TIME Magazine
07-05-08, 02:45
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Tuesday, May. 06, 2008
China's Fear of Summer
By Austin Ramzy
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Special forces apprehend mock terrorists during an Olympic security drill at Beijing People's Police College.
Claro Cortes IV / Reuter
The Hash House Harriers is a social group of runners that meets in cities all over the world to go for a jog followed by a few beers. It calls itself "a drinking club with a running problem," but in Beijing last week, the Hash House Harriers ran into an even bigger problem — with the law. After a five-mile run through a bar district in eastern Beijing, seven runners were detained on suspicion that they were involved in a terrorist plot. "We did not imagine that of all the things that could happen," says one participant, "we'd get arrested for running."
It wasn't the running, per se, that got the Harriers in trouble; police suspected that the baking flour the runners had used to mark their route was a toxic powder. After the run ended, they were taken into custody, and interviewed for several hours while police conducted forensic tests on the flour. At 4 a.m. they were finally allowed to go home. The experience was particularly unsettling because there was nothing unusual about the event staged by the Harriers — the group has been gathering for runs in Beijing since the 1980s. So why did police decide to pay such close attention now? "Paranoia," says the runner.
Less than 100 days before the start of the Summer Olympics, a growing sense of fear pervades Beijing. The March riots in Tibet and the rough passage of the Olympic torch through some foreign cities has intensified official concerns about the Games bringing trouble to the Chinese capital. In response, the authorities have issued terror warnings, cancelled public events and subjected foreigners to a higher level of scrutiny. Even as Beijing dashes to complete preparations to welcome the world in August, it suddenly feels less welcoming.
Hardly a week goes by without this city, one of the world's safest, hearing a new terrorism warning. Earlier last month the Ministry of Public Security announced it had uncovered plans for attacks during the Games by Uighur separatists. The Uighurs hail from western China's Xinjiang region, which existed for two brief periods during the first half of the 20th century as independent East Turkestan, a state some Uighurs hope to re-establish. In March authorities said a female Uighur terrorist attempted to start a fire on a flight from Urumqi to Beijing. The attempted attack received widespread coverage, but authorities offered few details.
Last week Ronald Noble, head of the global police federation Interpol, said that anti-China protests have raised the threat of unrest or even violence in August. He said the risk ranged from disruptive protests to "the possibility that al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group will attempt to launch a deadly terrorist attack." The U.S. State Department has issued a travel alert for China through October, warning that any large-scale event such as the Olympics could present a potential terrorist target.
Official fears extend to the possibility of embarrassing protests, and authorities are seeking ways to limit their exposure. Police ordered the Midi Music Festival, a four-day outdoor concert series featuring more than 80 rock bands, to be rescheduled from the May 1 holiday weekend to October. The change was announced just over a week before the show's start. Zhang Fan, founder of the nine-year-old event, told the Associated Press, "I understand the [police are] mainly concerned about young people gathering together and doing radical things."
Foreigners in Beijing have reported greater scrutiny of their passports and residency permits. The government has tightened requirements for people attempting to renew visas, prompting waves of complaints and uncertainty, particularly from businesspeople who need to visit factories and offices in the mainland.
Beijing's nightlife has also been targeted. Last month, police raided bars in the Sanlitun district, arresting 20 people, including eight foreigners, mostly on suspicion of drug offenses. A senior western diplomat in Beijing said of the incident that it was more "political than criminal" — a notion underscored by the fact that the police conducting the raid were accompanied by a large Chinese media contingent. The diplomat noted that the targeted bar was well known to be frequented by expatriates, and also that the police action — which included handcuffing, strip searches, blood tests and in some cases several days in police custody — was unusually harsh. Perhaps, said the diplomat, the intention was to send a message that the authorities would no longer turn a blind eye to bad behavior by foreigners.
It's not clear, in many instances what threat is perceived by the authorities. In March, for example, a group of about 100 people gathered outside a Beijing mall to join like-minded people in cities around the world celebrating International Pillow Fight Day. Before the participants could begin whacking each other with pillows, several dozen police stopped the rumble. They even followed the group to another location and blocked a second attempt at holding a pillow fight. Even things considered safe at a children's slumber party can trip Beijing's increasingly taut security wires.
