Students, Foreigners Rally against War in Beijing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Students, Foreigners Rally against War in Beijing

A number of students with the Beijing University gathered on the campus and more than 100 foreigners gathered at Ritan Park Sunday morning to protest against the war on Iraq. Meanwhile, The first cargo of humanitarian aid from the Chinese government destined for Iraqi refugees in Jordan is ready for shipping.

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Anti-war Protest in Beijing

Some 200 foreigners in Beijing gathered in the embassy area Sunday morning and staged a protest against the war in Iraq.

The parade, which had been approved by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, was held peacefully and lasted about 40 minutes.

Carrying placards with slogans written in Chinese, English and Arabic, the protesters set off from the west gate of Ritan Park around 9:06 am.

The protesters shouted "We don't want this war", "Don't kill children", with their arms wrapped in green bands. They included people from a dozen countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany, Spain, Egypt and Syria, who are either workers of foreign businesses in China, or foreign students in China, or members of some international NGOs.

Anti-war Protest in Beijing(I)

Around 9:25 am, the protesters arrived at the residence of the US ambassador to China. They stayed outside the residence for about five minutes.

Rebbeca Cooper, 23, held high above her head a placard written in Chinese saying "I am from the United States, and I am against war". Cooper, currently a teacher in China, traveled all the way northward to Beijing to attend the parade from Luoyang City of central China's Henan Province.

Some of the protesters were Arabian. They held high national flags of their respective countries or placards written in Arabic telling "We want peace", "Americans leave Iraq", shouting "We don't want war".

A student from Algeria who gave her name as Najet told reporters she felt every angry and saddened that the United States and Britain waged the war on Iraq, bypassing the United Nations.

Humanitarian aid for Iraqi refugees ready for shipping

The Americans are bullying. They have no rights to interfere in the affairs of Arabian countries," said Najet.

Also on Sunday morning, a number of students with the Beijing University gathered on the campus in protest against the war on Iraq.

Several exhibition boards were arranged by the students, carrying pictures and articles about the war. They attracted a growing number of onlookers.

Zhou Si, vice president of the students' association of the university, said the students would stage a demonstration on the campus.

The ongoing war in Iraq has drawn many Chinese people's attention with "No War, Peace Now" becoming their common aspiration.

Residents in northeast China's Harbin say they are following the development of the war and hope the United Nations can pass a resolution to end the war.

People say they are concerned about the loss of life and property of the Iraqi people and call on all sides concerned to return to the UN framework to resolve the Iraqi issue peacefully.

They have also vowed to treasure the current peaceful environment in China and build a more prosperous and stronger country.

Humanitarian aid for Iraqi refugees ready for shipping

The first cargo of humanitarian aid from the Chinese government destined for Iraqi refugees in Jordan is ready for shipping and is expected to arrive in the Jordanian capital Amman on April 2, an official with China's Ministry of Commerce said Saturday in Urumqi.

The first batch of 100 of a total of 500 tents, will be flown to Jordan on Sunday from Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to commercial ministryofficial Xia Yungui.

China, one of the first nations to provide humanitarian aid following the start of the war in Iraq, has made great efforts to provide assistance quickly, Xia said.

The Chinese government pledged to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi refugees on Mar. 22, two days after the start of the war.

The remaining 400 tents will be sent in batches to Jordan in early April, Xia said.

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