China's evacuation of citizens from Lebanon is almost over with
a 143 being taken to safety by Thursday, the Chinese Foreign
Ministry said that evening.
The evacuees included seven compatriots from Hong Kong, a
foreign ministry statement said.
With most embassy staff evacuated, eight officials in the
Lebanon Chinese Embassy, including ambassador Liu Xianghua,
remained behind to ensure the safety of other Chinese citizens, the
statement said.
Israel has intensified its air raids on Lebanese targets since
launching a massive assault on July 12 when Lebanon's Hezbollah
guerillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in
cross-border attacks.
The Chinese government has been greatly concerned about the
safety of Chinese citizens in Lebanon.
Closely following the development the Chinese Foreign Ministry
launched the emergency response mechanism last week. The ministry
also warned Chinese citizens against traveling to Lebanon.
Since last Friday the Chinese embassy in Lebanon started to
evacuate citizens. Most were transported to Syria. The last group
of 22 were on their way to Cyprus Thursday noon on board a Greek
vessel.
Before the evacuation, Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei
talked by telephone with ambassadors from other countries informing
them of the Chinese decision to evacuate and seeking cooperation
from them to safeguard the security of Chinese nationals.
Thanks to the coordinating efforts of the Syrian border
departments, the Chinese Embassy in Syria assisted the evacuees'
settlement. The Embassy in Israel also launched its emergency
response plan and issued advice warning Chinese citizens against
traveling to the region.
The Chinese Embassy in Israel even arranged for Chinese citizens
to leave the troubled north region of Israel.
Governments around the world have been scrambling to evacuate
their nationals from Lebanon as the intense Israeli military
offensive entered its ninth day in the worst fighting across the
border in more than two decades.
In April and May this year China evacuated 243 and 325 Chinese
nationals, including Hong Kong compatriots, from the Solomon
Islands and East Timor where there was growing unrest.?
(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2006)