duty around the consulate building in the
sprawling Guangdong province capital, some 150 kilometres (90 miles)
northwest of Hong Kong, preventing protesters from stopping outside the
consulate but letting them March in the narrow streets outside.
There was open hostility to foreigners, with an AFP photographer
repeatedly shouted at and photographed.
Protestors began Marching in groups in front of the consulate in mid-morning
and continued throughout the day.
Tens of thousands of people were reported to have taken part in angry
protests outside the consulate on Saturday. There were also
demonstrations outside the British and other NATO member consulates in
the city.
One professor at Guangzhou's Zhongshan University said the weekend
protests were "the greatest display of nationalism seen in Guangzhou in
decades.
"There are many people who think the bombing was deliberate," he added.
NATO said the bombing was a tragic accident and has apologised.
The Guangzhou protests came as thousands staged similar demonstrations
in Beijing and other major Chinese cities.
Tens of thousands of protestors had poured into the area around the US
embassy in the capital in the biggest public demonstration since the 1989
Tiananmen Square massacre.
The US embasssy was stoned for a second day and the nearby British
mission was also surrounded by a furious mob.
More than 30,000 students took to the streets of the eastern city of
Hangzhou to protst the NATO bombing, police said, while southeastern port
city of Xiamen had run into a second day, with thousands of students
braving heavy rain to condemn the attack, the official Xinhua news agency
said.
Some 10,000 university students demonstrated outside the US and other
consulates in the eastern city of Shanghai in the second day of
officially sanctioned protests there.
The students, brought in from various local campuses in organised bus
convoys, could be seen hurling water bottles and other small objects into
the walled US and German consulates amid roars of approval from the
crowd. Several US flags were also burned.
The US evacuated all personnel from its consulate in the southwestern
city of Chengdu after angry protesters stormed the compound and set the
residence of the consul-general ablaze overnight Saturday, a western
diplomat said.

More than 2,000 Protesters at US Embassy

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0508
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas
Document Date: 08 May 1999
Division: China, North America
Subdivision: China, United States
Sourceline: OW0805103299 Hong Kong AFP in English 1021 GMT 08 May 99
AFS Number: OW0805103299
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug: By Kwan Chooi Tow

