蒙古民兵用枪:An epic evacuation epitomizes China's people-first philosophy

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An epic evacuation epitomizes China's people-first philosophy

09:42, March 06, 2011      

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China is who all the overseas Chinese can turn to in time of need. This truth has just been confirmed once again by the country's unprecedented success of evacuating its endangered citizens from violence-torn Libya.

Within merely nine days and eight nights, all Chinese nationals in Libya intending to leave, 35,860 in total, were brought safely out of the Northern African country in Beijing's latest overseas evacuation operation, its largest and most complicated since 1949.

Some of the evacuees were flown back to China directly from Libya, while the vast majority were transferred to a third country by land, sea and air, before taking chartered flights home. The whole operation is expected to conclude as early as Saturday night.

The extraordinary feat embodies the decisive leadership of the Chinese government; the swift and coordinated action of different government organs, diplomatic missions, state-run enterprises and the military; and the fruitful application of China's peace-oriented foreign policy.

Behind the globally admired accomplishment is a country boasting powerful national strength, capable institutions and stable society and headed by a government dedicated to a people-first philosophy.

AN ALL-OUT RACE AGAINST TIME

Since Libya plunged into political turmoil and bloody clashes in mid-February, rampant violence threw the tens of thousands Chinese citizens in Libya into harm's way.

A number of projects operated by Chinese businesses were ransacked, thousands of Chinese workers were stranded with scant basic supplies, and many were even in life-threatening danger.

Deeply concerned about the wellbeing of these compatriots thousands of miles away, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao late on the night of Feb. 21 ordered authorities immediately to take effective measures to guarantee the safety of the lives and properties of the Chinese nationals in Libya.

From this, an all-out effort got under way. Under the command of a special taskforce headed by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang and involving a wide spectrum of government bodies and state-run enterprises, all necessary resources were mobilized to withdraw the 35,000 from the 1.76 million square km country on the other side of the world as soon as possible.

Among the many participants in the massive exodus, the Foreign Ministry assisted evacuees with entry and exit procedures, the Civil Aviation Administration organized a host of chartered flights to bring them home, the Navy sent a frigate to escort evacuation vessels, and the Air Force dispatched four transport aircraft to provide extra airlift.

At the forefront of this complex operation were the Chinese diplomats stationed in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Malta and Sudan, who braved formidable dangers and overcame tremendous difficulties to pioneer different exit routes, facilitate the mass retreat and provide for the evacuees.

Thanks to the systematic approach to the project and the painstaking efforts of thousands of staff, this race against time proceeded efficiently and smoothly, with thousands of evacuees being pulled out of Libya every day on average during the process.

Meanwhile, this unprecedented overseas evacuation created a handful of precedents. Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao said it was the first such operation to combine sea, land and air transportation; the first to charter foreign aircraft, vessels and vehicles; the first to involve military ships and planes; and the first to cooperate with several friendly countries.

The desolate Libyan desert and the crowded border crossings, the busy Libyan ports of Benghazi and Misurata and the overloaded Tripoli airport, and the Mediterranean Sea and the skies above have borne witness to China's deep commitment to its people.

"You can trust the Chinese government! You can trust us! We will not leave anyone behind!" Liu Meikun, economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Malta, assured some 100 Chinese workers when they were stopped from boarding a chartered evacuation vessel at Benghazi on Feb. 24.

After two hours of intensive coordination and consultation, the skipper of the ocean liner finally allowed all the passengers on board. Upon hearing the news, those anxious evacuees burst into tearful cheers.A MANIFESTATION OF CHINESE VALUES AND VIRTUES

Throughout the operation, the deep-rooted people-first philosophy of the Chinese government and public servants was again on full display.

"Exhaust all means possible to guarantee the safety of our people, exhaust all means possible to guarantee the safety of our properties, and exhaust all means possible to maintain our national interests," the Chinese leadership ordered at the outset of the operation.

Despite potential dangers, ad hoc teams grouping officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Public Security and other relevant government organs rushed to restive Libya to help organize the evacuation from the frontline.

