Introduction: In today's globalized world, more and more ordinary Chinese go abroad to study and work around the world, and even settle for immigration. However, the world is not very peaceful, when war breaks out, no matter where you are, the motherland will take you home at the first time.
Just in late February, Russian President Vladimir Putin abruptly ordered Russian troops participating in exercises on the Russian-Ukrainian border to march into Ukraine.
Everything was so sudden, the territory of Ukraine was suddenly full of knives and soldiers, and the whole country was plunged into war.
There is such a group of Chinese in this country, who came here for the purpose of studying abroad and working, and now some even start a family in the local area.
The mainland government reacted quickly, immediately sending charter flights and traveling long distances to meet these overseas wanderers.
In fact, this is not the first time that China has evacuated overseas Chinese in the name of the state.
The thrilling evacuation of 30,000 Libyans in 2011 is still talked about today.
Let me relive that history for you.
In early 2011, there was serious unrest in Libya, a small North African country.
For a time, knives and soldiers were everywhere, and the people were displaced. The central government of the People's Republic of China reacted quickly in the first place, and it took only 275 hours to complete the task of evacuating more than 30,000 people.
Some American media exclaimed: Where is the evacuation, this is simply a military parade.
(Parade screen)
The parade was solemn and grand, and under the command of the military band, a neatly arranged phalanx of infantry striding across the square with steel guns in hand, followed by tanks, missiles and aircraft of various types. This scene is a symbol of a country's external display of force.
However, the rhetoric of the display of force by American journalists is very inappropriate in the case of the quick and effective withdrawal of our country's diaspora in a peaceful manner.
Weapons and equipment show the hard power of a country, which will make people have a wary and fearful mentality.
And our country in the form of peaceful coexistence, friendly unity, and win-win cooperation, to the world to show the soft power of our country, and this soft power is more convincing than hard power, in many occasions.
(China and the world friendly)
Let's revisit the thrilling and heart-warming evacuation that took place in Libya in 2011! Look at how strong our country's soft power really is.
Expatriate background
In China's foreign exchanges, trade and construction assistance are two important links.
Since the 1980s, the mainland has gradually carried out a large number of engineering contracting work in Libya. This was followed by a large number of staff, some family members and international students.
By 2011, there were 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese expatriates in Libya.
(Libya View)
The huge trade has brought countless wealth to both sides and laid the foundation for the deepening mutual benefit of the two countries.
However, a sudden riot shattered the beautiful vision of both sides.
On February 15, 2011, Libyans staged a massive demonstration in the eastern city of Benghazi. Driven away by the armed forces of the Qaddafi government, the march turned into an armed riot that quickly began to spread throughout Libya.
(Riots in Libya)
Evacuation preparations
Soon, the project department of the Mainland Water Conservancy and Hydropower Construction Group in Sti Hamri was attacked, and a group of dark-skinned and bearded bandits broke into the office of the project department with AK47 and RPG-7 anti-tank bazookas.
The bandits shouted in unintelligible languages while gesturing to chinese workers lined up against the wall. Then there was a flurry of rummaging through boxes and cabinets, and the looting of offices and workers' clothing pockets began.
To their disappointment, however, the project department did not have any valuables such as cash and gold and silver hand ornaments other than daily office engineering materials and computers.
The angry bandits stared at the blood-red eyes, eager to give the Chinese workers a full-body CT scan, afraid of missing the slightest bit of value, and in order to vent their anger, they hysterically beat everyone present.
(Civil unrest in Libya)
Under the black hole hole and the spooky muzzle of the gun, the workers could not resist, but could only let the bandits punch and kick, and this incident directly led to the serious injury of 11 Chinese workers.
At 1 o'clock in the morning of the next day, Ni Yongcao, deputy general manager of Huafeng Company in Libya, who learned of the attack on Chinese workers, immediately sent an urgent notice to all project managers: after dawn, all work was stopped, and the first task was to protect their own safety.
Subsequently, the leaders of other companies also issued the news of the suspension of work for assistance.