Reference:
1. hong kong afp english 080943 -- chinese demonstrators stone us embassy
2. hong kong afp english 080955 -- afp: police at us embassy, not
intervening
3. hong kong afp english 080828 -- further on protests near us embassy in
beijing
4. hong kong afp english 080933 -- further on crowds demonstrating at us
embassy
5. hong kong afp english 080927 -- afp: 1,000 'furious' chinese protesting
at us embassy
6. beijing xinhua english 080858 -- three hundred chinese protest at us
embassy in beijing
7. hong kong afp english 080731 -- protest held near us embassy in
beijing over nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] Beijing, May 8 (AFP) -- A furious mob of more than
2,000 Chinese stoned the US embassy here Saturday in a rage over NATO's
bombing of Beijing's Belgrade mission, while scores of police looked on.
More than 100 uniformed police had been deployed in the embassy area as
the crowd, apparently mostly university students, continued to swell but
did nothing to intervene, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
However, some 30 police formed a two-deep cordon in front of the embassy
gate. The police were not equipped with riot gear.
Demonstrators also threw plastic water bottles and other debris at the building,
smashing an external light, and the crowd cheered as each missile was
lobbed.
They chanted anti-US and anti-NATO slogans and waved banners condemning
the overnight bombing in Belgrade which left at least three dead at the
Belgrade embassy, according to Chinese officials.
At least 20 people were also injured in the NATO attack on Beijing's
Belgrade embassy, which Chinese envoy to the United Nations Qin Huasun
denounced as a war crime which should be punished.
"USA are killers," the crowed chanted, as more than 100 uniformed police
watched on. "Return Chinese sovereignty."
One banner said: "USA go to hell."
"NATO Nazis," said another.
Angry demonstrators shouted in the faces of embassy officials who came to
receive letters of protest from the crowd and earlier burned a US flag in
front of the compound.
"I want to exchange blood for blood," one protester fumed.
"Down with America! Americans go home," others chanted.
"As a Chinese citizen, I definitely strongly condemn this action," said
protester Du Zehuo, an employee at a foreign enterprise.
"There is an international convention that says that diplomatic missions
cannot be bombed.
"The United States and other countries are engaging in superpower
politics. They always talk about human rights but they bomb another
country every day.
"I can't believe that."
China has strongly and repeatedly condemned the NATO strikes on Yugoslavia
as intervention in another country's sovereignty since they began March
24.
The UN Security Council after an emergency meeting expressed "shock and
concern" at the attack but noted "regrets" expressed by NATO and the US.
Among the dead, was journalist Shao Yunhuan, 48, who was sent by the
official news agency Xinhua to cover the NATO bombing.
"Politics between different countries should not impact civilians who are
innocent. I am especially angry that they have killed Chinese people,"
said Hu Binbin, a female postal worker.
The news of the attack did not emerge on state television until midday
when footage of the embassy and the injured was carried, along with the
government's strong condemnation of the "barbarian action."
"China's leaders should take some action. We are shocked and angry," said
Feng Ping, a student in her twenties. "Chinese people love peace. Why
should they bomb the Chinese embassy?"
The missile attack on the embassy further inflamed people already
unhappy with the NATO campaign.
"This is very ridiculous. There have been civil wars in many other places
such as Northern Ireland or African countries," said Yang Anxiang, who
called himself an "ordinary worker."
"Why didn't the United States intervene in those situations but in
Yugoslavia?"
In the Chinese city of Shanghai, there was no demonstration at the US
consulate, but at least 20 police were guarding the compound.
Saturday's rowdy protest at the US embassy here was unusual as Chinese
authorities routinely block demonstrations, regardless of their subject.

Protesters Rush British Embassy in Beijing

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0508
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, West Europe
Document Date: 08 May 1999
Division: China, West Europe
Subdivision: China, United Kingdom
Sourceline: OW0805151999 Hong Kong AFP in English 1452 GMT 08 May 99
AFS Number: OW0805151999
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug: As of filing time, PRC media monitored at Okinawa Bureau have not
been observed to report the following

