Evacuation shows China will protect its citizens

Huge plumes of smoke rise above buildings during airstrikes allegedly carried out by the Saudi-led alliance on a weapons storage depot in Sanaa, Yemen, March 30, 2015. [Photo/IC]

As the situation in Yemen deteriorated, the Chinese government announced it would evacuate Chinese citizens in the region. On Sunday and Monday, after days of preparation and hard work, 571 citizens assembled at two ports in Yemen, where they embarked on two military ships to leave the country. Comments:

The evacuation was rather tough because the Chinese citizens lived in different parts of Yemen, with bad, even dangerous, roads linking them to each other. By evacuating its citizens from the conflict region, the Chinese government has shown its people and the world its determination to ensure the safety of its citizens, as well as its principle that diplomacy should serve the people.

Tian Qi, China's ambassador to Yemen, March 31

There are many ways to evacuate citizens, such as civil aviation services or passenger ships, but sending military planes or ships is the safest. Compared with those in Libya in 2011, Chinese citizens in Yemen now face greater threat from terrorists and there is actually greater difficulty of evacuating them because they reside in different regions and might arrive at different times; that's why the Chinese government has sent military aircrafts.

Global Times (Chinese Edition), quoting an anonymous military source, March 31