Shao Zhengxiang, a retired worker, always discusses the military actions whenever he meets with his friends these days. He also wrote an article to express his indignation on the war in Iraq.

Shao, born in 1929, had deep impression of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Liberation War. He said, "The US military actions against Iraq reflect the interests of the petroleum and military groups in the United States."

Yang Yan, a six-year-old girl in Yunnan Province, recently has worried very much about Iraqi children of her age after watching the terrible air strikes in Iraq on TV together with her parents.

The little girl asked her mother, "Mummy, why does the United States beat Iraq. Iraq is not obedient, is it?"

"No matter whether Iraq is obedient or not, the United States shouldn't beat it. When you behaved badly, mummy didn't beat you. I reasoned things out with you," the mother, named Xiao Ping, told her.

Zhang Bin, an office worker in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, has been surfing on the Internet whenever his son went to sleep over the past 10 days.

"Now that I have a child, I have came to know clearly why mankind calls for peace. Peace makes it possible for men and women to bring up their children in a safe environment, while war ruins everything," he said.

NW China residents express concern about Iraqi suffering

Residents of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province and home to a large Muslim population, have expressed great concern about the welfare of the Iraqi people.

"We Muslims in Xi'an feel great sympathy for the suffering of Iraqis and hope their lives can return to normal," said Wang Mingqun, a member of the local Islamic association.

He added that he fully supported the statement issued by the Islamic Association of China, which called on the United States to stop the military operation against Iraq.

"I lived through the anti-Japanese war and the civil war (1946- 1949), so I know who suffers most in wartime. They are common people," said Ma Tingke, an elderly resident.

Since the beginning of the military campaign, the situation in Iraq has become a hot topic among young university students in classrooms, dormitories and even dining rooms.

"Every day my classmates and I learn the latest news about the war on Iraq via television and Internet. What concerns us most is the suffering of Iraqis and the potential impact on world peace," said Yue Bo, a student of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

According to Yue, most foreign students in his university also hope that the Iraq war will end as soon as possible.

"I am not perhaps as concerned as others, but I do think the United States is tyrannizing a weaker country," said Xie Fangfang, a senior at the Northwest University.

(People's Daily April 1, 2003)