Reference:
1. beijing xinhua english 081353 -- beijing students continue protest at
us embassy
2. hong kong afp english 081411 -- beijing protesters hostile, heading for
sasser's home
[FBIS Transcribed Text] Beijing, May 8 (AFP) -- Thousands of furious
Chinese took to the streets of Beijing and other major cities Saturday,
stoning the US embassy in the capital and Marching in protest at NATO's
overnight bombing of their country's mission in Belgrade.
Up to 3,000 enraged protestors, most of them university students,
surrounded the US embassy in Beijing and hurled stones, plastic bottles
and other debris at the compound to loud applause, as scores of police
looked on.
They chanted anti-US and anti-NATO slogans and waved banners condemning
the overnight bombing in Belgrade which left at least three dead,
according to Chinese officials. The official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug
said four people died.
At least 20 people were also injured in the NATO attack, which Chinese
envoy to the United Nations Qin Huasun denounced as a war crime which
should be punished.
"USA are killers," the crowd chanted. "Return Chinese sovereignty." One
banner said: "USA go to hell," while another read "NATO Nazis."
Angry demonstrators shouted in the faces of embassy officials who came to
receive letters of protest from the crowd. They had earlier burned a US
flag in front of the compound.
"I want to exchange blood for blood," one protestor fumed. "Down with
America! Americans go home," others chanted.
The apparently well-organised demonstration caused only minor damage --
with windows and an external light broken -- and the protestors left the
area in buses at dusk, but only after some rushed towards the nearby
British embassy, shouting "running dogs, runing dogs," and again hurling
missiles.
But hours later, some 1,000 protestors regrouped in front of the US
embassy and again stoned the compound. The protestors ignored requests by
unarmed police to leave the area, and some were seen digging up the road
and throwing pieces of it at the embassy.
"Who do you represent? China or the US?" one protester was heard saying
as they argued with police.
Anti-Western sentiment also saw attacks on foreigners and an attempt to burn and
overturn a US embassy car, as police numbers at the scene reached 1,000.
Several hundred student protesters also gathered outside the nearby British
embassy late Saturday.
Protests against NATO, which said it had bombed the Chinese embassy in the
mistaken belief it was a Yugoslav government building, were also held in
the cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
According to official provincial television, more than 10,000 Marched through
southern Guangzhou's consulate district Saturday afternoon, waving
banners and chanting anti-NATO slogans.
But officials at the city's US consulate said the crowd had been much
smaller.
A consulate spokeswoman said a rally had begun in front of the
Guangzhou mission in the late afternoon, and was continuing as night fell
hours later.
"I don't know how many people were Marching through the streets today.
All I can tell you is that the area directly in front of the consulate is
very small. There couldn't be more than several hundred here now."
The Marchers, composed mainly of university students, attempted to
deliver letters of protest to US, German, French, British, Italian and
Danish consular officials, a spokeswoman for the TV station told AFP.
She added the students had vowed to return to the streets Sunday.
In Shanghai, hundreds Marched in the heart of the city's shopping
district, after holding an afternoon demonstration outside the US
consulate.
The protest lasted about three hours, coming to a quiet end when large
numbers of mini buses -- many marked with university names -- met
students to return them to campus.
In Hong Kong, some 100 demonstrators rallied at the US and British
consulates Saturday to protest against the bombing.
The protestors, including many pro-China activists, Marched between the
consulates brandishing placards saying: "NATO stop killing the innocent."
They also handed a letter of protest to US consulate officials before
dispersing peacefully.
Saturday's protests in China were unusual as authorities routinely block
demonstrations, regardless of their subject. Officials are particularly
concerned at public displays of anger ahead of the 10th anniversary of
the June 4 Tiananmen massacre.

15,000 Students Protest at US Consulate in Shanghai

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas, East Europe
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America, Balkan States
Subdivision: China, United States, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Sourceline: OW0905162999 Hong Kong AFP in English 1541 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905162999
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. beijing xinhua english 081640 -- 'more than 15,000' students protest at
shanghai consulate
2. beijing xinhua domestic service chinese 081629 -- more on shanghai
students protest at us consulate
3. hong kong afp in english 0805 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp: hundreds of
students besiege us shanghai consulate
4. hong kong afp in english 0931 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp: 10,000 students
protest at us consulate in shanghai
5. beijing zhongguo xinwen she in chinese 1329 gmt 8 may 99 -- shanghai
students demonstrate against nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] SHANGHAI, May 9 (AFP) - Some 15,000 university
students demonstrated outside the US and other consulates here Sunday in
the second day of officially sanctioned protests against NATO's bombing
of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, state television reported.
The number that could be seen protesting in the diplomatic district
around Huaihai Middle Road Sunday appeared much smaller throughout the
day, however, as groups of different students were allowed to circulate
through by police.
A group from one university left as another arrived in succession, a
police official told AFP.
Cordons of uniformed police regulating entry to the area held back thousands
excited onlookers in narrow adjoining streets, preventing them from
joining in but not from cheering the students on.
The students, brought in from various local campuses in organised bus
convoys, could be seen hurling water bottles and other small objects into
the walled US and German consulates amid roars of approval from the crowd
during the afternoon.
Several US flags were also burned. Placards and banners held aloft read
"Barbaric bombing must end", "NATO = Nazi" and simply "Peace."
At regular intervals police allowed a group of students from a single
university to March -- amid pounding drums and chanting -- to different
NATO-related sites in the neighborhood such as the British
consul-general's residence.
A banner reading "Stop the bloodshed," carried by Marchers from
Shanghai Scientific Research Institute, bore photographs of the three
Chinese killed in Belgrade.
China says at least three people were killed by the NATO missiles early
Saturday, while Yugoslavia's Tanjug news agency said four died.
On Saturday US President Bill Clinton said: "It was a tragic mistake
and I want to offer my sincere regrets and condolences to the leaders and
people of China."
NATO officials said the building was mistaken for a Yugoslav weapons
procurement and supply office.
But a government statement issued by Chinese President Hu Jintao late in
the afternoon made scant recognition of the apology -- or NATO's
insistence that the bombing was unintentional.
As late as 11:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), hundreds of protestors were still
shouting slogans under police guard, with crowds of ordinary residents
watching nearby. Police in helmets could be seen standing at the ready.
While the vice president condemned the attack in Belgrade as "barbaric,"
some of the late-night onlookers said his comments were not enough.
"It was disappointing ... just words," a young man said. "For something
this terrible, China should do something, shouldn't it?"
Earlier in the day, some student protestors and onlookers called for China
to boost its weapons to defend itself against Western powers.
"China should beef up its development of nuclear weapons," a student said.
"It's the only way China can strengthen its position in the world."
An American-themed chain restaurant close to the US consulate, TGI
Friday's, was forced to close down indefinitely after protestors attacked
it, breaking a window.
An employee nearby said the restaurant feared it could no longer
guarantee its customers' safety.
The students have kept a round-the-clock presence in the neighbourhood
since around 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday, just hours after state
television announced the bombing of the embassy in Belgrade.
Big posters urging an end to the NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia and
rallying students to protest could be seen pasted all over walls in area
campuses such as East China Normal University early on Sunday.

