BEIJING 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS: USG SITUATION REPORT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 002995 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT, FOR, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS/DO, DS/TIA/OSAC, DS/P/MECU, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/DO/P, DS/ICI/CI, DS/T/ATA, DS/TIA, DS/TIA/PII, DS/CC, EAP/CM, S/CT, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, PASS TO TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA) OPERATIONS CENTER, HONG KONG FOR RSO AND LEGAT AND USSS, SHANGHAI FOR RSO, SHENYANG FOR RSO,CHENGDU FOR RSO, GUANGZHOU FOR RSO, USSS HQS FOR INV, OPO, HNL E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2033 TAGS: ASEC CASC CH CMGT ECON KOLY OVIP PREL PTER SUBJECT: BEIJING 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS: USG SITUATION REPORT #2, 08/02/2008 REF: BEIJING 2985 Classified By: DCM Dan Piccuta for reason 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) The following cable provides information on security, public diplomacy, and consular activities related to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games as of 08/02/2008. Copies of this and previous situation reports can be found on the following ClassNet/SIPRNet link: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Olym pics Summer 2008. ¶2. (U) The interagency USG Joint Operations Center (JOC) can be contacted on a 24-hour basis at the following numbers: - JOC Direct Line: 011-86-010-6532-6966. - U.S. Embassy Beijing: 011-86-010-6532-3431, JOC extension ¶6200. - JOC fax: 011-86-010-6532-4763. - STE and fax: 011-86-010-6532-5163. KEY CONCERNS -------------- (SBU) Though pollution control prior to and during the Olympic Games remains a key concern for the Chinese Government, air quality in Beijing has improved dramatically over the past two days due to a weather change that brought rain and light winds to the area; in fact, as of 08/02/2008, the sky was blue in Beijing. Despite the recent improvement, however, the results of pollution abatement measures enacted on 07/20/2008 by the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BEPB) have been mixeQwith a thick haze enveloping the city on most days despite fewer cars on the road. In tacit acknowledgement of this problem, on 07/31/2008, Chinese authorities formulated "Emergency Air Pollution Control Measures" involving the closure of nearby factories to decrease the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the enforcement of additional driving restrictions, and the halting of all construction within Beijing. However, these contingency measures will only be implemented if the forecasted pollution levels in a 48-hour period surpass acceptable levels. (Please see Beijing 2966, dated July 31, for additional information.) SECURITY ISSUES -------------- ;(S/NF) Threats: In an update to information reported in reftel, the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has determined that the two individuals identified by a write-in on 07/28/2008 as possible terrorists targeting the U.S. Track and Field team pose no threat to any Olympic participants. As a result, Chinese officials have indicated that the two individuals will be allowed to remain in country. The Chinese response to this information--a prompt investigation with a timely update to U.S. officials--is very encouraging BEIJING 00002995 002 OF 004 and indicates that cooperation on threat issues during the Games is a Chinese priority. To facilitate security coordination and assistance, the Regional Security Officer (RSO) in Shenyang will conduct multiple visits to Dalian--site of the Track and Field team training grounds--during the team,s stay. (Please see TD-314/057586-08, dated August 1, for additional information.) (S/NF) According to intelligence reporting, China,s Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) reportedly believes suicide bombings pose the greatest threat to the Olympic Games and has been considering options to deter and detect suicide bombers. To this end, the MPS plans to install passive imaging units at Beijing Capital International Airport,s (BCIA) immigration center and at either the Olympic Green,s main visitor entrance or the Olympic Village; these units would be able to reveal concealed objects as people passed through them. Additional security measures in place at the Olympic visitor entrances include the placement of guards, a metal detector, hand-held bomb detection equipment, and a baggage screener. (Please see TD-314/056718-08, dated August 1, for additional information.) (U) Olympic Protest Zones: According to an Associated Foreign Press (AFP) report dated 08/01/2008, representatives from the New York-based "Students for a Free Tibet" are planning to stage peaceful protests in Beijing during the Olympics. Though not elaborating on specific details, the organization,s executive director urged Olympic athletes to "make statements of support for Tibetans" while on the medals podium and indicated that the security situation in Beijing will dictate where and when the protests will occur. The JOC will continue to closely monitor the potential for protests in Beijing during the Olympic Games and U.S. Embassy personnel are conducting regular visits to the protest locations to check for activity. Per Chinese law, permits are required for all public protests, even within the "protest zones" that have been established for the Games. (U) According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), Chinese authorities 08/01/2008 detained and sent home a Suzhou, Jiangsu Province resident who attempted to submit an application to protest a