Security Advisory for Beijing 2008 Olympics
The Chinese government faces a paradox on the eve of the commencement of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing: it needs to project a friendly image of openness to Western visitors and journalists, while maintaining tight security in one of the most challenging environments faced by any government. The Olympics is one of the highest-profile public events in the world, and in the context of the global war on terrorism, one of the most important potential targets for those who would seek to violently express a political agenda.
For its part, the central Chinese government has pledged a massive amount of security personnel and equipment to help protect athletes and spectators during the games. The country will make use of more than 100,000 armed personnel, along with anti-missile defense batteries and roadblocks, to defend the event. The government is concerned that a variety of groups may seek to disrupt the Games. On July 4, the Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning stated: “As the Beijing Olympics draw daily closer, all kinds of anti-China and hostile forces are further intensifying their activities to create disturbances and carry out sabotage by any means.” These groups include both internal separatist movements and groups external to China.
The United States Olympic team made some political waves when they announced that their athletes would be housed in Singapore and flown in to events in Beijing, citing poor air quality as the reason for the unusual move. Security is almost certainly another major concern for organizers, who fear potential attacks against Americans in a highly public and potentially dangerous setting.
China has received threats from internal Muslim extremist groups with loose ties to Al Qaeda. While these threats are troubling, the greater danger is likely posed by real terrorist infiltrators who can more easily enter China along one of its six undefended western borders. On August 4, a terrorist attack in the western province of Xinjiang claimed the lives of 16 police officers. Two armed men crashed a truck into a group of police officers and then opened fire with small arms and explosives. This brazen attack on security forces demonstrates that extremist elements are intent on violent disruption of th upcoming Olympic Games, and that traditional police forces are ill-equipped to stop them. While China has faced internal violence from separatist groups before, it has not been a central player in the fight against Islamic extremism and has limited experience dealing with guerilla terrorist threats.
As a result of credible threats and attacks made against Chinese security forces in recent weeks, China Travel Wire issues the following advisory for Western visitors:
