On May 8, 1999, the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO, killing three journalists, injuring more than 20 people, and seriously damaging the embassy. When the news spread, the whole country was sad and indignant, protesting against the atrocities of the United States, knowing that the embassy of a country is equivalent to the territory of that country, and the bombing of the Chinese embassy by the United States is equivalent to a declaration of war.
The next day, the Chinese diplomatic team took a special plane to Belgrade, and before leaving, many of them even wrote suicide notes, with the intention of sacrificing their lives for the country, but what they were waiting for was the explanation that the United States had used an old map to "bomb by mistake." Such an explanation was simply perfunctory, but the mainland did not fight back, and the United States at that time did not understand why we did not fight back. However, 20 years later, the United States understood why China did not choose to fight back, but by this time it was too late to regret it.
Sudden air raids
It all started with the country of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Tito led partisan detachments throughout Yugoslavia to drive out the German Nazis. Under his leadership, the Yugoslav economy developed rapidly. But after his death, Yugoslavia's economic and ethnic contradictions continued to intensify.
The Balkans themselves were a powder keg, ethnic relations were complex, and with the changes in the international situation, many nationalities in Yugoslavia had the idea of independence. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, drastic changes also took place in Eastern Europe, with the member states of Yugoslavia declaring independence one after another, and Serbia and Montenegro, which had always been reluctant to split, reorganized the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. But ethnic Albanians in Kosovo also wanted independence, and they formed independent armed forces to confront Serbia.
As a result, a civil war broke out between the two sides, triggering a humanitarian crisis. However, if it is said that NATO sent troops to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia out of morality, it can only be said that the United States thinks too well, and the United States sends troops to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in order to attack the euro. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Europe had no enemies, and in principle there was no need for NATO to exist, but Europe was very important to the United States.
The United States hopes that it may continue to control Europe, and NATO is to use military means to coerce Europe, so the United States rejects Russia's idea of integrating into Europe, creating an enemy for Europe and forcing Russia to the opposite side. But Europe has already established the European Union at this time, and the political and economic integration is highly integrated, and they want to integrate the power of Europe and get rid of the United States.
In 1999, the euro was born, and the newborn euro was worth more than the dollar, and the euro constituted a serious provocation to the hegemony of the dollar, and the United States had to respond. As a result, the United States took advantage of the Yugoslav issue to launch the Kosovo War. The purpose is to knock Europe and hit the euro, and as soon as the war broke out, a lot of foreign capital in Europe flowed into the United States.
In March 1999, NATO launched a direct war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Unexpectedly, however, the United States actually aimed its "guns" at the mainland's embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the same year, at around 11:40 p.m. on May 7, Beldeleg time, the mainland embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO bombers.
The incident resulted in the death of three mainland journalists, namely Shao Yunhuan, a reporter for the Xinhua News Agency, and Xu Xinghu and Zhu Ying, reporters of the Guangming Daily, along with dozens of others injured and the embassy building also seriously damaged. After this incident occurred, it aroused public outrage on the mainland, and those Western media, which are usually active, collectively shut up and kept silent about the matter.
It was only a few days later that the US side came forward to give an explanation. They claimed that it was a "mistaken" bombing, that their original target was the Yugoslav military headquarters, but that they had used an outdated map and that the embassy was only 180 meters away from their bombing target, which led to the tragedy.
The mainland angrily did not accept such a statement, and how could such a mistake occur when the United States was developing so well at that time, and this was a complete lie. As a result, the mainlanders held high banners and shouted "The United States pays for its blood debts" and approached the outside of the US Embassy in China to seek justice for the reporters.
The attitude of the mainland
Subsequently, the mainland government issued a statement condemning the United States' actions and accusing it of disrespecting the mainland's embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the mainland's sovereignty. In fact, the mainland's intention is obvious, that is, to make the United States pay for its actions, and not to let those three reporters sacrifice in vain.
At the same time, the central authorities contacted Li Zhaoxing, the mainland's ambassador to the United States, and sent him to talk with then US President Brinton to seek justice for the compatriots who unfortunately died. After receiving the order, Li Zhaoxing first collected information everywhere to understand the ins and outs of the matter. On the afternoon of May 8, a meeting of diplomats from the embassy in the United States was organized.
Damaged after the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Together, they analysed the situation and discussed countermeasures. After discussion, they found that it was the US B-2 stealth fighter plane that bombed the mainland embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the error caused by it could not be so large at all, and the so-called "outdated map" was pure nonsense, and this was a long-planned conspiracy.
However, a group of diplomats on the mainland, headed by Li Zhaoxing, will not rest on their laurels, and they are bound to seek justice for the compatriots who have been killed. Later, the United States also sent people to talk to Li Zhaoxing, Pickering and Albright. Pickering was the US deputy secretary of state at the time, and when he met with Li Zhaoxing, he also brought two statements.
