From 8 May to 10 May 1999, anti-US and anti-NATO protests swept across China and the Chinese diaspora around the world, in response to the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Overwhelmingly perceived as a deliberate attack, crowds tens of thousands strong, led by students, demonstrated outside US and NATO embassies and consulates in major cities. Many protesters were violent, attacking consular buildings by throwing rocks, destroying vehicles, and setting fires, although no serious injuries occurred. Large-scale protests forced the temporary closure of every US Embassy and Consulate General in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenyang. Further protests occurred in Shenzhen, Nanjing, Lanzhou, Hong Kong and the Portuguese territory of Macau. This represented the largest student protests in China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, and remained the largest movement in Beijing until the 2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations.[1] Globally, Chinese students and diaspora peacefully protested outside US embassies.
On 10 May, US President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the bombing, also stating "I think it is very important to draw a clear distinction between a tragic mistake and a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing."[2] In December, China agreed to compensate the US with US$2,870,000 for the demonstrations' damage to consular property, while the US compensated China with US$28,000,000 for the bombing.[3][4][5]
Western media accused Chinese media of fuelling the protests, pointing to its initial lack of reporting on the US apologies and claims of unintentionality, and rhetoric such as a People's Daily article saying NATO had intentionally "spilled Chinese blood".[6]
The protests continued for several days, during which tens of thousands of rock-throwing protesters kept US Ambassador James Sasser and other staff trapped in the Beijing embassy.[7][8] The residence of the US Consul in Chengdu was damaged by fire and protestors tried to burn the consulate in Guangzhou.[9] There were no reported injuries.[10] Besides the British and other NATO missions, the embassies of Albania and Ireland were also attacked.[6][11]
On 9 May, then-Vice PresidentHu Jintao delivered a national televised speech calling the act both "criminal" and "barbaric" and that it "has greatly infuriated the Chinese people."[12][13][14] He said the unauthorized demonstrations in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang reflected the anger and patriotism of the Chinese people, and which the Chinese government fully supported, but urged against extreme and illegal conduct.[14][6][10]
Some protesters were alarmed by the nature of the NATO bombing campaign, in the name of humanitarian intervention, without United Nations Security Council approval, fearing a similar attack against China, potentially over Taiwan or Tibet. One protester told the New York Post "We know what the U.S. intention is ... Today Kosovo, tomorrow Taiwan." Some rhetoric focused on US President Bill Clinton. One sign read "Clinton, we're not Monica",[15] referencing the 1998 Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, while another read "Clinton the second Hitler".[16] Others focused on anti-Americanism more broadly. One student slogan read "don't take TOEFL, don't take GRE, fight wholeheartedly the American Empire".[17] In cities without a US consulate, such as Shenzhen, protests took place outside McDonald's and Wal-Mart locations.[18]
On 10 May, US President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the bombing, also stating "I think it is very important to draw a clear distinction between a tragic mistake and a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing."[2] In August, the US agreed to compensate the victims of the bombing and their families.[20] In December, the US agreed to compensate China for damage to the embassy, and China agreed to compensate the US for damage to consular property in the resulting demonstrations in China.[3][4][5] China compensated the United States for US$2,870,000(equivalent to $5,240,315 in 2024), while the US compensated the embassy damage with US$28,000,000(equivalent to $51,125,024 in 2024), as well as a "voluntary humanitarian payment" to the victims' families of US$4,500,000(equivalent to $8,216,522 in 2024).[5]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
