BEIJING 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS: USG SITUATION REPORT

S E C R E T BEIJING 003018 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: 08/05/2033 TAGS: ASEC CASC CH CMGT ECON KOLY OVIP PREL PTER SUBJECT: BEIJING 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS: USG SITUATION REPORT #5, 08/05/2008 REF: A. BEIJING 3002 ¶B. BEIJING 2985 ¶C. BEIJING 2994 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 08/05/2008. 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 EVENTS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Information continues to be received on the 08/04/2008 attack against a Chinese police station in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (ref. a). There has been no claim of responsibility for the incident, though China,s official state media outlet, Xinhua, has reported that two Uighur males were detained at the scene. Police also reportedly found 10 home-made explosives, a home-made handgun, and four knives in the truck driven by the men. Separately, the English version of Xinhua noted that the Xinjiang Regional Public Security Department has information that the "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement" is planning unspecified terrorist attacks at unidentified locations from 08/01/2008 to 08/08/2008, prior to the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. While there is no indication that the Kashgar incident was connected to the Olympic Games, a spokesman for Beijing,s Olympic organizing committee reportedly stated security arrangements were being increased around all Olympic venues. The Kashgar attack is indicative of the type of activity that Chinese officials fear could be used to disrupt the Games. 
¶4. (SBU) In connection with the Kashgar incident, on 08/04/2008, U.S. Embassy personnel received unconfirmed information from a local travel agent that five Americans were located in a hotel near the site of the attack against the police. The travel agent stated the Americans were safe but that they and other guests were prevented from leaving the hotel immediately after the incident. Following-up on this report, the U.S. Embassy is seeking to confirm the welfare and whereabouts of the American citizens. Media reports have indicated that foreign tourists staying near the site of the attack were not allowed to leave their rooms for four hours and that they were interviewed by police asking whether they had any photographs of what had occurred. Foreign tourists were quoted saying that when they were finally allowed outside, the area was filled with police and looked like it had been quickly sanitized to clean blood from the street. SECURITY ISSUES -------------- ¶5. (S/NF) Threats: In an update to information reported in Beijing Olympics Situation Reports 1 and 2 (ref. b and c), the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has released the formal findings of their investigation into an unsubstantiated write-in alleging that foreign nationals staying in a hotel in Dalian posed a threat to the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team. According to the MSS, German citizen Gerhard Kreysa--a chemical specialist--and his wife, Jamnig Kreysa, were invited by the Dalian University of Technology to attend the Asia-Pacific Chemical Engineering Association Conference starting on 08/04/2008 and planned to return to Beijing on 08/06/2008. Their presence in Dalian was in no way connected to the movements of the U.S. team and they pose no threat to the U.S. presence in the city. (Please see TD-314/057967-08.) ¶6. (C/NF) According to uncorroborated information received from a write-in to a U.S. Government website, a rival country will try to launch a missile into the U.S. while "special agents and secret service agents are busy in China," presumably during the President,s visit to Beijing. It must be noted that the vast majority of threat messages received from such sources are not credible and that the agenda of the writer is usually to harass and mislead rather than to provide legitimate information. ¶7. (SBU) Incidents: On 08/04/2008, three passengers on a flight from Urumqi--the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region--to Chongqing were reportedly detained after "explosives residue" was discovered on their hands during a check by flight attendants. The three were allegedly from Sichuan and had been conducting business in Urumqi. According to the Chinese media report, all passengers were removed from the plane and a security sweep was conducted before the aircraft was allowed to depart, without the three suspects. A number of common materials may cause a false positive in explosives screening and it is unclear whether the detained individuals had in fact come in contact with explosives or with another substance that could provide a positive result. Such secondary screening on board an aircraft is unusual and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) representatives in the JOC have been asked to determine whether this measure is routine on flights originating in Xinjiang or if this is a wider initiative put in place by Chinese authorities to augment transportation security in