housing dispute in a designated Olympic protest zone. Suzhou Government officials prevented her application and escorted her out of Beijing, according to the report. Such an action would be consistent with recent Chinese Government measures to station local government officials from around China in Beijing to prevent petitioners from their respective localities from filing grievances in Beijing during the Olympics. The SCMP also reports Chinese authorities did not accept applications for the Olympic protest zones from a Taiwanese group (also with a property dispute) and a Chinese nationalist group that espouses BEIJING 00002995 003 OF 004 anti-Japanese views on outstanding Sino-Japanese territorial disputes. SECURITY OPERATIONS -------------- (SBU) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel assigned to the JOC reported that BCIA expects to receive 1,500 flights and 260,000 passengers a day during peak Olympics travel times. Arrivals are projected to reach their maximum on 08/07/2008--the day before the Opening Ceremonies--as athletes, coaches, family members and spectators arrive in Beijing. In comparison, peak flight numbers for Athens during the 2004 Summer Olympics was 795 flights with 58,000 passengers. TSA will station four personnel at BCIA, two in Shanghai and three in Hong Kong to conduct flight observations of arrivals and departures. (SBU) Chinese officials have created 24 "Olympic Live Sites" throughout Beijing to host Olympics-related and cultural activities for visitors and local citizens. Each site is capable of holding tens of thousands of people and will house large-screen televisions, food and merchandise vendors, and public gathering areas. While these locations are not formally integrated into the concentric rings of security surrounding regular Olympic venues, an initial visit by RSO personnel indicated that the Chinese have instituted aggressive security measures at the sites. During the walk-through, RSO noted airport-like security to include the use of magnetometers and belt x-ray machines, as well as access limited to a single point of entry requiring a ticket to the venue. NGA JOC representatives will also provide map overviews of the cultural zones for site familiarity. (U) According to open source information, as of 08/01/2008, approximately 25,000 Chinese security personnel were placed on thousands of Beijing buses and at bus stations to deter possible security problems during the Olympic Games. Bus safety has beome a focus of the Olympic security deployment after the May 2008 bus explosion in Shanghai that killed three and two explosions in Kunming that left two dead in July. (U) According to the South China Morning Post, Sichuan Province will increase security during the Olympic torch run in order to prevent possible disruption by Tibetan separatists. The province is home to the largest Tibetan population outside of Tibet and police officials have reportedly set up vehicle checkpoints in the capital of Chengdu and elsewhere, deployed 100,000 police officers, and installed explosive detectors on the streets and inside some buildings in order to secure the torch route. Buildings that have been inspected and declared to be safe will be closed until after the torch passes so that they cannot be used as staging areas for explosive devices. Sichuan is the final BEIJING 00002995 004.3 OF 004 stop before the Olympic torch reaches Beijing; this week, authorities reportedly conducted a three-day security campaign in preparation for the torch's arrival in which they made 6,713 arrests, seized 195 guns and 938 kg of explosives. (U) On 07/30/2008, members of the Consulate General Hong Kong,s Olympics Working Group (OWG) met to review security preparations for the equestrian competition that will take place in Hong Kong from 08/09/2008 to 08/24/2008. The Regional Security Officer (RSO) advised that core members of the OWG will be meeting twice a day starting 08/04/2008 to review the security situation in Hong Kong and to prepare daily situation reports for the Beijing JOC. (Please see Hong Kong 1425, dated August 1, for additional information.) PUBLIC AFFAIRS/PUBLIC DIPLOMACY -------------- -------------- (U) Internet Blocking: As of 08/02/2008 12:00 pm local time, Embassy contacts reporting at the Main Press Center have no access to controversial sites such as Falun Gong and Tibet Government-in-exile. Access to other sites such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch remain unrestricted. At a news conference 08/02/2008, IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said the process of gaining access to sites that remain blocked was "a work in progress" and that a working group of IOC and Beijing Olympic officials was examining on a case-by-case basis whether access to additional sites would be allowed. CONSULAR AFFAIRS -------------- (U) There are no significant Consular activities to report. POLITICAL AFFAIRS -------------- (U) Taiwan Olympic Delegation Name: According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou responded 08/01/2008 to Beijing's announcement that Taiwan would be permitted to enter the Olympics under the name "ChinesQipei" ("Zhonghua Taipei" rather than "Zhongguo Taipei"),calling this development a "significant change in Beijing,s stance on Taiwan" and a "positive and significant development for both Taiwan and China." Ma also stressed the importance of diplomatic solutions and cross-Strait relations. However, PRC Government officials 07/27/2008 pointed out that in 1989, the Mainland and Taiwan had already agreed to the use of "Chinese Taipei" for Taiwan in Olympic-related events, and China is simply fulfilling this agreement. RANDT