In the warning, the US Embassy said it has given the same advice to American government personnel, and urged US citizens to “exercise heightened vigilance” during this time.

Last August, Sanlitun was the scene of a deadly incident in which a Chinese man with a sword attacked a French national and his Chinese wife, causing the death of the latter. Social media speculated that the attacker had anti-foreigner sentiments, something that hadn’t been clarified by Chinese police or the Chinese press.

The full UK Embassy warning is as follows:

The U.S. Embassy has received information of possible threats against Westerners in the Sanlitun area of Beijing, on or around Christmas Day.  U.S. citizens are urged to exercise heightened vigilance.  The U.S. Embassy has issued the same guidance to U.S. government personnel.

• The State Department’s Worldwide Travel Alert message remains in effect.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Contact the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, located at 55 An Jia Lou Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, by phone at (+86 10) 8531-4000, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or by email at[email protected]. For AFTER HOURS EMERGENCIES, call 8531-3000 to speak to the operator.
• Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States or Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays).

Beijing police responded by increasing its police presence in medium to large sized shopping malls and supermarkets during Christmas and New Year. The police have also raised the public security threat level to “yellow”, the third-highest level in a rating system out of four levels.

As reported by Shanghai Daily, the Beijing police are out in force in Wangfujing and Nanluoguxiang as well as churches around Dongcheng District. There’s no mention of Sanlitun in the report, the area that was specifically named in the US Embassy warning.

The post Beijing’s Sanlitun Safe on Christmas Day, but Police Still Out in Force appeared first on The Nanfang.

The drills were held at the Zhejiang Science and Technology Institute during the middle of the day, with the role of terrorists given to two black foreign exchange students at the university. There was also a third attacker who does not appear in the photographs.

Aside from the offensive racial implications, in the interests of ensuring the mock attacks appeared “realistic”, the three men carried out the drill with the current weapon of choice for terrorists: giant meat cleavers. During the drill, the attackers charged the campus wielding the blades and threatened civilians before eventually throwing smoke bombs. When police arrived equipped with batons and riot shields, the terrorists took three hostages, all women.

As the photos demonstrate, the attackers were eventually subdued by police, and the drill was declared to be a success.

The post Black Students Featured as Terrorists During Police Drill at Hangzhou University appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Nanfang reported on the negative reaction previously, but now we have some actual statistics. Guhe Media and Weibo Database released a study that offers a breakdown of user activity in China in regards to the Paris terror attacks on the micro-blogging service Weibo.

Out of all the users in China concerned with the November 13 Paris terror attacks (by posting and writing comments), almost half (48 percent) came from Beijing (seen on the pie chart above, to the right). Other provinces were not well represented with Guangdong coming in at ten percent, Sichuan at eight, and only five percent out of all the Weibo users concerned about the Paris terror attacks in China came from Shanghai.

The statistical breakdown continued by saying male Weibo users were far more interested in the Paris attacks than their female counterparts by a 4:1 ratio (78 percent, and 22 percent, respectively).

The study differentiated between posts that used “positive” and “negative” terms. Positive terms including “cooperation”, “hope”, “gold”, and “cute”, while negative terms included “terrorism”, “threat”, and “dead”.

Another telling detail was that among those with the most fans, no Chinese entertainment celebrity commented on the attacks. Instead, the most popular accounts to get involved in the discussion included several Weibo humor accounts like “Piggie likes to make sarcastic remarks”, and social commentators like management studies phD Chen Li.

And, as the study showed, Chinese have been talking about terrorist group ISIS for awhile now, most noticeably last February in the aftermath of the horrific executions of two Japanese hostages. Strangely, the study does not show any online reaction to the September news that a Chinese national was being held hostage and ransomed by ISIS.

50 year-old Fan Jinghui was reported to have been executed earlier this week, an act that drew strong condemnation from China’s Foreign Ministry and President Xi Jinping.

The post Measuring China’s Online Reaction to the Paris Terror Attacks appeared first on The Nanfang.

