Since its independence over twenty years ago, Kosovo continues to generate global disagreements and controversies.
Although more than 100 countries have recognized its independence, China has not.
Why has this small nation of only 11,000 square kilometers caused such a stir on the international stage?
Has its journey to independence been smooth or fraught with difficulties?
What are the deep-seated conflicts between Kosovo and Serbia, and what role has NATO played in this process?
Why does China firmly oppose Kosovo's independence? These questions are worth exploring in depth.
The history of the Kosovo region dates back to the 4th to 5th century BC, when the ancestors of the Albanians settled there.
In the 6th century AD, a group of Slavs who practiced Eastern Orthodoxy moved in and lived alongside the local inhabitants, who later evolved into today's Serbs.
Over time, Eastern Orthodoxy took root in the Kosovo region.
However, in 1389, the Ottoman Empire invaded Kosovo, leading to intense clashes between Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam.
Serbs who refused to convert to Islam were expelled, while Albanians who were willing to convert remained in Kosovo, sparking ethnic tensions.
During Ottoman rule, Albanians' status in Kosovo gradually rose, especially in the government and military, which fueled Serbian resentment.
In the 19th century, large-scale armed conflicts erupted between the two ethnic groups multiple times.
Serbs regarded Eastern Orthodoxy as their national unifier and spiritual backbone, while Albanians viewed it as the religion of the invaders.
On the eve of the First Balkan War in 1912, Kosovo experienced two unprecedentedly large-scale clashes between Serbs and Albanians, with the Serbs gaining the upper hand.
After World War I, Serbs established the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
As the creators and dominant nationality, Serbs held a ruling position in this multi-ethnic state, while Albanians in Kosovo became second-class citizens, suffering various forms of discrimination and injustice.
In 1918, Serbs implemented a series of assimilation policies, banning the use of the Albanian language in schools and government institutions, limiting Albanians' employment and promotion opportunities, and even expelling tens of thousands of Albanians and confiscating their land.
In response to oppression, Albanian resistance grew stronger.
In 1924, a group of young Albanian radicals launched an uprising in Kosovo, demanding the restoration of linguistic and cultural rights.
Although the uprising was suppressed, it marked the escalation of tensions to a new, intense stage.
During World War II, some Albanians embraced the Nazis, hoping to rid themselves of Serbian rule, forming pro-Nazi armed groups and committing massacres against Serbian civilians, causing significant casualties.
After the war, Yugoslavia was re-unified, but ethnic tensions remained deeply rooted.
In the late 1980s, as Yugoslavia faced internal strife, Milosevic intensified the repression in Kosovo, directly igniting the Albanian independence movement.
In 1989, Kosovo Albanians proclaimed the "Republic of Kosovo," demanding secession from Serbia.
Both sides entered a prolonged standoff.
In 1997, the punishment of an Albanian student for unauthorized street vending on campus sparked large-scale protests, leading to a powerful independence movement.
Over the next decade, Kosovo Albanians engaged in a protracted struggle for liberation, with escalating demonstrations, strikes, riots, and violent attacks.
In 1998, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was formed, launching attacks against Serbian forces.
In an effort to curb secession, Serbia dispatched heavy troops to suppress the insurgency, resulting in a civil war.
In 1999, NATO launched airstrikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, focusing on Kosovo.
After 78 days of bombing, Milosevic was forced to concede and withdraw troops. NATO forces entered Kosovo, ending the conflict.
In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, which was recognized by the United States and most NATO countries, while China, Russia, and others firmly opposed it.
As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a sovereign state, China strongly opposes Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.
This stance is rooted in deep historical and practical considerations.
First, based on the principles of maintaining national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese government cannot tolerate any separatist actions.
Kosovo's independence violates the United Nations Charter's provisions on the territorial integrity of sovereign states.
Recognizing Kosovo's independence would encourage the spread of separatism, affecting global stability.
Second, China fears that the Kosovo incident sets a bad precedent for Western interference in Taiwan affairs.
For a long time, Western countries have supported separatism, trying to force sovereign states to make concessions.
Recognizing Kosovo's independence would complicate the Taiwan issue.
In 1999, NATO, without UN authorization, conducted military strikes against Yugoslavia, resulting in the death of three Chinese citizens at the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
This incident deepened China's skepticism about the legitimacy of NATO's military actions.
To this day, the issue of Kosovo's independence remains a challenge for the international community.
The supporting and opposing camps confront each other at the United Nations, unable to fully establish its legitimacy.
Kosovo is seen as an "anomaly" in international relations, lacking a widely recognized legitimacy foundation.
As of 2022, only 97 UN member states have recognized its independence, while 93 countries oppose it.
The Serbian government insists that Kosovo is its territory, and the two countries have experienced several small-scale armed conflicts.
In 2013, under EU mediation, Serbia and Kosovo signed a "principled agreement," temporarily reaching a reconciliation.
However, Serbia has never recognized Kosovo's sovereignty, and bilateral relations remain fundamentally unchanged.
At the end of 2022, political changes put the agreement at risk of being torn apart.
The ethnic divisions within Kosovo and the internal splits among Albanians also pose significant challenges.
EU and NATO troops stationed in Kosovo maintain peace, but with the conflict in Ukraine, NATO's attention has been diverted, increasing the risk of losing control in Kosovo.
If peacekeeping forces withdraw, new conflicts might erupt.
The road to Kosovo's independence is uncertain, with the international community divided over its qualifications for statehood, and internal strife and turmoil posing heavy burdens.
Whether this small country can emerge from the shadows and achieve true stability and independence will test the changing dynamics of the world order.
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