"Difficult, arduous and tiring," said Fei Mingxing, a Foreign Ministry official sent to Libya to explore the westward route to Tunisia, when describing his team's work. "But for the homeland and the people, we have no complaint or regret."

Following instructions from Beijing, the Chinese embassy in Libya quickly formulated an evacuation plan, dividing the host country into four zones and tasking the heads of large Chinese companies with superintending the evacuation efforts in their respective zones.

"We explicitly required that only after each and every employee in their zones has been evacuated could the superintendents leave," said Ambassador Wang Wangsheng. "The top priority is the safety of the people."

Wang Xuhong, political counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Libya, stayed at the Tripoli airport for a day and a night without food or sleep in order to ensure that chartered Chinese planes could land at the airport. Zheng Yujie, a diplomat of the Chinese Consulate General in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria, curled up in a chartered coach in a chilly night at the Egypt-Libya border in order to keep robbers away.

Among the evacuees themselves, members of the Communist Party of China stood out at the critical moment, volunteering to be the last ones to leave or to help maintain the order of embarkation. "Men after women, cadres after ordinary employees, and party members after non-party members" were the principles of the withdrawal.

Also thoroughly demonstrated in the escape were such time-honored Chinese virtues as solidarity, mutual care and help and altruism. Wu Jianzhou, a 25-year-old employee of a Chinese company, risked his life to return to Tripoli, after finally reaching the Libyan border, in order to retrieve the passports of his 242 colleagues.

"I should stay. They need me," said Gao Xiaolin, a translator in her 20s. She should have been among the first batch to leave, but did not until all of her more than 800 colleagues had safely exited Libya.
A PRODUCTIVE FOREIGN POLICY FOR THE PEOPLE

Decisive to the success of the monolithic task are China's growing national strength, its social stability and the advantages of its socialist system, which vests the country with the ability to mobilize all the resources needed for an arduous mission.

With China's rapid development, an increasing number of Chinese people and businesses are "going global," and the chances of Chinese nationals being endangered by events around the world are also mounting. Accordingly, Beijing has been paying increasing attention to the wellbeing of the Chinese people abroad. Since the 2006 evacuation from East Timor, the Chinese government has rolled out dozens of such operations.

"It is an inevitable trend that Chinese citizens and enterprises go abroad... Our protection umbrella will be extended to wherever there are our overseas interests," said Song of the Foreign Ministry, citing China's rising international status, expanding influence and growing national strength as "very important" contributors.

Also important to the latest successful evacuation is Beijing's consistent practice of a peace-oriented foreign policy, which has seen China make friends with many countries across the world, including Greece, Malta, Egypt, Tunisia and Sudan, which, among others, have greatly contributed to the Chinese undertaking.

"When others have difficulties, we do our best to offer help... You have helped him, and he naturally will help you when you need help," the vice foreign minister said.

As a responsible heavyweight player on the world stage, China also commits itself to international humanitarianism. During the intense evacuation, China also rescued 2,100 people from 12 other countries, including Vietnamese, Filipinos and Bangladeshis.

"Whatever the circumstances, they will never be left unattended. This is our commitment to them," Guo Shaochun, a senior consular protection official at the Foreign Ministry told frontline diplomats in reference to the foreign employees of Chinese businesses in Libya.

China's swift and orderly evacuation was applauded by many foreign witnesses. "This evacuation mission showcased to all of us what it really means to care for others, for your compatriots in danger. Our world would be a better place if all governments could spare no efforts to protect their peoples and all citizens could rush to help each other in time of need," said Patritsia Massouraki, a resident of the Greek island of Crete, an important transfer station in the Chinese operation.

The epic evacuation has demonstrated once again that China will always stand behind its people, no matter where they are. What Li Shijie, an employee of a Chinese company, said upon arriving at Crete resonated among all the evacuees, their families and the broader Chinese public: "We are proud of being Chinese!"




Source:Xinhua

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