China Police Shoot Dead Hostage Taker

A trip to China’s famed terracotta warriors took a terrifying turn for a group of Australian tourists when they were taken hostage by a man claiming to be carrying explosives.

The drama unfolded this morning as the ten men and women, all travel agents on an education tour, visited the Drum and Bell Tower Square in the heart of the ancient city of Xi’an, near one of the last old low-rise districts that has escaped the developers’ bulldozers.

A Chinese man suddenly boarded their bus and took the group hostage, telling their translator that he was armed with explosives strapped to his body, which he would detonate.

Police arrived at the scene swiftly and the man, identified as Xia Tao from the city’s Yanliang district, said he wanted to negotiate. He allowed nine of the Australians to leave the bus but kept one 48-year-old woman from New South Wales and the Chinese translator as hostages.

Fearing that the man could blow up the bus in the crowded city centre, police persuaded him to transfer with the hostages to a smaller vehicle. The police agreed to resume negotiations with the man once the smaller bus had driven outside the city.

The man, whose demands apparently included a request to speak to Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, was then driven along the highway to the airport.

Reports differ about what happened next. Some say the negotiations with police broke down. Others that a police marksman took aim when the vehicle stopped at a toll point. What is certain is that the hostage-taker was shot dead near the tollgate in an operation overseen by the city chief, the powerful Communist Party Secretary of Xi’an.

The Australian woman and her Chinese companion were freed unharmed.

Janaline Oh, spokeswoman at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, said: “The Chinese security authorities intervened and secured the release of the woman. The Australian Government is pleased that the hostages are now safe.”

The Australians had all flown on to Shanghai where they were receiving consular assistance, she said.

It was not known if the group had already visited one of the highlights of a trip to China — the Terracotta Army, a collection of more than 8,000 lifesize figures of warriors dating back to about 200BC that are buried around the grave of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, in the countryside outside Xi’an.

The taking of hostages, especially foreigners, is rare in China. Last year police in Shanghai shot dead a knife-wielding man who grabbed a four-year-old girl in a fast-food outlet.

The violent incident involving foreign tourists in a city that is one of the most popular destinations for visitors to China comes as security authorities are preparing for the Olympic Gamese in Beijing in August.

Security will be tightened around Beijing and at entry points to China during the games. A security zone will be will be set up around the capital’s international airport to prevent aircraft from being shot down. Interpol has shared information such as names, fingerprints, photographs and DNA profiles of possible attackers with the Chinese authorities. It has also designed its most ambitious passport and visa application screening application process to identify fraudulent travel documents and suspected terrorists.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is helping Beijing to guard against any potential attack by providing nuclear detection equipment and training staff. Last month, the head of the FBI gave Beijing’s security preparations his stamp of approval and also offered China help against potential threats.

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