—With reporting by Simon Elegant/Beijing
* Find this article at:
* http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1737862,00.html
Tuesday, May. 06, 2008
China's Fear of Summer
By Austin Ramzy
http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2008/0805/postcard_beijing_0502.jpg
Special forces apprehend mock terrorists during an Olympic security drill at Beijing People's Police College.
Claro Cortes IV / Reuter
The Hash House Harriers is a social group of runners that meets in cities all over the world to go for a jog followed by a few beers. It calls itself "a drinking club with a running problem," but in Beijing last week, the Hash House Harriers ran into an even bigger problem — with the law. After a five-mile run through a bar district in eastern Beijing, seven runners were detained on suspicion that they were involved in a terrorist plot. "We did not imagine that of all the things that could happen," says one participant, "we'd get arrested for running."
It wasn't the running, per se, that got the Harriers in trouble; police suspected that the baking flour the runners had used to mark their route was a toxic powder. After the run ended, they were taken into custody, and interviewed for several hours while police conducted forensic tests on the flour. At 4 a.m. they were finally allowed to go home. The experience was particularly unsettling because there was nothing unusual about the event staged by the Harriers — the group has been gathering for runs in Beijing since the 1980s. So why did police decide to pay such close attention now? "Paranoia," says the runner.
Less than 100 days before the start of the Summer Olympics, a growing sense of fear pervades Beijing. The March riots in Tibet and the rough passage of the Olympic torch through some foreign cities has intensified official concerns about the Games bringing trouble to the Chinese capital. In response, the authorities have issued terror warnings, cancelled public events and subjected foreigners to a higher level of scrutiny. Even as Beijing dashes to complete preparations to welcome the world in August, it suddenly feels less welcoming.
Hardly a week goes by without this city, one of the world's safest, hearing a new terrorism warning. Earlier last month the Ministry of Public Security announced it had uncovered plans for attacks during the Games by Uighur separatists. The Uighurs hail from western China's Xinjiang region, which existed for two brief periods during the first half of the 20th century as independent East Turkestan, a state some Uighurs hope to re-establish. In March authorities said a female Uighur terrorist attempted to start a fire on a flight from Urumqi to Beijing. The attempted attack received widespread coverage, but authorities offered few details.
Last week Ronald Noble, head of the global police federation Interpol, said that anti-China protests have raised the threat of unrest or even violence in August. He said the risk ranged from disruptive protests to "the possibility that al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group will attempt to launch a deadly terrorist attack." The U.S. State Department has issued a travel alert for China through October, warning that any large-scale event such as the Olympics could present a potential terrorist target.
Official fears extend to the possibility of embarrassing protests, and authorities are seeking ways to limit their exposure. Police ordered the Midi Music Festival, a four-day outdoor concert series featuring more than 80 rock bands, to be rescheduled from the May 1 holiday weekend to October. The change was announced just over a week before the show's start. Zhang Fan, founder of the nine-year-old event, told the Associated Press, "I understand the [police are] mainly concerned about young people gathering together and doing radical things."
Foreigners in Beijing have reported greater scrutiny of their passports and residency permits. The government has tightened requirements for people attempting to renew visas, prompting waves of complaints and uncertainty, particularly from businesspeople who need to visit factories and offices in the mainland.
Beijing's nightlife has also been targeted. Last month, police raided bars in the Sanlitun district, arresting 20 people, including eight foreigners, mostly on suspicion of drug offenses. A senior western diplomat in Beijing said of the incident that it was more "political than criminal" — a notion underscored by the fact that the police conducting the raid were accompanied by a large Chinese media contingent. The diplomat noted that the targeted bar was well known to be frequented by expatriates, and also that the police action — which included handcuffing, strip searches, blood tests and in some cases several days in police custody — was unusually harsh. Perhaps, said the diplomat, the intention was to send a message that the authorities would no longer turn a blind eye to bad behavior by foreigners.
It's not clear, in many instances what threat is perceived by the authorities. In March, for example, a group of about 100 people gathered outside a Beijing mall to join like-minded people in cities around the world celebrating International Pillow Fight Day. Before the participants could begin whacking each other with pillows, several dozen police stopped the rumble. They even followed the group to another location and blocked a second attempt at holding a pillow fight. Even things considered safe at a children's slumber party can trip Beijing's increasingly taut security wires.
—With reporting by Simon Elegant/Beijing
* Find this article at:
* http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1737862,00.html