Over the next two days, however, violent attacks on Chinese workers continued to emerge. While praying to heaven with fear, everyone was more eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the rescue news.
What they don't know is that in China, thousands of miles away, the rescue work has begun to be carried out in an intense and orderly manner.
At the same time as Ni Yongcao,deputy general manager, issued the order, Huang Ping, director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, also received a request for rescue from Chinese citizens who had been attacked in Libya.
(Huang Ping)
He immediately issued an order to the Chinese Embassy in Libya to quickly determine the location of Chinese citizens in the local area and to be ready to carry out the evacuation of overseas Chinese at any time. At the same time, the situation was reported to the comrades of the central leadership at the first time.
At the same time, the Mainland Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an early warning through the news media, asking Chinese citizens to avoid going to Libya, while citizens in Libya should reduce their going out, must ensure personal safety, and national rescue will be launched quickly...
The flames lasted for three months, and the family letter arrived at ten thousand gold. The Chinese citizens who learned of this news shed tears of excitement, although they were in the midst of the war in Libya, they knew that the motherland would not abandon them, and the rescue team of the motherland was about to come, and hope was at hand.
(Chinese project in Libya)
Because China has a lot of projects in Libya, Chinese workers are basically all over Libya, and it is very difficult to gather them immediately in the face of such emergencies.
At this critical juncture, the Communists played the role of exemplary vanguard.
Under the command of leaders at all levels, they quickly organized themselves and arranged for local Chinese and overseas Chinese to quickly rush to the demarcated meeting point while quickly collecting drinking water, spare medicines, and emergency dry food.
At the same time, 24-hour shift security work was arranged at the assembly site.
(Chinese workers in Libya)
Domestic telephones have always remained open to Libya, and the leaders have deliberated that, given the current war situation in Libya and the unexpected situation that may occur at any time, it is impossible to directly fly more than 30,000 people back to the country. Then increase water transport, first settle the expatriates in a safe third-party country, and then fly back to China.
At the same time, the person in charge of each meeting point. While arranging for special personnel to appease the people, they collect transport vehicles, refuel, and plan the best route to the port and airport.
Everything is going on nervously and smoothly.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched diplomatic activities with Libya's neighboring countries, Egypt, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Sudan and other countries are China's traditional friendly countries. They immediately opened their borders and airspace to accept Chinese expatriates who had withdrawn from Libya.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has made great efforts, and Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines have seized all the time to allocate civil aviation aircraft that can be used to evacuate overseas Chinese.
According to the instructions of the Central Military Commission, the rescue activities of the Air Force and the Navy are also proceeding intensely.
This kind of evacuation and rescue operation of more than 30,000 people across most of the world in a short period of time is the first time in China's history and unprecedented in the history of the world.
Evacuation process
On the morning of February 22, the Chinese government officially issued an order to "evacuate overseas Chinese from Libya" to the outside world.
Once the order was issued, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Civil Aviation Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology responded quickly.
(Evacuation Roadmap)
The Air Force dispatched four large Il-76 military transport aircraft from Urumqi airport. The four major airlines also dispatched 20 large civil aviation aircraft.
At that time, there were not enough civil aviation pilots who could be transferred, and many retired pilots who had been promoted to leadership positions took the initiative to stand up and asked for help in the evacuation of overseas Chinese.
On the navy side, the guided-missile destroyer "Xuzhou", which was on escort duty in the Somali waters of the Gulf of Aden in Africa, immediately received the order, crossed the Suez Canal, which was congested with shipping, and rushed to the port of Misrata in Libya to cooperate with the evacuation of overseas Chinese.
Thanks to the previous communication between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Egypt, the Chinese Navy was not only able to smoothly enter the Suez Canal, but also obtained priority access. China's soft power can be seen here.
(Suez Canal)
Of course, in this tense evacuation of the country, the steamship was the most precious.
Due to the need to cross the sea of thousands of miles, it is obviously unrealistic to send domestic passenger and cargo ships directly from the mainland.
The most realistic and quickest way to do this is to rent a passenger ship from a third country near Libya.