On Wednesday, ISIS claimed it had executed 50 year-old freelance consultant Fan Jinghui and 48 year-old Norweigian Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad. Dabiq, an English magazine published by ISIS, featured graphic photos of the two victims. A caption above the photo reads, “Executed after being abandoned by the kafir (disbeliever) nations and organisations.”

Fan and Grimsgaard-Ofstad were previously seen in the September issue of Dabiq (seen above). The two were in yellow jumpsuit-clad hostages “for sale” to any interested party because, according to the poster, they were both “abandoned” by the Norwegian and Chinese government “which did not do its utmost to purchase (their) freedom.” The poster had ended with, “Note: This is a limited time offer.”

Reacting with “great shock”, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press release that the Chinese government had been trying to rescue the hostage with all-out efforts since the kidnapping happened. While strongly denouncing the executions, Hong extended condolences to the families of the victim and said the Chinese government had initiated an emergency-response plan and carried out rescue work, without revealing specifics.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it will “bring these criminals to justice,” but did not elaborate as to how they will achieve their plan.

Grimsgaard-Ofstad (left); Fan (right).

The executions come after the November 13 terror attacks on Paris and a bombing of the Russian airliner, events that have resulted in increased air attacks on ISIS strongholds in Syria. French and Russian air forces reportedly killed 33 Islamic State fighters on Wednesday. China is not an active participant in the Syrian war.

The Chinese media and public have been noticeably unsympathetic to the Paris terror attacks by using the tragedy as a way to bring up China’s grievances with the French even while Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed solidarity with France and as certain Chinese landmarks were lit up in the colors of the French flag.

Likewise, Chinese netizens were equally muted in their response to learning that a fellow citizen had been executed by ISIS forces, as they had done in Paris.

One person supported the idea of Chinese military involvement, if only because it would signify a positive contribution by the Chinese government. The person said, “Just bomb them. For (the Foreign Ministry) to keep taking a harder stance is just going to anger the reader as you essentially haven’t done a single thing. Can you be more specific about what you’re going to do?”

Another person cautioned against the use of force, warning of the risks involved. “For the sake of so many people’s safety, restraint must be shown here. If troops are dispatched, this will signify sending them to their deaths!” they said.

One person said, “I feel as though the Chinese government doesn’t really care about this hostage,” while another said, “No matter how rough the situation, my government can’t do anything aside from strongly denouncing things. Can they do anything else?”

Earlier this year, Chinese media blamed Japan for allowing its citizens to get targeted and executed by ISIS. The Global Times reasoned that since “East Asian countries are not supposed to be key targets of the atrocious IS,” there must be a deeper reason for why Japan was singled out.

Meanwhile, at the G20 summit in Turkey, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for international support in China’s fight against domestic terrorism, saying that there shouldn’t be a “double standard”. Wang said, “China is also a victim of terrorism. The fight against the ‘East Turkestan Islamic Movement’… should become an important part of the international fight against terrorism.”

Xinjiang remains one of China’s most heavily policed area that places restrictions on personal rights and freedom of the press, with rights activitists complaining local violence is a result of oppressive policies that clamp down on religious freedoms.

The post ISIS Executes Chinese Hostage appeared first on The Nanfang.

While this sentiment runs throughout China, the media isn’t shy about leading popular opinion. Chinese state-run newspaper the People’s Daily does not want the Paris terror attacks to overshadow a deadly landslide that coincidentally happened at the same time, and it does so by urging its readers to choose one over the other.

Twenty-five people died when a landslide struck the village of Lidong near the city of Lishui, Zhejiang at 10:50 on Friday night. Only one person has been rescued from the landslide so far, while another 12 victims remain unaccounted for. Twenty-seven Lidong homes below an adjacent mountain were buried, with another 21 flooded.

Landslides are a common occurrence in China that have derailed trains, blocked train tracks, capsized boats in the Yangtze River, and have caused numerous fatalities during south China’s annual rainy season. It’s a problem that keeps happening in China, but with the Paris terror attacks attracting world-wide attention on Friday night, the Lishui incident is at risk of being ignored in the daily news cycle.

