Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BEIJING7591
2007-12-21 06:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

SURPRISINGLY SMALL INCREASE IN CHINESE HAJJ

Tags:  PTER PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF TI PK MY SA CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7360
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #7591/01 3550602
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 210602Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4173
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6646
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0610
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 007591 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2032
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF TI PK MY SA CH
SUBJECT: SURPRISINGLY SMALL INCREASE IN CHINESE HAJJ
PILGRIMS, SAUDIS FRUSTRATED

REF: A. FBIS/OSC CPP20071119968182

B. FBIS/OSC SAP20060916037002

C. BEIJING 7550

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4
(b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 007591

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2032
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF TI PK MY SA CH
SUBJECT: SURPRISINGLY SMALL INCREASE IN CHINESE HAJJ
PILGRIMS, SAUDIS FRUSTRATED

REF: A. FBIS/OSC CPP20071119968182

B. FBIS/OSC SAP20060916037002

C. BEIJING 7550

Classified By: Deputy Political Section Chief Ben Moeling. Reasons 1.4
(b/d).


1. (C) Summary: Saudi Arabian Consul Majed Alshammary
(protect) told Poloff December 13 that Saudi Arabia would
admit 20,000 Chinese Hajj pilgrims annually if China
permitted it, although China has stated it will allow 10,700
Hajj pilgrims in 2007. Alshammary said he is surprised that
China did not authorize a larger increase in the number of
Hajj pilgrims for 2007, given Saudi Arabia's requests for
"help" in deflecting criticism within the Muslim world
following the 2006 refusal (at China's request) to grant Hajj
visas to large numbers of Chinese Hajj pilgrims in Islamabad.
Alshammary said he is frustrated with China's failure to
allow significant numbers of Chinese Muslims to participate
in the Umrah and with China's rejection of King Abdullah's
offer to sponsor poor Chinese pilgrims on Hajj. China began
blocking Muslims from traveling to third countries around
December 1, Alshammary said, but sympathetic Saudi consular
officials sometimes issue Hajj visas to Chinese Muslims in
third countries. End Summary.

Saudi Consul "Surprised" China Has Not Authorized Larger
Increase in Hajj Pilgrims, Despite Saudi Requests
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Saudi Arabian Consul Majed A. Alshammary (protect)
told Poloff December 13 that his country would permit 20,000
Chinese Muslims to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage, although
Chinese official media has stated that China will allow
10,700 pilgrims in 2007, up from 9,700 in 2006 (ref A). Each
year Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry grants visas on a worldwide
basis to 0.1 percent of each country's estimated Muslim
population. Alshammary said Saudi Arabia "respects China's

official statistic" of 20 million when allocating Hajj visas,
even though he believes there are at least 45 to 50 million
Muslims in China.


3. (C) Alshammary said he is "surprised" that China has not
authorized a larger increase in the number of official Hajj
pilgrims, following the 2006 incident in which the Saudi
Embassy in Islamabad denied Hajj visas to large numbers of
Chinese Muslims traveling overland from China. The Saudi
Embassy in Islamabad initially refused to grant visas to
2,500 pilgrims because China had asked Saudi Arabia not to
issue Hajj visas to Chinese citizens outside of China,
Alshammary said, although the Saudi Embassy later granted
visas to about 1,000 (ref B). Alshammary told Poloff that
Saudi Arabia has been criticized in the Muslim world because
"Mecca is Allah's place, not Saudi Arabia's." Other Muslims
have said that Saudi Arabia had no right to deny visas to
Chinese Muslims gathered in Islamabad. The Islamabad
incident was so "embarrassing," Alshammary said, that Saudi
Arabia asked China to help deflect criticism by boosting the
number of Chinese pilgrims allowed on the Hajj. Alshammary
said he had expected that China would offer around 15,000
places in 2007.

Saudi Consul Frustrated With China's Response to Umrah
Initiative, King's Offer
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Alshammary said he has been frustrated with China's
tepid response to initiatives that would have extended
pilgrimage opportunities to more Chinese Muslims. The
Islamic Association of China asked Saudi Arabia to facilitate
travel by Chinese Muslims to participate in the Umrah,
Alshammary said, and yet China only approved 32 people for
the Umrah pilgrimage during all of 2007. Saudi's King
Abdullah offered to pay "out of his own account" for sixty
poor Chinese Muslims to participate in the 2007 Hajj.
However, Chinese officials delayed their response for weeks
and eventually rejected the King's offer, suggesting that the
Saudi Embassy should have allowed more processing time. "I
could not believe it," Alshammary said, noting that "every
other country" warmly welcomes and even requests the King's
support for poor Muslims. Alshammary later used the Hajj
spots ceded by China to assist poor Muslims from Mongolia.


5. (C) Alshammary said China on December 1 began blocking
Chinese Muslims from leaving China. "This is a fact,"
Alshammary emphasized, adding that he would gladly approve a

BEIJING 00007591 002 OF 002


Hajj visa for any Chinese Muslim who walked into his office,
but that Chinese authorities "would not allow (the applicant)
to board the plane" departing China. He said the explicit
reason for the prohibition is not clear, but suggested that
the reason is likely Hajj-related. Nevertheless, Alshammary
stated, Saudi consular officials in third countries like
Indonesia and Malaysia continue to approve Hajj visas for
some Chinese Muslims. Despite Saudi Arabia's agreement not
to issue Hajj visas to Chinese citizens outside of China (ref
C),Alshammary said no Saudi consul in a third country wants
to tell "a couple hundred crying Chinese Muslims" that they
cannot have visas to perform the Hajj.

Good Deal for Pilgrims Who Travel
--------------


6. (C) For Chinese Muslims who secure spots on Hajj
pilgrimages arranged by the Chinese government, Alshammary
said the RMB 20,000-30,000 (USD 2,660-3,000) price is "quite
reasonable." Many Chinese Muslims, he said, would be willing
to pay as much as RMB 60,000-70,000 (USD 8,000-9,330) to
attend Hajj. As additional proof that the price is not
excessive, Alshammary said that some Chinese Muslims have
offered him bribes as high as USD 1,000 to arrange passage to
Mecca. Alshammary said he thinks that 50,000 or more Chinese
Muslims would travel to Mecca each year if China did not
restrict the numbers.
RANDT