Malta, Greece and Libya are across the sea, and Greece is a shipping power. In times of crisis, they reached out to China.
The head of a Greek shipping company called "Anek" even said: "The company is willing to provide large passenger ships, which can depart at any time, and the contract can be replenished at any time. ”
In a deceitful business society, to be able to say such touching words in times of crisis can only be brotherly feelings.
(Greek Passenger Line)
In Libya, evacuations are ongoing.
Under the unified arrangement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Libya were dispatched and scattered to various meeting points to cooperate in the evacuation of overseas Chinese.
Close to the meeting point on the border between Tunisia and Egypt. Collected cars were used to pull the expatriates one by one to the ports of entry to Tunisia and Egypt.
There, staff of the Chinese Embassy in the local area, who had been waiting for a long time, arranged transport vehicles to place them in comfortable hotels and resorts, waiting for flights from the country.
Under the arrangement of the staff, some overseas Chinese compatriots came to tripoli airport in the Libyan capital.
By this time, demonstrations in Libya had escalated, and rebels and government forces were engaged in fierce fighting in the streets. Explosions and gunfire were heard from time to time outside the airport, and the waiting halls were blocked by expatriates waiting to retreat.
(Chinese military aircraft)
The trembling diaspora looked forward to it, but the empty runway seemed to tell them what despair was.
At about 8 o'clock local time on February 24, a Chinese military transport plane painted with the Chinese flag and the Red Star of Bayi slowly slid down the runway.
The Chinese expatriates present were suddenly in tears, and the fears and fears of the past few days can be regarded as welcoming relatives.
At home, it may be difficult for us to experience such feelings. In foreign countries, when you are in a desperate situation, the five-star red flag is your strong backing, and the red star embedded with Bayi is your powerful guarantee.
Everyone ran toward the plane like a tide. But only documented Chinese nationals can board the plane.
Under the organization of the staff, order was quickly established. The Chinese citizens lined up and walked into the plane in an orderly manner.
The eyes of the foreign diaspora, especially those of the developed Western capitalist countries, showed great envy and jealousy.
One plane took off, and soon another plane landed, and the military plane clamped between the civil aviation, as if in a repetitive cycle. The Chinese expatriates at the airport eventually boarded planes to return to their hometowns.
On the plane, the flight attendants brought food and medicine, and the expatriates, who had been frightened for many days, soon fell asleep, and when they opened their eyes again, they would see the territory of the motherland.
(Overseas Chinese returning home by plane)
The expatriates waiting for shipping will experience a different scene.
On the way to the port, countless houses smoked black smoke and the remaining rubble seemed to tell the story of the fierce battle not long ago.
Cars that were destroyed on the highways were everywhere, and people who had been killed by stray bullets and who had been bombed were lying everywhere.
The convoy moved cautiously through the wreckage. Everyone in the car was nervous, afraid that a stray bullet would suddenly hit nearby, or that the car would roll over something and produce a flat tire.
Peace, how precious peace is! No matter how fierce the fight we see on TV and movies, it is better than personal experience, and we have a deep understanding.
(Scene after the Fierce War)
The Chinese flag played a huge role at this time.
On the road to the port, both government forces and the opposition have set up many checkpoints. The heavily armed soldiers aimed their guns at the black hole at passing pedestrians and vehicles.
When they saw the red flag hanging on the roof of the car and the yellow-skinned and dark-eyed East Asian faces in the car, they decisively let it go.
The car made its way to the port, but the sight ahead made them despair.
Crowds of refugees blocked the road to death. And there was a fierce gun battle not far ahead.
To reach the port, it is necessary to abandon the vehicle and march on foot, but the possibility of stray bullets on foot is greater, and the crowds of refugees may crowd the Chinese expatriate at any time.
Just when everyone was anxiously overwhelmed, the satellite phone of the embassy staff rang.
The evacuated passenger ship is about to arrive at the port, and the escort "Xuzhou" also appeared not far away.
(Xuzhou guided missile frigate)
"Our warships are coming, our navy is coming." There was a cheer from the crowd.