That’s where the People’s Daily intervened by sharing a Weibo micro-blogging post at around 8pm on Saturday. The post compares the two tragic incidents:

People’s Daily Weibo Opinion: Cry for Paris, but don’t forget to cry for Lishui as well.
The Paris terror attack has shocked the world. Terrorists are the enemy of the entire word which is united in its humanity to defeat it. Cry for Paris, but don’t forget to cry for Lishui as well. A landslide occurred in Lidong village, Yaxi County, Liandu District, Lishui, Zhejiang. The latest news reports there are nine dead from the disaster, with another 28 victims unaccounted for. Every life that is taken away in a disaster is valuable; please direct your concerns and prayers towards Lishui.

Even though many Chinese have shown sympathy towards the people of France, many of the top-voted responses said deaths from the Paris terror attacks are simply not as important as those from the Lishui landslide, two incidents that were otherwise separate and unrelated before the People’s Daily Online made the connection.

Here are what some Chinese people had to say in response to the People’s Daily Online Weibo post:

(highest rated comment)
洛水柳畔：
I don’t cry for Paris, I pray for that whore the Virgin Mary to curse them. I only pray for Lishui. 

Fally章：
Pray for your own compatriots! France supports Tibet independence!

春晖大地：
Some people these days only know how to concern themselves with the outside world. They think that everything outside the border is great. If you think that it’s so great in other countries, then you should immigrate! If you’re going to be spouting off your opinions, then you should show some concern about your own country. China is not worse than other countries!

O福星高照O：
Cry for Paris? From where do I have such emotion? I am only sympathizing with them! I only cry for the tragic deaths of my compatriots!

king1however：
The perspective of the masses is directed by the media. Don’t forget this, because the people won’t forget this. 

应西堤：
Even more importantly, don’t forget about Tianjin.

努力使自己微笑：
The running dogs of capitalism have gone to lick France.

Even though Chinese President Xi Jiping has made an official statement saying that China is devoted to fighting terrorism, and the Oriental Pearl Tower lit up its exterior in the colors of the French flag, the feeling that the Paris terror attacks were stealing attention away from China’s own domestic tragedy have been spreading online.

In a CCTV report about the Lishui landslide that made no mention whatsoever about the Paris terror attacks, netizens used the opportunity to compare the two incidents in much the way that the People’s Daily Online had done:

鉴翔师：
I ask the municipal government of Shanghai to shine their lights for the victims of the Lishui landslide. I also ask the network of the addicted running lap dogs of the Virgin Mary to shout aloud ‘May heaven protect Zhejiang’. I also ask that the traitors belonging to the media outlet Caijing as well as others to pray for the victims of Lishui.

Lr19970808：
Hey, Oriental Pearl Tower, why do you pray for foreign countries, but not for China?

神的奥斯坦丁：
My compatriots (who died in the Lishui landslide), even though you didn’t die in a terror attack, you are still Chinese people. The Oriental Pearl Tower won’t shine its lights for you. When I return home I will light a candle for you… 

Then there’s this comment:

Don’t the lives of Chinese people matter?
On November 13, Paris suffered an unprecedented terror attack that led to the deaths of some 140 people. On television, French President Francois Hollande showed how moved he was by the attack by the shakiness of his voice. What is unacceptable is that the 2009 terror attack in Urumqi, in which 197 people died and 1700 people were hurt, was far more severe than in Paris. However, the French government showed no anger or “shaky voice” at this time, but instead interfered with China trying to implement the death penalty upon these terrorists.

It may seem like a minor miracle to get Chinese to actively care about the terror attacks in Paris, but there is one thing that may come to pass. Since the attacks occurred on Friday, there has been no contact with 27 year-old Chinese graduate student Liu Anyu, drawing fears that he may be one of the victims who succumbed in the attacks.

The post Chinese Nationalism Dulls Sympathy for Paris Terror Attack Victims appeared first on The Nanfang.

