Operation Yellowbird

Operation Yellowbird
Operation Yellowbird
Traditional Chinese	黃雀行動
Simplified Chinese	黄雀行动
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Huángquè Xíngdòng
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Wòhng jeuk hàhng duhng
Jyutping	Wong4 zoek3 hang4 dung6

Operation Yellowbird
	Part of 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests and Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong
Date	4 June 1989 – 30 June 1997
Location	Hong Kong
Status	Operational success
Belligerents
Rescue Party; United Kingdom MI6; British Hong Kong The Alliance; Triads Sun Yee On; 14K; ; ; United States Republic of China	Counterparty; People's Republic of China
Commanders and leaders
Leaders Margaret Thatcher; (1989–1990) ; John Major; (1990–1997) ; Tony Blair; (1997) ; Colin McColl; (1989–1994) ; David Spedding; (1994–1997) ; Sir David Wilson; (1989–1992) ; Chris Patten; (1992–1997) ; Szeto Wah; (major commander) ; Chu Yiu-ming ; John Shum ; George H. W. Bush; (1989–1993) ; Bill Clinton; (1993–1997) ; Lee Teng-hui ;	Leaders Deng Xiaoping; (1989–1990) ; Jiang Zemin; (1989–1997) ; Yang Shangkun; (1989–1993) ; Li Peng ;

Operation Yellowbird, or Operation Siskin (simplified Chinese: 黄雀行动; traditional Chinese: 黃雀行動), was a British Hong Kong-based operation to help the Chinese dissidents who participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 to escape arrest by the Chinese government by facilitating their departure overseas via Hong Kong. Western intelligence agencies such as Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS a.k.a. MI6) and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were involved in the operation. Other contributors included politicians, celebrities, business people and triad members from Hong Kong—forming the "unlikely" alliance which sustained the operation for most of its duration.

The operation began in late June 1989, following the issuing of an order by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on 13 June 1989 to apprehend the leaders of the Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation who were on the run. The operation continued until 1997. Yellowbird successfully helped more than 400 dissidents, who were smuggled through Hong Kong, and then onwards to Western countries. Some escapees included Wu'erkaixi, Chai Ling, Li Lu, Feng Congde, Chen Yizi, and Su Xiaokang. Three Hong Kong based activists were arrested by the Chinese authorities, but later released after intervention by the Hong Kong government.

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