advance of the Olympics. ¶8. (C) Olympic Protests: According to U.S. Embassy reporting, Hong Kong media claim that Chinese Central Government officials have instructed local authorities to prevent petitioners from coming to Beijing during the Olympics. A Beijing newspaper editor reported that his paper is getting numerous calls from would-be petitioners who have been sent home from Beijing or blocked from coming. Officials from the Ministry of Supervision claim that no such restrictions exist and that the State Letters and Complaints Bureau will remain open through the Olympics. These officials state, however, that petitioners coming to Beijing is "not normal" and that complaints should be dealt with locally. (Please see Beijing 3005, dated August 4, for additional information.) ¶9. (SBU) On 08/05/2008, U.S. Embassy officers visited two of the three designated protest zones and several of the cultural squares in Beijing, including the Summer Palace, Grand View Garden and Yuanmingyuan. They observed no protest activity and the situation appeared normal at all of the visited sites. SECURITY OPERATIONS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining the parameters of USG Olympic support operations in China was formally implemented on 08/04/2008 in a successful meeting between the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) for U.S. Embassy Beijing and Chinese Standing Deputy Director General (SDDG) Xue Dongzhen. Though the majority of USG Olympic support personnel have been present in Beijing since mid-July and the JOC has been operational since 08/01/2008, the formal enactment of the MOU was contingent upon the receipt of venue accreditations for the USG Field Liaison Officers (FLO); these credentials were delivered to the Olympic Security Coordinator (OSC) the morning of 08/04/2008. Among other items, SDDG Xue,s welcoming speech highlighted Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) bilateral security cooperation with Chinese agencies during the Olympic Games. ¶11. (SBU) During the meeting with SDDG Xue, 23 FLOs met with their Chinese counterparts in order to facilitate coordination of security operations at venue sites. This was the second such meeting to take place; the first occurred on 07/30/2008 when 18 FLOs were introduced to the Chinese security liaisons that will be co-located with them at the Olympic venues. ¶12. (SBU) Consulate General Hong Kong has reported that the last FLO has arrived in Hong Kong and that accreditation for the FLOs will be finalized by the end of this week. Once accreditation is received, the FLOs will begin traveling with the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team to their practice venue. VIPS -------------- ¶13. (SBU) The Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, will arrive in Beijing on 08/05/2008. Also expected to arrive today is the Governor of Georgia, Sunny Perdue. ¶14. (SBU) Former President George H. W. Bush is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on 08/06/2008; he will be the first member of the USG Olympics Opening Ceremony Delegation to arrive in the city. PUBLIC AFFAIRS/PUBLIC DIPLOMACY -------------- ¶15. (U) There is no significant information or activity to report. CONSULAR AFFAIRS -------------- ¶16. (SBU) U.S. Swimmer Misplaces Passport: U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte reportedly lost his passport at Beijing Capital International Airport upon his arrival on 08/04/2008. American Citizen Services (ACS) JOC duty officer called the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) to offer assistance. The passport was found a few hours later. ¶17. (SBU) Amcit Death: A 24-year old American Olympic tourist died the evening of 08/04/2008 when she fell through an unmarked manhole that had no barriers and had been covered by plastic sheeting. She was walking with a group of friends along a Beijing street when the accident occurred. The American was in China with an NGO called Community Collaborations International doing volunteer work, touring local sights, and going to Olympic events. Her family has been notified and the U.S. Embassy is working with the family to arrange for the disposition of her remains. POLITICAL AFFAIRS -------------- ¶18. (C) According to U.S. Embassy reporting, a Beijing-based Dutch diplomat (protect) who recently traveled to Tibet told Embassy contacts that tensions remain very high between Han Chinese and Tibetans, noting that working-level Han and Tibetan government officials he met with were openly contemptuous of one another. According to the diplomat, many Tibetan residents of Lhasa predict violence during religious festivals that will take place at the end of August and in early September. He also observed "military" troops patrolling some Lhasa neighborhoods at night in armored vehicles; People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People's Armed Police (PAP) forces were on every street corner, he reported. (Please see Beijing 3006, dated August 4, for additional information.) Riots erupted in Tibet in March and Chinese Government officials remain concerned about the potential for further unrest occurring during the Olympic Games. RANDT