Lin relied on aggressive moral tone, meanwhile proceeding relentlessly against British merchants in a manner that could only insult their government. The only lesson Lin drew from China’s humiliation was that it was necessary to learn more about these “barbarians” and to import their technology. He could neither comprehend the implications of the European challenge nor overcome the weakness and conservative opposition of his contemporaries. Later, the so-called Self-Strengthening Movement adopted Lin’s program of reform; still later generations of revolutionaries abandoned Chinese culture in order to save China but accepted Lin as a national hero because of his courage and example in opposing the British.
The U-2 incident was over a US CIA spy plane flying over the Soviet Union and taking photos of military installations and it was shot down by a missile from the Soviet Union so it caused a serious rift in relations between the two superpowers.
