Dear Mr. Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Mr. Trent Lott,
Mr. Denny Hastert,
Another wave of buses arrived with more student protesters early yesterday (May 9,
1999), a day after protesters attacked the U.S. and British embassies in Beijing with
chunks of concrete, smashing windows and cars in demonstrations against NATO's accidental
bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. The Chinese government basically
bans protests for fear they will escalate into unrest.
But officials apparently felt that stopping people from publicly expressing outrage
over the embassy bombing could further inflame them and possible turn emotions
against the government. Not since the government crushed democracy protests
at Tiananmem Square on June 4,1989, have students and other Chinese marched through
Beijing streets in large numbers with banners and slogans.
However, China needs economic growth for social stability, and continued economic
growth requires continued access to American markets and capital China would hurt itself
if it responds to the Belgrade tragedy too harshly.
Taiwan commentators said communist China's state --- controlled media were
playing with fire by whipping up nationalist, anti-western feelings that
they said encouraged mobs of irate students to attack U.S. and other western diplomatic
outposts. "If mainland authorities aren't careful, these sentiments could
ultimately end up turning against them." Taipei China Post said in an
editorial.
According to "tragic mistake", the President dismissed critics who suggested
the attack was an act of barbarism. "What is barbaric is what Mr.
Milosevic has done," he said, "What is barbaric is the intentional
ethnic cleansing he has provoked."
In our view; China's state-controlled media concealed the
truth of Serb's ethnic cleansing and genocide massacre from Chinese people. We support
that Clinton said the bombings could stop if Milosevic would accept NATO's demands to
leave Kosovo and accept the return of ethnic Albanians to the province under the
protection of an international peacekeeping force.