Citing local police, the knife attack began at around 3am last Friday at the Sogan colliery in Aksu Prefecture, Bay County. An official notice distributed to police and quoted by Radio Free Asia called the incident “a long-planned, well-prepared, large-scale attack by separatists against police officers and mine owners at a coal field in our county.”

Jamal Eysa, the chief of state security police at a neighboring mine in Bay County, said police officers involved in dealing with the attackers told him the suspects were from “neighboring farms” and that they had “taken control of the dynamite at the colliery.”

“That is why they were able to do such severe damage to our police team and to the Han businessman and factory owners,” said Eysa, though he did not elaborate if the explosives were used in the attack. Security guard Zhang Jianjie gave a second-hand account of the attack. “According to my boss, the attackers called the Terek police station to report the incident, and when police officers approached the mine area, the group used trucks filled with coal to ram the police van and then assaulted the injured officers with knives,” Zhang said.

“I know that five of 10 police officers were killed at the scene and the rest of them were transferred to the hospital in Bay county, but I don’t know how many of the attackers were killed or injured,” he said.

Zhang said police authorities are currently patrolling the vicinity in force. “The current situation in Bay county indicates that at least some of the attackers are alive and were able to escape.”

Bay township resident Li Ming told Radio Free Asia that by Monday afternoon, security checkpoints had been established at all intersections throughout town, while armed police squads were patrolling the area in armored personnel carriers, leading him to believe that the “incident was much more severe than I had thought and the suspects have still not been killed or captured.”

While Li could confirm that something had happened at “the coal mining field in Terek township”, he was not willing to continue to talk to a foreign reporter.

“I have no right to give you information and I have to record your contact information to give to the county police department,” said Li. “I can only answer your questions if the department notifies me that I may accept your interview.”

Channel News Asia reported that repeated calls to the Xinjiang government and public security departments were not answered, saying that violent incidents are not confirmed by Chinese authorities, if ever.

In June, Radio Free Asia said at least 18 people died when ethnic Uighurs attacked police with knives and bombs at a traffic checkpoint in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, an incident that has not been confirmed by the Chinese government.

Aksu has experienced previous incidents of mass violence.

This past February, a hacking and shooting incident left 17 dead in Aksu. In 2014, six people were shot by police and another six killed by explosions after a bomb went off near a hair salon. In 2010, a Uighur man is reported to have thrown a bomb that killed seven people and injured another 14.

Tensions between ethnic Uighurs that call Xinjiang home and the majority Han have resulted in repeated acts of violence that have killed hundreds of people. Beijing blames Muslim separatists, while exiled Uighur groups and human rights organizations say repressive policies are to blame for provoking unrest.

The post Many Injured after Xinjiang Separatists Go On a Knifing Rampage at Coal Mine appeared first on The Nanfang.

Extremist group ISIS says two hostages in its captivity, a Chinese and a Norwegian, are “for sale” now that the governments of their respective countries have failed to secure their release.

The two hostages have been identified as 50 year-old Fan Jinghui and 48 year-old Ole Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad. It is not clear when the two were captured. The two men are seen in photos wearing yellow jumpsuits with photographs of them taken at various angles.

Fan is described as being a “freelance consultant” and lists Beijing, China as his place of birth.

The notice offers the two hostages “for sale” to any interested party because, according to the poster, they were both “abandoned” by the Norwegian and Chinese government “which did not do its utmost to purchase (their) freedom.”

Chillingly, the notice ends with, “Note: This is a limited time offer.”

So far there hasn’t been an official response from the Chinese government. The People’s Daily reported the story, but did not confirm Fan’s nationality.

Meanwhile, the ISIS hostage situation drew a strong response from Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway. Solberg confirmed that a Norwegian national is being held hostage by ISIS, but would not confirm it is Grimsgaard-Ofstad.

Prime Minister Solberg also had tough words for ISIS:

We can not and we will not be pressured. We will not pay ransom. ISIS brutality knows no limits and has driven thousands of people from their home. ISIS must be stopped and Norway will continue the work against this organisation.

Chinese media has commented before on the issue of hostage taking by ISIS when two Japanese nationals were ransomed and ultimately executed at the beginning of this year by the extremist group.

