Today, Lao Feng will tell you a story. In 2008, Zhang Guo and Long Xiaowei were hijacked by the Taliban in Pakistan.
In 2008, Long Xiaowei (left) and Zhang Guo (right) were kidnapped by the Taliban.
Zhang Guo and Long Xiaowei both came from rural Shaanxi. They were employees of ZTE Corporation . In May 2008, they were assigned to Pakistan, participating in the base station construction project.
At that time, the expatriation allowance was very high, and it was an opportunity to make some money, so the two of them went. Pakistan is a country friendly to China, and neither of them expected that there would be any danger.
When they arrived in the Dir area of āāPakistan, Zhang Guo and Long Xiaowei, together with more than a dozen Chinese engineers, lived in a two-story building with tight security. There were guards sent by the Pakistani government to stand guard at the door. Every morning, they were picked up by a special car. They go to work at the base station and get off work every day, and a special car picks them up again. In theory, their work is safe.
But, only "in theory".
On August 29, 2008, bad luck befell Zhang Guo and Long Xiaowei.
Yes. problem occurs.
On the afternoon of August 29, 2008, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo took a special car and returned to their residence from the communication base station in Dier area. While the special car was driving on the road, suddenly, a group of masked people holding AK47 came from the highway. Both sides rushed up. They pointed their guns at the taxi driver and shouted in Urdu : Stop! parking!
The Pakistani driver was afraid and stopped the car.
At this time, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo in the car didn't know what was happening, and they became nervous.
These masked men were all Taliban guerrillas. However, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo did not know at the time that their first reaction was that they were some kind of civil war armed forces in Pakistan.
This group of masked men drove the Pakistani driver out of the car and yelled at him to leave. The driver was afraid, staggered, and ran away. In a flash, he ran away.
At this time, the AK47 muzzles of several masked men stretched out from the car window and directly touched the heads of Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo. They shouted in English: Get out of the car! Get out of the car!ļ¼Get out of the car!ļ¼
Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo mistakenly thought that these masked people might be some civil war or rebel forces in Pakistan, so they took out their Chinese passports and said They said: "We are Chinese! Chinese! We are friends of Pakistan!" (We are Chinese! We are friends of Pakistan!)
However, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo did not realize that this sentence just made This group of masked men were even more angry. What's going on with
?
It turns out that this group of people are Afghan Taliban guerrillas. At that time, the Pakistani government was fighting the Taliban. In the eyes of the Taliban, friends of the enemy are enemies, so when you say "I am a Chinese and a friend of Pakistan," this sentence started from that time This group of Taliban guerrillas sounds exactly like "I am your enemy."
Yes, the thing is so ironic that it makes people dumbfounded.
As a result, the masked man began to hit Zhang Guo hard with the butt of his gun. The two were dragged out of the car, and then escorted not far away to the Taliban's car.
The base station where Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo worked at that time was located in the Dir area, a mountainous area in the north of Pakistan, on the border with and Afghanistan. It was an area bordering the two countries, where the Taliban often appeared.
The Talibanās camps are all secret places, so no car can drive directly to them. They need to constantly change cars and transport them in the middle. Therefore, three days later, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were transported to a seemingly A place like a school.
Long Xiaowei
Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were locked in a small room. A leader of the Taliban guerrillas came in. (in English) said this to them:
"We They are the Taliban, fighters of Allah. We are temporarily holding you hostage for political purposes, not to harm you. You can rest assured that as long as you cooperate and do not resist, we can guarantee your personal safety."
This Taliban commander looks like a chief His demeanor and gestures were different from those of the grassroots soldiers who escorted Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo. He looked like an authoritative figure. However, this person's words did not make Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo feel safe. , because they had long heard that the Taliban would kill hostages.
As a result, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo finally knew that they were kidnapped by the Taliban.
After the Taliban leader left, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo asked the Taliban soldiers guarding them in English: "Are you going to kill us?" (Will you kill us)
The Taliban soldiers guarding them replied: "Allah knows " (Allah knows)
So, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo thought: This time they are dead.
They asked the Taliban guard which direction was the east, and the guard pointed to the east. Then, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo knelt down towards the east, kowtowed three times, and said to the Chinese parents, wives, and children, I am sorry for you. Today, I Gonna die here.
On September 2, 2008, the Taliban announced the kidnapping of two Chinese nationals, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo, through Western media. The main idea of āāthe Taliban statement was: The reason why they kidnapped the two Chinese nationals this time was because China was fooled. Allies of Pakistan.
Moreover, the Taliban listed the conditions for the release of Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo in the statement:
Condition 1: demanded a ransom of several dollars.
Condition 2: requires Pakistan to release several captured Taliban guerrilla fighters.
Condition 3: requires Pakistan to stop military strikes against the Taliban.
html On September 2, after seeing the Talibanās statement, China immediately discussed methods with the Pakistani government and launched an active rescue operation.
On the same day, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan contacted local elders through an intermediary, established contact with the Taliban, and was allowed to speak with Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo.
