The chaotic era background
May 8, 1999, this is a day that every Chinese will never forget. On this day, the US-led NATO troops brazenly launched a bombing on the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia, directly killing three compatriots and injuring more than 20 others.
After this incident, the Chinese people were furious. People took to the streets to protest against the boldness of the United States' and . The U.S. government explained this as "a mistake."
This absurd statement is obviously unconvincing. So, who gave the order to bomb the Chinese Embassy? As the "culprit" pushed out by the United States was assassinated, the truth of the matter became confusing. Finally, former US President Clinton admitted the mistakes of that year in his autobiography.
things start from the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and . With the fall of the Soviet Union, countries in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and other regions fell into civil strife. Many countries announced their separation from the original Soviet-style union, and became independent.
However, in the process of "separation", countries often argue endlessly to obtain more interests, which gives Western countries the opportunity to intervene in international affairs.
Yugoslavia located in southern Europe is also facing the dilemma of separation , and various republics even fought fiercely during the separation process. NATO used humanitarianism as an excuse to put pressure on Serbia, Yugoslavia, to break away from Yugoslavia. After being rejected, NATO brazenly launched a military operation against Yugoslavia. Various advanced fighter planes circled over Yugoslavia and dropped criminal bombs one after another.
What is outrageous is that NATO's bombings not only include military targets, but also many innocent civilians . This shows that NATO's so-called "humanitarian" excuse is completely untenable.
Bombing the Chinese Embassy
In such a dangerous situation, the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia is still operating in and . The reporters are dutifully at the forefront of the danger and provide first-hand reports for the domestic people. However, people are not particularly worried at this time, because according to the provisions of international law , the embassy is a protected target and a "safe zone" that remains effective in the event of war. International law is something that Western countries often talk about, and it stands to reason that they should abide by it seriously.
The shocking thing happened on May 8th. At around 23:00 in the middle of the night, the US military's B-2 bomber dropped 5 heavy bombs on the Chinese Embassy. Its terrifying power directly tore apart the external building of the embassy. Among them, the senior diplomats' official residences and the embassy office area were in the most serious damage. Many people were working overtime or taking a rest, and there was no way to escape. In the end, three Chinese journalists, Shao Yunhuan, Xu Xinghu, and Zhu Ying, were confirmed to have died.
This bombing incident triggered an anti-American wave across China. People took to the streets one after another and asked the US government to give us an explanation. At the same time, countries around the world were also shocked by the US military's bombing of diplomatic residences. This was a serious violation of international law and practice. For a time, the United States was in a very passive state internationally.
In order to calm the anger of the Chinese people and restore its international image, the United States claimed that the incident was a "mistake" caused by intelligence personnel making a mistake in the map . In order to calm the public outrage, the U.S. government fired an agent named William Bennett and put the responsibility on this person. As a result, William was shot dead on the spot by unknown persons after being fired. With the "culprit" killed, the truth about the bombing has become an unresolved case.
Clinton's memories
Judging from the details, the so-called "intelligence errors" in the United States are obviously untenable .William Bennett has worked for the CIA for more than 15 years and is an experienced agent. How could he make such a low-level mistake as mistaking the map? Moreover, the Chinese Embassy occupies a large area, but the bombs dropped by the US military still accurately hit the densely populated areas of the work area and living area. Can this really be explained by misreading the map?
In addition, as early as the Gulf War eight years ago, the United States' missiles were already accurate to within an error of 10 meters, so the US military was fully capable of launching premeditated bombings. All indications indicate that the US military had a good understanding of the internal facilities of the Chinese Embassy before the bombing, and launched the strike accurately.
However, because the United States was the dominant military power in that era, even if they knew that the United States' claims were untenable, people could not force it to tell the truth. It was not until Clinton, who became the President of the United States, published his memoirs that people were able to dig out the true situation of that year from just a few words.
In Clinton's memory, "bombing the embassy" was a serious "political crisis." In other words, Clinton's definition of this matter was a "man-made disaster" rather than an "accident." Clinton said that the CIA at that time did not accept his direct jurisdiction and had the power to "cut first and deal later" in many matters. When he learned that the US military had bombed the Chinese Embassy, he was on pins and needles and quickly requested communication from the Chinese side.
During the communication, relevant Chinese leaders also admitted that Clinton himself was most likely unaware of the matter, and that the incident should have been caused by anti-China forces in the US government. After the US military bombed the embassy, Clinton's support rate dropped all the way to 37.8%, and voter power suffered heavy losses. Therefore, from a rational point of view, Clinton does not need to take the blame.
But one thing cannot be changed, that is, the US military did cause the death of three Chinese people in the diplomatic area, which will have an irreparable impact on Sino-US relations. The US government's wanton actions will make them suffer the consequences sooner or later. After this incident, China accelerated the pace of national defense construction and has now become an opponent that the United States cannot ignore. The tragic events of that year will never happen again.
