Foreigners and Beijing University students rally against war
( 2003-03-30 10:50 ) (8 )

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.

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. "

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.