"The motherland will always be our strongest backing" —— On-the-spot report of China government’s evacuation of China citizens from Lebanon

The evacuees took a group photo on the "New Xiamen".
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On October 1st, the first batch of China expatriates evacuated from Lebanon arrived in Cyprus. The picture shows the mother and daughter evacuated from Lebanon.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Jingshe
On September 27th, the tension in Lebanon escalated, and the security risks faced by China citizens and institutions in Lebanon rose sharply. The CPC Central Committee is always concerned about the safety of China compatriots in Lebanon, and the Supreme Leader General Secretary has made important instructions and put forward clear requirements. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the lead in convening an inter-ministerial joint meeting on the safety protection of China citizens and institutions abroad, and worked closely with the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and other relevant Chinese-funded enterprises to guide China’s embassies and consulates in Lebanon and Cyprus to fully carry out the safety protection and emergency evacuation of China citizens and institutions in Lebanon.
By the early morning of October 2nd, 232 China citizens, including 3 Hong Kong residents and 1 Taiwan Province compatriot, and 19 expatriates had been assisted to evacuate safely from Lebanon in two batches, completing a breathtaking evacuation operation.
Air and sea relay, complete the evacuation operation.
Since the tense situation in Lebanon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with relevant departments, has continuously paid attention to the security situation in the country, instructed the Embassy of China in Lebanon to fully carry out the safety protection work for China’s local personnel, timely adjusted the relevant security risk levels and issued early warning reminders for many times.
On September 27, airlines of major countries suddenly stopped flying to Lebanon, leaving only Middle East Airlines in Lebanon to maintain a small number of flights, and it was hard to get a ticket. The global consular protection and service emergency hotline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received calls for help from China citizens.
On the same day, the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on the Safety Protection of Citizens and Institutions in China Overseas started and held a special meeting to strengthen the judgment of the situation and deploy emergency protection and evacuation operations. The Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on duty 24 hours a day, guiding the embassy in Lebanon to improve the emergency protection and evacuation plan, and verifying the number and distribution of local China citizens through multiple channels.
The evacuation window is fleeting, and seizing time is to protect life! On September 29, after comprehensive judgment by many parties, the "road map" for evacuation gradually became clear: the first batch was given priority by sea, and the second batch was prepared by air and sea. On the evening of the 29th, the emergency evacuation operation was approved for implementation.
On September 30th, according to the instruction, China Ocean Shipping Group dispatched the "New Xiamen" off the coast of Turkey to quickly adjust the original port call plan, participate in the evacuation mission, and sail for Beirut port in Lebanon at full speed.
The Embassy of China in Lebanon contacted the first batch of evacuees point to point, quickly organized the assembly, and coordinated the relevant Lebanese departments to urgently handle the application for entry and exit of ships and the exit procedures of personnel, so as to ensure the safety of our personnel and vehicles. The Embassy of China in Cyprus immediately sent a working group to Limasso Port to prepare for the reception, specially opened up a green passage and a special waiting area, and coordinated more than 300 beds near the port for our staff to rest and stay. China’s embassy in Israel is working at the same time. In addition, a number of China embassies and consulates abroad urgently coordinated the standby foreign charter flights and completed the flight permission of China International Airlines charter flights within 24 hours.
At 23: 00 on September 30th, the "New Xiamen" docked in Beirut. At 16: 00 on October 1, the ship arrived at Limasso Port, and the first batch of 80 people arrived in Cyprus safely.
At the same time, the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference, together with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, urgently coordinated Air China to arrange charter flights and organized the backbone flying forces to prepare for flying at the Capital Airport, preparing to take back the second batch of evacuees. With the assistance of the Embassy of China in Turkey and the Embassy in Cyprus, in the early morning of October 1, the charter flight and landing permit were completed. At 1800 hours, Air China chartered plane arrived at Beirut airport. In less than 2 hours, 171 evacuees completed the assembly and boarding.
China took the lead in evacuation among major powers, which reflected the advantages of the socialist system in concentrating on major issues and the people-centered development concept.
Continue to fight to protect the safety of overseas compatriots
During the evacuation operation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always maintained an efficient operation. According to the evacuation needs and the nature of the task, several teams have been set up to work together to carry out overall deployment, coordination and liaison, and information release. Due to the time difference and time constraints, in order to ensure that the assembly and evacuation of people in front are carried out in a safer time period during the day, the procedures for ship dispatching and flight permission in the rear are carried out in Beijing late at night. The Consular Protection Center is brightly lit all night, explaining the true nature of the diplomatic iron army in the new era of "loyalty to the party, courage to take responsibility, courage to fight and be disciplined" with practical actions.
The Embassy of China in Lebanon and the Embassy in Cyprus played a leading role in party building, with the ambassador in front of them and all the librarians working together to organize personnel to assemble efficiently, transfer quickly and evacuate safely in an orderly manner. After the evacuation operation was completed, the Embassy of China in Lebanon continued to stick to its post, guiding and assisting a small number of China citizens who stayed there to take safety measures to protect their own safety.
China Ocean Shipping Group and China International Airlines demonstrated the responsibility of central enterprises, and the crew took the initiative to vacate the shipping space to overcome the difficulties of temporary material preparation, and the crew stood by in the engine room to ensure the smooth completion of the task.
While coordinating the return of chartered flights, the inter-ministerial joint meeting also contacted Ningbo "Zhongmeng Airline" private vessels in Turkish ports through Zhejiang Province as the second batch of standby vessels for evacuation.
With continuous fighting in the front and rear, the first batch of evacuees boarded the ship safely within 24 hours, and the rest of us were safely evacuated from Lebanon by sea and air in an orderly manner within 48 hours. Just about four hours after Air China chartered plane left Lebanon, the country’s airspace was closed.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and my heart was burning at the thought of my motherland.
At 5: 00 a.m. on October 2, at Beijing Capital International Airport, the door of the chartered plane slowly opened, and the evacuees waved the five-star red flag and walked down the gangway, with a long-lost smile on their faces. A Hong Kong resident who evacuated with the chartered plane said with tears in his eyes: "The war is ruthless and the country has love. Wherever we go, the motherland will always be our strongest backing!"
At the port of Cyprus, an overseas Chinese quickly stepped forward to hold the hand of the staff of the China Embassy in Cyprus and said, "Thanks to the motherland, thanks to the party!" When the green passage was opened through the coordination of the embassy, everyone spontaneously gathered together to sing "Singing the Motherland".
An evacuee said: "After more than 10 days of detention and constant change, I finally boarded the bus to the dock. Seeing the national flag in the sun, tears of pride burst out. "
On the side of the ship "New Xiamen", evacuees queuing to board the ship raised their national flags and took photos with the slogan "Welcome home from the motherland". On the charter flight, when the captain announced that "from the moment you stepped on the plane, you entered the embrace of the motherland", the cheers of "long live the motherland" sounded in the cabin … …
"No matter where you are, the thought of the motherland is hot" is the common aspiration of overseas travelers. The expression of "thanks to the motherland" by our compatriots has gathered into a common wish of "sincerely wishing the great motherland prosperity", which has both pride, happiness and security!
Practice diplomacy for the people with heart and affection, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of overseas China citizens and enterprises. Diplomats firmly shoulder diplomacy for the people and pass on the warmth of the CPC Central Committee to every overseas China citizen.
















