Tourists in Beijing warned of possible Christmas terror threat

It is also the location of a number of foreign embassies, although some, including that of the United States, have moved farther from the city centre. December 24, 2015 Sinosphere By AUSTIN RAMZY Several foreign embassies in Beijing, together with the American & British ones, warned on Thurs. of attainable threats against Westerners in a shopping district on or around Christmas Day, urging their citizens to “exercise heightened vigilance”.

Some rare security alerts issued for Sanlitun, one of Beijing’s busiest shopping areas for both locals and foreigners.

There were some Chinese paramilitary police officers on guard with rifles and barricades in place on the streets leading to bars and embassies in Sanlitun and other parts of Beijing. 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. The UK Embassy has issued the same guidance to British Government Staff.

In August, a sword-wielding man killed a woman and injured a French man in broad daylight there. According to Beijing’s security regulations, the alert is the lowest on a three-tier security warning scale for large stores or shopping and entertainment areas and is issued in case of receiving threats or finding suspected explosives.

“We do not have any additional information at this time”, said Mr Benjamin Weber, a spokesman for the US Embassy.