'Terror' attack a warning shot for
Beijing By Fong Tak-ho
HONG KONG - Chinese authorities announced
they have recently successfully thwarted an
attempt by Xinjiang "terrorists" to hijack a
Beijing-bound passenger airplane and crash it,
suspiciously, into the Chinese capital. This
happened when the National People's Congress (NPC)
and the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) are convening their annual
sessions. This also happened five months before
the commencement of the Beijing Summer Olympic
Games.
Chinese authorities linked the
attempted attack to the independence movement in
the remote northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region,
where some people from the Uyghur Muslim minority
are hostile to Beijing's rule. The two
"terrorists" subdued by the aircrew of a Southern
Airlines flight from Urumqi, Xinjiang's provincial
capital, to Beijing, are reportedly Uyghur, with
one
identified by Chinese media as a
19-year-old girl.
Moreover, the attempted
attack occurred on the 11th anniversary of a bus
explosion in Beijing near Zhongnanhai, the
headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
and China's central government. The overseas-based
East Turkestan Islamic Movement, now
internationally identified as a terrorist group,
took responsibility.
From all this,
analysts say the timing of the attempted attack is
by no means coincidental. In fact, it was highly
planned and designed to deal a severe blow and
deliver a clear warning to the Chinese government.
On March 9, Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri
said the Beijing-bound flight took off from Urumqi
at 10:35 am on March 7. But the aircraft
eventually had to make an emergency landing at
12:40 pm at Lanzhou, the provincial capital of
Gunxu in northwest China, after the crew subdued a
woman and her male companion who "attempted to
cause an air disaster".
Beri broke the
news at a press conference on the sidelines of the
NPC annual session which started on March 5. The
NPC annual session is always deemed one of the
most politically sensitive periods of the year in
China, as the country's top lawmakers gather in
Beijing under the spotlight of media from home and
abroad.
The bus explosion near Zhongnanhai
11 years ago also happened during the NPC annual
session. Also on March 7, during the rush hour at
about 6 pm, a homemade bomb exploded on a bus
driving toward Zhongnanhai, injuring 11
passengers.
A source close to Xinjiang
authorities told the Asia Times Online on
condition of anonymity that Chinese police were
also looking into whether the suspects were aiming
at causing damage at Beijing Capital International
Airport's third terminal which just started
operation on February 29. The new terminal, bigger
than all five terminals at London's Heathrow, is
built to help the Chinese capital expand its
air-passenger handling capacity as it prepares for
the Games.
According to mainland media
reports, the prime suspect in the recent hijacking
attempt, a 19-year-old ethnic Uyghur girl from
Xinjiang, was caught trying to set off a bomb on
the airplane. Reports said flight attendants were
alarmed by the smell of petroleum and traced it
back to the girl who had tried to cover the smell
with strong perfume.
These reports, most
of them still unconfirmed by the authorities,
suggest that the suspects were caught trying to
ignite the fuel in the bathroom. The 19-year-old
is one of an unconfirmed number of suspects that
may include another young woman.
The
source mentioned above also said the police were
probing the suspects to learn if they were trained
outside China.
In another sign possibly
indicating that Beijing is facing security threats
from Xinjiang's pro-independence elements ahead of
the Olympics, Xinjiang party chief Wang Lequan
said regional police destroyed a terrorist
hideout, shooting dead two and arresting 15 others
on January 27. Wang said they were plotting to
create some "chaos" in Beijing during the
Olympics.
One year ago, in January 2007,
Xinjiang police said that they had destroyed a
terrorist camp in the region and killed 18
terrorists. They believed that the training camp
was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a
group that the United Nations in 2002 labeled a
terrorist organization. It is also said that more
than 1,000 members of the movement have been
trained by al-Qaeda.
Pro-Xinjiang
independence elements often deliberately link
their activities to freedom of religious belief.
For example, after the Beijing bus explosion 11
years ago, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement
claimed it was revenge for Beijing's suppression
of the Muslim independence movement. Therefore,
Beijing must exercise caution in dealing with the
recent attempted attack this time, and separate
terrorism from religion. If the Muslim world is
offended, China could have a high price to pay.
Some rights groups have cautioned that
China's warnings of a series of separatist threats
could be part of a deliberate campaign aimed at
silencing all voices of dissent ahead of the
Olympics.
Analysts have called on the
Chinese government to investigate any possible
loopholes in the security measures in place at the
Xinjiang airport. The two suspected terrorists
were reported to have successfully carried
flammable liquid on board the plane. Chinese
leaders have launched an accountability system,
but it is still uncertain whether any security
officials or local government cadres will be held
accountable for the incident.
In response,
the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the
country's aviation regulator, said no liquid would
be allowed on board domestic airplanes during the
Olympics.
At a press conference in Beijing
on March 12, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
said China is one of the safest places in the
world, despite the recent incident. It is hoped
this will remain so.
Fong Tak-ho is
managing editor of the Chinese version of Asia
Times Online.
(Copyright 2008 Asia
Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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