Westerners in Beijing Are Warned of Potential Threats

Messages released by the British and French embassies in China, warning of potential threats in the same area and during the same time frame. “U.S. citizens are urged to exercise heightened vigilance”. The UK Embassy has issued the same guidance to British Government Staff.

Security was tightened around the area, which is popular among foreigners and home to shops, bars and some embassies, on Thursday.

Westerners in Beijing have been warned they are the targets of a Christmastime terror threat.

The message says that the embassy “has received information of possible threats against Westerners in the Sanlitun area of Beijing, on or around Christmas Day”. None gave any further details about the threat.

Armed law enforcement officials could be seen standing on guard in the area, which is occupied with various big-name retail outlets and embassies.

A Chinese woman was stabbed and killed by a man with a sword during an attack outside the Sanlitun Village shopping complex this past August.

Dozens of extra police officers, some toting rifles, appeared on Christmas Eve on the streets of the popular Sanlitun section of the city.

Police have issued a yellow security alert during the Christmas period, but this is a relatively normal procedure around holidays and does not represent a particularly high threat level. Authorities have placed roadblocks in at least one of the city’s embassy districts.

The U.K. government has warned citizens of the violence in a travel advisory posted to its website.