More on US Ambassador to PRC Says Staff 'Hostages'

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America
Subdivision: China, United States
Sourceline: OW0905181699 Hong Kong AFP in English 1742 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905181699
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. hong kong afp in english 1411 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp: prc fury escalates
over nato embassy bombing
2. hong kong afp in english 1401 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp reviews 2d day of
anti-nato protests in beijing
3. hong kong afp in english 1254 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp views nationwide
fury in china over nato bombing
4. hong kong afp in english 1627 gmt 09 may 99 -- afp: us ambassador to prc
says staff virtual 'hostages'
[FBIS Transcribed Text] WASHINGTON, May 9 (AFP) - US Ambassador to China
James Sasser told CBS television Sunday that US embassy staff in Beijing
have been "hostages" for the last 50 hours as angry demonstrators
besieged the mission.
Thousands of angry demonstrators have showered the embassy with rocks and
molotov cocktails since the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in
Belgrade on Friday.
"We are hostages here in this embassy," Sasser told CBS' Face the Nation
in a telephone interview from inside the embassy, where he and US
personnel have been holed up without provisions for the last two days.
"They have broken all the windows here and we simply cannot leave the
building," Sasser said, noting that they were eating Marine rations.
The US diplomat said later on CNN that only one small injury occurred
with a Marine was hit in the eye by flying glass from a broken window.
China should stop the demonstrations in Beijing and throughout the nation
that are "endangering" US personnel and putting US-Chinese relations in
jeopardy, senior officials said here Sunday.
The Chinese Government needs to stop "these crowds from endangering our
personnel there," Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said Sunday on CBS'
Face the Nation.
The White House was "confident" that Beijing would "take the necessary
precautions to ensure the safety of our personnel throughout China,"
administration spokesman Michael Hammer told AFP.
While "there is concern that, with the level of demonstrators increasing,
things could get out of hand," he said, "we have received assurances that
they (Chinese officials) are taking steps to protect our personnel."
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Li Zhaoxing told ABC television
Sunday that Chinese forces are adequately protecting the US embassy and
staff in China, but curtly chastised the ABC reporter for not first
asking about the Chinese wounded in the bombing.
Asked what further action China was considering in response to the Chinese
embassy bombing, Li said "that will depend on the investigations that we
are asking for."
The Chinese ambassador would not comment on whether China would block a
G8 plan proposing a framework for a peace plan in Kosovo which will be
submitted to the United Nations.
Sasser hinted that the violence may enjoy official Chinese backing, saying
"there is some evidence of encouragement on the part of the government."
"A number of the many thousands of demonstrators may even be being
bused in to the vicinity of our embassy," he said, stressing "it's now
exceeding government expectations ... there is always the danger that its
going to go out of control."
"What is happening in Beijing and throughout China today is intentional.
It is not a mistake," Lieberman agreed.
"This kind of demonstration would not occur if the Chinese Government did
not want it to," the senator added.
Hammer said it was "unclear" whether the protests had any official backing,
adding: "Certainly our sense is that the Chinese Government is able to
intervene effectively to minimize these demonstrations, and we hope that
they will."
"This unfortunately is going to be a very serious test of our
relationship," Lieberman said, adding "it could end up being terrible
forUS-Chinese relations" and possibly China itself.
The bombing will test "whether the Chinese will exploit this terrible
accident...or they will deal with it sensibly," Lieberman stated.
Sasser also related how the US consulate in Chengdu was "burned" and
"gutted" and personnel there barricaded themselves in a room until
Chinese forces could push the demonstrators out, enabling the staff to be
evacuated.

