The number of Chinese people in Libya has dramatically dwindled since 2011 after the outbreak of
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. Commercial activity was destabilized by the civil war and violence that continued afterwards, forcing the evacuation of foreign residents including Chinese.
During the 2011 Civil War, over 35,000 Chinese nationals were evacuated.
The large number of evacuees owes to the extensive participation of Chinese construction companies operating in Libya which employed Chinese engineers and workers. The successful evacuation of a large number was considered a success especially in comparison to Taiwan, which was unable to evacuate its citizens as quickly.
Libya returned to
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in 2014 and Chinese nationals were evacuated again in May and August.
In a statement from a Chinese embassy official reported by
Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
on August 2, 2014, all but 340 Chinese nationals left the country.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese People In Libya
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...