China has altogether evacuated 170 citizens from Lebanon, including seven Hong Kong compatriots, since Israel launched the massive assault on Lebanon on July 12, the Foreign Ministry said last night.

 

Through the cooperation of the Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies to Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Israel, the evacuation is almost completed and only several Chinese citizens choosing to stay in Lebanon for various reasons, an official from the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs said in anonymity.

 

The remaining officials in the Chinese Embassy to Lebanon, including Ambassador Liu Xianghua, will be always ready to give the remaining Chinese citizens emergent assistance at any time, the official said.

 

According to the Chinese Embassy to Lebanon, some of those remaining people are living in comparatively safe place. Some have married local people and don't want to depart from their families. Some were hired by local people and prefer not to quit their jobs.

 

The official also urged those remained to provide their ways of contact to the embassy so that the embassy may help them in emergency.

 

The Chinese government always attaches highly importance on the protection of overseas Chinese. The Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies to foreign countries have handled nearly 30,000 issues concerning consular protection in 2005.

 

In April and May this year, China evacuated some 243 and 325 Chinese nationals, including Hong Kong compatriots, respectively from the unrest-hit Solomon Islands and East Timor.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2006)