PRC Trying To Rein in Xenophobia After NATO Attack

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China
Subdivision: China
Sourceline: OW0905134299 Hong Kong AFP in English 1248 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905134299
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug: By Luisetta Mudie

Reference:
1. beijing xinhua in english 1143 gmt 09 may 99 -- beijing police:
situation at us embassy 'under control'
[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - China may have bitten off
more than it can chew as the authorities unleash a wave of mounting
xenophobia across the country in the wake of NATO's bombing of its
Yugoslav embassy.
While giving assurances by the leadership that foreign nationals on its
soil will be protected, the government has also sent a much more potent
message -- that the angry and often violent protests which have erupted
in major cities this weekend have its full backing.
"There is a risk of things getting out of hand," said a Western diplomat in
the capital who declined to be named. "They have done everything to make
it boil over."
"China firmly supports and protects in accordance with the law all legal
protest activities against the US-led NATO attack on the Chinese embassy
in Yugoslavia," Vice-President Hu Jintao said in a statement on national
television.
Hu's statement, which was remarkably mild in its comments about NATO's
action, was closely followed by 25 minutes of news coverage of
demonstrations in most major cities, without mention of NATO's regrets
and explanations for the mistaken hit.
The nightly news bulletin showed scenes reminiscent of the old days of
political struggle sessions during the Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976),
with older people and schoolchildren sitting in rows chanting anti-NATO
slogans.
Coverage of NATO's air strikes on Kosovo has been extensive, with reports
concentrating heavily on civilian casualties inflicted by NATO forces,
with virtually no mention of the stories of ethnic cleansing by Yugoslav
troops told by Kosovar Albanian refugees.
The angry and often violent scenes that have swept China this weekend
actually come hard on the heels of a large-scale government-sponsored
patriotic campaign.
The demonstrations and stone-throwing outside the US and British
embassies here, while expressing very real emotions, have also ridden on
the momentum generated by a campaign to commemorate a 1919 protest that
led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
State-controlled media has for weeks been preparing for the 80th anniversary of the
May 4th Movement, exhorting young people to love socialism and love China
in the spirit of the 1919 demonstrations.
The influence of May 4th was apparent during the weekend protests as
college students shouted "Long live China" and repeatedly sang the
national anthem as they angrily stoned the British and US embassies.
"This is a good way of commemorating May 4th," one student told AFP.
The United States evacuated all personnel from its consulate in the
southwestern city of Chengdu after angry protesters stormed the compound
and set the residence of the consul-general ablaze.
The American embassy and consulates across China will close Monday and
Tuesday as a result of the violence.
"Chinese are furious with NATO... [ellipses as received] the embassy in
Belgrade was a part of Chinese territory," a student from Beijing
University said, as other students expressed indignation at NATO's
"interference in Yugoslavia's sovereign affairs."
In whipping up nationalist sentiment ahead of sensitive political
anniversaries like the bloody crackdown of 1989, the government has shown
that it is willing to risk hard-won social stability if the issue is one
of its own choosing.
But it has to tread a fine line between stirring things up too far and
losing control, and satisfying ordinary people that China will not take
such indignities lying down.
Before Saturday the authorities had given every indication they would nip
in the bud any sign of social unrest during a year which is full of
sensitive anniversaries for the Communist party.
Besides the May 4th anniversary, 1999 also marks the quelling of the 1979
Democracy Wall protests, the bloody crackdown by the army on the 1989
Tiananmen democracy protests and -- most importantly for the party -- the
50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
In throwing its weight behind demonstrators on a "safe" issue like
Chinese nationalism, it may be hoping to exhaust social frustrations and
provide a vent for uncertainties caused by painful reforms of the old
cradle-to-grave socialist welfare system.

