U.S. embassy in Beijing besieged by protesters<\/p>\n
BEIJING (AP): Throwing rocks and paint, thousands of angry
\nprotesters besieged the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Sunday for a
\nsecond day of noisy demonstrations against NATO's bombing of the
\nChinese Embassy in Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n
Many Beijing demonstrators wore black armbands and waved
\nnewspaper photos of three Chinese journalists killed when NATO
\nmissiles struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on Saturday. More
\nthan 20 were injured, six seriously, a Chinese Foreign Ministry
\nspokesman said.<\/p>\n
Wave after wave of Chinese shouting \"Down with the United
\nStates\" marched past the embassy in the biggest public protest
\nsince the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations 10 years
\nago. Protests also took place in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and
\nother cities.<\/p>\n
In Chengdu, a city in southwestern China, the U.S. consul's
\nresidence was badly damaged by fire and windows were broken on
\nSaturday, but no Americans were injured, U.S. Embassy spokesman
\nTom Cooney said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Police broke up the Chengdu protest with tear gas, and the
\nsmall number of staff members and their families moved to another
\npart of the city, the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
In Beijing, thousands of demonstrators marched in an all-day
\nprocession past the gates of the U.S. Embassy compound. Many
\nthrew chunks of pavement and burning newspaper at the buildings.
\nThey shouted \"Down with American imperialists,\" \"Severely punish
\nthe killers,\" \"Break up NATO,\" and other slogans.<\/p>\n
Protesters burned a mock U.S. flag with a Nazi swastika on it,
\nand many other signs and banners equated NATO and U.S. President
\nBill Clinton with Nazis.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials protested to the Chinese government and
\nappealed for better security, Cooney said. He added: \"If we don't
\nget more security the situation could slip out of control.\"<\/p>\n
The communist government generally bans protests for fear they
\nwill escalate into unrest. But officials apparently felt that
\nstopping people from publicly expressing outrage over the embassy
\nbombing could further inflame them and possibly turn emotions
\nagainst the government.<\/p>\n
Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao appealed for restraint in a
\nnationwide television broadcast Sunday evening. He said the
\ngovernment supports \"legal protest activities,\" but warned people
\nto be vigilant against trouble-makers.<\/p>\n
Hu said the protests reflected \"the Chinese people's strong
\nindignation\" and patriotism. But, he added, \"We must prevent the
\noccurrence of extreme acts.\"<\/p>\n
Hu also said foreign diplomatic missions and foreign nationals
\nin China would be protected.<\/p>\n
U.S. Ambassador James Sasser and his staff expressed \"profound
\nsorrow\" over the bombing in Belgrade and condolences to families
\nof the victims, an embassy statement said.<\/p>\n
Neither the statement nor President Clinton's expression of
\nregret over what he called a tragic mistake were reported by
\nChina's state-controlled news media.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a 34-member delegation from the Chinese Foreign
\nMinistry arrived in Belgrade on Sunday to assess damage caused by
\nNATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy, return the injured to
\nBeijing and help get the embassy functioning again.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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