As a US-led war against Iraq appeared imminent, the Chinese Embassy in Baghdad today began evacuating its staff and Chinese reporters. Chinese Ambassador to Iraq, Zhang Weiqiu and other six Embassy officials began evacuating "amid a tense atmosphere of a looming war," the official Xinhua news agency reported. The evacuation also includes six Chinese correspondents — two from Xinhua, three from China Central Television and one from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. "Large numbers of foreign journalists" are also packing up," Xinhua said. China, in February itself, had asked its citizens to withdraw from Iraq and had evacuated non-essential Embassy staff.
Gee, you'd think they were worried about being bombed, again. |