Nationwide Fury in China Over Nato Bombing

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China
Subdivision: China
Sourceline: OW0905134999 Hong Kong AFP in English 1254 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905134999
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of
people took part in a second day of angry nationwide protests Sunday over
the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Ignoring apologies from US President Bill Clinton and other NATO leaders, up
to 100,000 people demonstrators beseiged the US embassy in the biggest
protests seen in Beijing since the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Crowds of up to 50,000 took part in protests in other cities, state media
said.
Public anger was fuelled by state media condemnation of the accidental
bombing early Saturday which left four dead and 20 injured, according to
a latest government toll.
The Chinese Government said it supported the demonstrations but promised
to protect foreign diplomats. In giving an official stamp of approval to
public anger, Vice President Hu Jintao made a nationwide broadcast in
which he described the bombing as "barbaric."
Tens of thousands of protestors poured into the diplomatic quarter in the
capital, waving banners and shouting anti-US slogans.
Demonstrators Marched past the US and British embassies, throwing stones, burning
US flags and effigies of President Bill Clinton and shouting slogans like
"Down with US imperialism."
Some threw stones and broke windows in the US embassy. Others gathered
outside the British embassy just a street away, throwing missiles and
shouting slogans.
The US embassy building, an adjacent residential building, the consular
section and cars parked inside the compound all had windows smashed by
rocks and water bottles.
At one point four or five protestors managed to get past police and
scramble over the gate into the compound.
Military police followed in hot pursuit, also climbing over the gate into the
compound. Hundreds of armed police manned every intersection in the area.
The demonstrators seemed to be organised with special buses laid on for
Beijing University students. But thousands also came spontaneously.
Students, led by a group from the prestigious Beijing University, carried
banners which read "Down with fascism" and "Give peace a chance". They
were applauded on the streets and as nationalistic fervour spread,
foreigners were widely abused.
More than 50,000 people staged a protest in the northern city of Xian and
more than 30,000 students took to the streets of the eastern city of
Hangzhou, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
More than 10,000 hurled abuse stones and other objects at the US
consulate in the southern city of Guangzhou, witnesses said. Another
10,000 protested in Shanghai where US flags were burned in the streets.
Other protests were held in Chengdu, Shenyang, Guilin and other cities,
the authorities said.
Demonstrators set fire to the US consulate in Chengdu on Saturday and all
consulate personnel were evacuated.
All diplomatic missions in China were to close on Monday and Tuesday,
officials said.
US ambassador James Sasser issued a statement Sunday expressing
profound sorrow at the loss of Chinese life in the Belgrade mission.
The attack was due to "faulty information" about the nature of the
building targetted, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said in Brussels.
"I would hope that the Chinese authorities would accept as sincere and
legitimate our apology for the mistake that occurred," he told reporters.
The US president offered his apologies on Saturday. "It was a tragic
mistake and I want to offer my sincere regrets and condolences to the
leaders and people of China," Clinton said, while insisting NATO should
continue with its mission.
But Vice President Hu Jintao expressed strong official support for the
student-led protests. In a nationwide broadcast, he insisted however that
foreign diplomats would be protected.
"China firmly supports and protects in accordance with the law all legal
protest activities against the US-led NATO attack on the Chinese embassy
in Yugoslavia," Hu said.
"China will protect foreign diplomatic mission and institutes, foreign
nationals in China and foreigners who come to China for economic, trade,
educational and cultural activities, according to (international and
Chinese) law," said Hu.
He said the demonstrations in major cities reflected the Chinese
people's "strong indignation" at the NATO attack and their "keen
patriotism".
In a sign of the new nationalism, several academics said they suspected
the bombing was deliberate.
[Description of source: Hong Kong AFP in English -- Hong Kong service of the
independent French press agency Agence France-Presse]