However, the statement has been emphasizing the word "accidental bombing", for fear that others will not know that this is a mistake. The statement was not only arrogant, but also not apologetic. Li Zhaoxing was very angry after reading this, and directly told Pickering that there was no need to continue the talks, because the US side was insincere.
Then the U.S. sent their Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, who also worked with Li Zhaoxing. Perhaps the United States wants to play the emotional card and let Li Zhaoxing loosen his mouth on the face of his former friends. However, the sovereignty of the state is inviolable, and in this matter, Li Zhaoxing unconditionally stands on the side of the motherland.
He called in a reporter to report on the incident, and Albright wanted to leave when she saw the scene, and she did not want to admit her mistake in public. But Li Zhaoxing did not give in, which made her unable to get off the stage, and she had to explain to the camera that she came to apologize on behalf of the US government to the three Chinese killed in the air raid.
Later, Li Zhaoxing and two colleagues went to the White House to meet with US President Clinton. At the outset, Clinton verbally expressed his apologies to the families of the victims of the airstrike. After hearing this, Li Zhaoxing said something that he should apologize for all of China. So he changed his tune again.
However, Li Zhaoxing was still not satisfied, and directly asked Clinton to write an apology. It is said that his expression at that time was extremely angry, perhaps because Clinton did not want to completely tear his skin with China, so he slowly wrote down with a pen "expressing deep condolences to the victims and sincere apologies to their families and Chinese people" and attached his name. Afterwards, the US media also called Li Zhaoxing a "hardliner."
As a matter of fact, Li Zhaoxing's attitude is exactly the mainland's attitude, and no country will be allowed to infringe upon the mainland's sovereignty. On the 12th, the ashes of the three killed journalists were brought back by a special plane. At this time, however, some Chinese people who were agitated were puzzled by the mainland's attitude toward handling the situation, and they were very puzzled as to why the mainland did not launch a military counterattack.
The truth of forbearance
In fact, the truth of not fighting back can be summed up in eight words, that is, endure humiliation and accumulate heavy burdens. Although it had been 20 years since the reform and opening up and the economy had developed by leaps and bounds, it was still far from the United States, and it was not an impulsive way to fight back.
Moreover, at that time, the mainland was completely unable to confront the United States militarily, and the United States was the only one with a very strong military strength. If the mainland rashly retaliates, the consequences will be unimaginable. Moreover, Clinton, who was the US president at the time, has already apologized and compensated the families of the victims. The US side is bound to make a big fuss about this matter in order to win over other countries to isolate and suppress us.
Just as Comrade Jiang Zemin said, only by improving our economic strength, comprehensive national strength, and national cohesion can we be in an invincible position. Although this decision is a burden of humiliation, it is a long-term plan, and there is nothing to endure for the moment, what I am afraid of is not working hard to improve myself. Only when you become stronger can you have the right to speak in the international community.
And the later development of the mainland also confirmed this sentence. In 2010, the mainland became the world's second largest economy. In 2020, when the epidemic was "rampant", the mainland became the only major economy in the world to achieve positive economic growth. In 2023, the mainland's GDP will be 126.06 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world, and the mainland's economy is stable and far-reaching.
On November 26, 2023, the mainland's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, successfully tested electromagnetic catapult. In addition, the mainland has made a qualitative leap forward in the field of national defense and military affairs, and the navy, army, and air force are advancing hand in hand, second only to the United States in conventional weapons, and in the navy, we have the world's leading shield ships, and in the air force, we have independently developed fifth-generation aircraft.
In the 10 years of the new era, the total number of countries with diplomatic relations with the mainland has increased from 172 to 181, and the Taiwan authorities have won nine so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" in succession. The "Belt and Road" proposed by the mainland has attracted the active participation of 149 countries and 32 international organizations. The mainland's international influence and appeal have been greatly enhanced! This has also enabled us to straighten our backs and resolutely say no to US interference!
You are not qualified to say in front of China that you are talking to China from a position of strength, and the Chinese do not accept this set. With such a loud voice, the current China is not the poor, weak and backward China that was about to be beaten 100 years ago, and this is also the confidence of the mainland today.
The Chinese love peace and do not want war, but if anyone wants to impose war on us, we will use practical actions to show the world that "those who offend our Chinese will be cursed even if they are far away." It is only now that the United States has figured out why the mainland did not fight back after the "accidental bombing" of the mainland's embassy, and this was a wise choice from a major country, in order to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens.
Now in the midst of great changes unseen in a century, in the face of our opponents, what we can do is to strengthen ourselves, maintain strategic focus, and make all preparations in case the dog jumps off the wall, and we firmly believe that our nation will achieve great rejuvenation.
Resources
The Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was attacked 23 years ago, was it bombed by mistake or deliberately? People's Daily Publishing House
It's been 24 years! We will never forget this day in Xinhuanet