On the phone, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui said to Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo:
"You must protect yourselves and live well. The country is thinking of ways to rescue you as soon as possible. You must have a good relationship with the Taliban officers and soldiers. Don't confront them head-on. After I make this call, I will send you winter clothes through an intermediary."
Luo Zhaohui, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the incident.
Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were on the phone, sobbing. Face, ignited a glimmer of hope for survival.
After making the phone call, the Taliban soldier responsible for guarding them gave them a few candies.
The meaning conveyed by the guard is: I am just ordered to guard you. There is no personal enmity between you and me. Therefore, we can actually get along well with each other.
Not long after, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were moved again by the Taliban. This time, they were arranged to live in a private house in a remote mountainous area. It was a small room of a poor Afghan family. The women and children of this Afghan family brought them meals. What they usually ate was bread and onions.
Yes, private. The Taliban also has a good relationship between the military and civilians. The Taliban is also rooted in the masses. Whether you like the Taliban or not, in short, the Taliban has a mass base in some mountainous areas of Afghanistan. Some people support the Taliban. Why? Because some people believe that the Taliban are the most devout warriors of Allah and their beliefs are the purest. They are much better than the politicians in the city.
Note that this is not my opinion, but the opinion of some people in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan.
html On September 12, the Taliban allowed Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo to talk to their family members in Shaanxi, China. They were only allowed to talk for two minutes. Both sides of the phone were crying.
The Pakistani government sent troops to negotiate with the Taliban, but the negotiations failed. As a result, the Pakistani government sent troops to fight. Guns were rumbling outside. Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were frightened in the small room. They were worried that the shells would fall. In your own room.
Fortunately, it does not.
Soon, the Pakistani government troops withdrew, seemingly without victory.
After the battle, a group of Taliban soldiers broke in and used a DVD player to play the video of them cutting off the heads of American soldiers, forcing Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo to watch it.
The Taliban soldier pointed at the TV screen and said to Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo: "You will die the same way as they did" (You will die this way too)
Zhang Guo
I watched the US military being killed by the Taliban After the bloody head-cutting video, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo made up their minds: to escape from prison. Need to jailbreak. Can't be beheaded like them.
So, they patiently looked for opportunities.
In early October, the Taliban and unknown troops outside were fighting increasingly fiercely. Most of the soldiers responsible for guarding Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were transferred to the battlefield, leaving only one guard, who was guarding them day and night. As he watched, this man was exhausted.
html Late at night on October 16, when the guard couldn't bear it anymore and accidentally fell asleep, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo saw the opportunity, opened the door, sneaked out, and then ran away.
Run! Run out and be free!
The two of them were running desperately in the dark and windy Afghan mountains at night, running and running.
The Taliban guard quickly discovered the situation and chased after him. He was behind, yelling and bringing his dog with him.
The two of them ran faster when they saw someone chasing them. However, because the night was too dark, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo accidentally got separated while running, and they ended up running on their own.
Not long after he got lost, there was a burst of gunfire from behind. After they were separated, Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo heard the gunshots. Both parties thought that the other party must have been killed by the Taliban. So, both parties agreed and were heartbroken. Kneel down and say "I'm sorry" to each other.
After crying, he got up and continued running.
Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo were detained by the Taliban
Among them, Zhang Guo's feet were sprained halfway and he could not run. He crawled on the ground. Near dawn, he saw a mosque in the distance, so he crawled He walked over and knocked on the door of the mosque.
The elder of the mosque opened the door and saw a yellow-skinned East Asian lying on the ground, saying some words that he could not understand. So the elder moved with compassion and saved him.
Soon after, the mosque elders handed Zhang Guo over to the Pakistani government forces. Pakistan soon escorted Zhang Guo to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.
Zhang Guo, saved.
So, what about Long Xiaowei?
Long Xiaowei is not as lucky as Zhang Guo.
That night, after the two ran away, Long Xiaowei accidentally fell from a high ground and broke his leg while running. He was quickly caught by the Taliban fighters who caught up.
After the Taliban caught Long Xiaowei, they beat him crazily with sticks to punish him for escaping from prison.
After Long Xiaowei was captured, the Taliban did not treat his leg. Long Xiaowei used two boards to tie up his broken leg and let it heal on its own. Very painful.
Later, Long Xiaowei saw with his own eyes that the guard who neglected his duties was whipped 30 times by the Taliban leadership to punish him for neglecting his duties.
At this time, Long Xiaowei thought he would die.
So, he secretly hid a small blade belonging to the guard in his clothes, ready to commit suicide at any time to avoid the pain of beheading.
However, life should not be cut off. Long Xiaowei's fate has finally come to light.
At the end of that year, our personnel, through certain means, contacted the Talibanās top brass, and through negotiations, finally convinced the Talibanās top brass to release Long Xiaowei.
Long Xiaowei (second from right) took a group photo with ZTE and Chinese embassy personnel after his release.
On February 14, 2009, Long Xiaowei was released by the Taliban and took a flight to return to China on the 18th.
This is the story of Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo.
Since ancient times, if you survive a disaster, you will be blessed later. I hope Long Xiaowei and Zhang Guo are safe and happy.