100,000 Demonstrators Occupy Beijing Diplomatic Area

Document Number: FBIS-CHI-1999-0509
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Title: FBIS Transcribed Text
Document Region: China, The Americas
Document Date: 09 May 1999
Division: China, North America
Subdivision: China, United States
Sourceline: OW0905114799 Hong Kong AFP in English 1101 GMT 09 May 99
AFS Number: OW0905114799
Citysource: Hong Kong AFP
Language: English
N/A
Subslug:

Reference:
1. beijing xinhua english 090730 -- hangzhou students protest nato attack
on prc embassy
2. beijing xinhua english 090848 -- protests against nato's atrocities
mounting in xian
3. hong kong afp english 091056 -- afp: thousands protest in guangzhou over
nato bombing
4. beijing xinhua english 081640 -- 'more than 15,000' students protest at
shanghai consulate
5. beijing xinhua in english 090726 -- 'thousands' of students protest
nato attack in fujian
6. hong kong afp in english 090805 -- afp: hundreds of students besiege us
shanghai consulate
7. hong kong afp in english 090931 -- afp: 10,000 students protest at us
consulate in shanghai
8. beijing xinhua domestic service chinese 081629 -- more on shanghai
students protest at us consulate
9. beijing zhongguo xinwen she in chinese 1329 gmt 8 may 99 -- shanghai
students demonstrate against nato bombing
[FBIS Transcribed Text] BEIJING, May 9 (AFP) - Up to 100,000 angry
demonstrators occupied Beijing's embattled central diplomatic district
late Sunday, inflicting heavy damage on the US mission, a day after
NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Most of the windows of the US embassy, the focus of the demonstrations,
had been shattered by protestors hurling rocks and water bottles.
"Jiang Qi! Jiang Qi!" they shouted as they walked past the embassy, calling
for the US flag to be lowered to half-mast.
The mission was also splattered with red, black and blue paint and
rocks, stones and water bottles littered its grounds.
"Don't hit our own men!" one police offered told the crowd as they took aim
over the heads of the seven-deep human cordon around the US embassy's
gate.
Protesters also set banners on fire and aimed them over the heads of the police
into the compound, but they failed to set the building alight.
The battalions of military police in place since early Saturday were
joined by regular police and unarmed riot police by Sunday afternoon,
controlling the flow of the crowd past the US embassy.
There were several hundred police in front of and around the US embassy,
while there were reports soldiers in full riot gear had begun moving
within one kilometre (half a mile) of the district.
US ambassador James Sasser's house was also besieged by the furious
demonstrators.
Security there was thinner and the police mostly stepped aside as the crowd
took aim at its windows.
Scores of military vehicles could be seen lining the streets of a main
artery -- now barricaded by police -- running into the embassy district.
The protests, originally led by students, were joined by ordinary people
beginning late Saturday, bringing traffic on main roads to the district
to a virtual standstill.
Police tried to keep order earlier in the day by directing students who had
Marched through the area back to the university district on the other
side of the city.
Hundreds of armed police manned every intersection in the area, often
restraining thousands of onlookers from joining the protests -- the
biggest the city has seen since the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy
movement.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators Marched past the US and British
embassies and ambassadors' residences, throwing stones, burning US flags
and shouting slogans like "Down with US imperialism."