FM: Terror attack on Beijing hotels a 'sham'
(Xinhua/AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-10 15:59

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Thursday denied a report that luxury hotels in Beijing could be attacked by Islamic extremists, describing it as "sheer fabrication."

It proves that the report posted online was from an anonymous foreign citizen, said the ministry's spokesman Liu Jianchao in a regular news briefing. "It is a sheer fabrication," he said.

The spokesman said the Ministry of Public Security has never released such news and "is making an investigation into this case."

"The so-called attacks on four and five star hotels in China was a sham recently fabricated by some foreign citizen," the Public Security Ministry said in a one-line faxed statement.

The US Embassy in Beijing posted a statement on its website on Wednesday saying Islamic extremists will attack luxury hotels in China over next week.

"The Embassy has learned that Chinese police advised hotels that Islamic extremist elements could be planning to attack four and five star hotels in China sometime over the course of the next week," according to the statement.

Various top-class hotels in Beijing said on Wednesday and Thursday they had received no such warning from the police, AFP reported.

"The Embassy has learned that Chinese police advised hotels that Islamic extremist elements could be planning to attack four and five star hotels in China sometime over the course of the next week," the statement said.

"Chinese authorities have assured the Embassy that they are taking appropriate security measures and investigating the possible threat thoroughly," the statement claimed.

The US warning advised Americans visiting Chinese four and five star hotels to "review their plans carefully," to "remain vigilant with regard to their personal security" and "exercise caution."