At this time, the staff who went to the battlefield to negotiate have also returned. Both sides of the battlefield are willing to give the Chinese government face, temporarily cease fire, and let the Chinese expatriate pass.
These are all showing China's influence in the world.
In the harbor, a bright five-star red flag hung high on the warship, and the heavily armed Chinese navy stood proudly ahead.
Under the guidance of the staff, the Chinese expatriate boarded passenger ships bound for Greece, Tunisia and Malta.
In just a few hours, they will be on a flight home under the arrangements of the Chinese Embassy in the local area.
After unloading the passengers, the passenger ships drove back to libya's ports to pick up the next wave of passengers.
(Evacuation Route Map)
Just as China's evacuation was drawing to a close, red-eyed refugees began to stir. For many days, nervous nerves finally overwhelmed them. Eventually, they organized themselves and rushed to the ranks of the Chinese expatriates.
They rushed into the crowd with the mentality that they wanted to go together, or not to leave, and no one could walk. They tore up the passports of some Chinese expatriates and blended into the ranks of Chinese expatriates.
Seeing the chaos, expatriates from other countries have joined in.
Not to be outdone, The Chinese expatriates also waved their fists in an effort to squeeze back into the ranks.
Among the Chinese expatriates, many of them are colleagues of the same unit, and they are easy to identify with each other day and night. However, there are still some individuals from other units who have gathered here, even relatives of international students and overseas Chinese, who are not easy to identify.
(Naval evacuation)
The staff who have been running around the meeting point and the port repeatedly for many days have long been exhausted and overwhelmed in the face of the chaos in front of them.
It may also be inspired by the bright five-star red flag on the warship, and someone in the crowd shouted loudly: "Sing the national anthem, sing the national anthem." ”
Immediately, the crowd began to hear the familiar singing of "Volunteer March". "Rise up and do not want to be slaves..."
Maybe the chorus has no effect, and it is inevitable that Mr. Nanguo will appear.
Someone in the crowd shouted, "Sing alone, sing alone." ”
Order was soon established again, and Chinese expatriates with passports, after verification, boarded a passenger ship bound for their destination.
People who do not have passports for the time being are also quiet at this time, they know that the motherland will never give up on them.
(Chinese National Anthem)
The sound of the national anthem with a southern and northern accent represents that they are members of this big family, and the motherland will not give up on them.
Some foreigners who were mixed in the crowd showed their horses' feet without singing a few words, and were quickly politely invited out of the line.
There was also a Chinese waiting to board the ship, and they stood nervously outside the line with some locals.
They have come to Libya for many years to work, and here they have become a family, and their wives and children are locals. They all have Chinese passports and sing the Chinese national anthem. But their families had nothing.
Abandoning one's wife and children has always been despised by people. But it is not appropriate to remain in war-torn Libya.
Marrying a chicken with a chicken marrying a dog with a mallet to carry away, in normal times this is a joke of Chinese folk, at this time it is a kind of responsibility and responsibility.
After the staff reported to their superiors, they agreed to take the foreigners with them to board the passenger ship bound for the destination.
These people cried, and they couldn't stop thanking the staff, thanking the People's Liberation Army, thanking the country.
(Expatriates who kissed the ground excitedly after returning home)
At this time, they will deeply feel the broad mind and warm embrace of the motherland.
After 275 hours of emergency rescue, 35 civil aviation charter flights, 12 military transport aircraft, 35 foreign charter flights, 11 foreign ships were chartered, 5 cargo ships of COSCO Group and China Shipping Group were dispatched, 1 warship of the Chinese Navy was chartered, more than 100 buses were chartered, and a total of 35,860 Chinese personnel in Libya were withdrawn.
At the same time, it also helped withdraw more than 2,600 expatriates from other countries.
end
Lao Ziyun: The world is soft, and the world is strong. Nothing goes into nothing, and I benefit from knowing nothing. Unspoken teaching, doing nothing, the world hopes for it.
In the future international arena, China will continue to use its soft power to make new contributions to world peace and development.