The Global Times reasoned that there must have been a precise reason why Japanese hostages were targeted by ISIS because “East Asian countries are not supposed to be key targets of the atrocious IS.”

Specifically, the Global Times said the Japanese and US governments are to blame for the killings, saying: “The killing of the Japanese hostage is more or less the price that Japan has paid for its support to Washington.” As well, GT predicted the tragedy will be exploited for political gain, saying, “The death of the hostage also offers a new excuse for Abe to lift the ban on collective self-defense.”

In other developments, Chinese tourist Hong Xudong was freed by Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies at the end of August after being held hostage by the Taliban for over a year.

The post ISIS Puts Chinese Hostage “On Sale” appeared first on The Nanfang.

Relatives say the group had their cell phones confiscated and were held without charge for 48 hours. While Chinese authorities have yet to offer an explanation for the detainment, they did inform relatives that the tourists were allegedly watching “terror propaganda” videos in their hotel rooms.

On Tuesday, authorities agreed to release 11 of the 20 detainees after the British and South African consulates intervened. However, they will remain in policy custody until July 19, which is the earliest departing flight out of Ordos.

The remaining detainees include three Britons, five South Africans and an Indian national. They have still yet to be charged. Consulates and charities are working to secure their release, including the South African Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is currently on a state visit to China.

The post UK, South African Tourists Detained in Inner Mongolia Under Suspicion of Terrorism appeared first on The Nanfang.

A video released by a Taliban splinter group called Jaish al-Hadeed (the “Contingent of Steel”) on Sunday shows a man that strongly resembles Hong Xudong, a Chinese man kidnapped in Pakistan on May 19, 2014.

In the video, the man asks the Chinese government to help secure his release.

After having crossed into Pakistan from India in April 2014, Hong was last known to be in Daraban on the outskirts of the Dera Ismail Khan district, an area that Pakistani authorities ban foreigners from entering due to safety concerns. Local police recovered Hong’s passport, bicycle, and belongings.

Following Hong’s disappearance, Abdullah Bahar, the commander of another Taliban splinter group called Shehryar Mehsud, claimed responsibility for the abduction. Bahar was later killed by a suspected US drone strike.

It’s unclear what relationship Shehryar Mehsud has with Jaish al-Hadeed, although Taliban splinter groups frequently cooperate with each other, the AP reported.

Pakistani Taliban have kidnapped foreigners and locals as a way to raise funds for arms and other resources as they attempt to establish their brand of Sharia law.

Some Chinese media have previously published tough words on the issue of international hostages held by terrorists groups. The Global Times blamed the deaths of Japanese hostages ransomed by ISIS earlier this year on the Japanese and US governments, saying “The killing of the Japanese hostage is more or less the price that Japan has paid for its support to Washington.”

The paper insisted the Japanese government was encouraged to do the right thing and pay the ransom, but explained they did not because “…the US, who is now dominating the global anti-terrorism campaign, insists that no country should yield to terrorist blackmail by offering ransoms or giving in to their demands.”

The post Taliban-Allied Fighters Claim Abduction of Chinese National appeared first on The Nanfang.

An Indonesian domestic helper working in Hong Kong has gone missing after reportedly saying she was going to join Islamic State militants in Syria along with her husband.

Known as “Najima”, the 25 year-old heavily pregnant woman borrowed money from another maid and allegedly left Hong Kong for Syria on February 27, said Romlah Rosedah, chairwoman of the Indonesian Migrant Muslim Alliance.

“She told our mutual friend that she would pay her back once she arrived in Syria. The friend said [Najma] was going there with her husband to join the Islamic State and she would return the money when she was there,” said Rosedah, adding that Najima had once asked her for advice on how to travel to Syria.

Najima had been part of a group of maids that regularly gathered in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Park that Najima described as a Salafi group, said Rosedah. Salafi branch members of Islam have been known to join ISIS.

READ: ISIS Recruiting Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

The news comes after earlier reports said a group called the Muhaiddah of Islam Hong Kong was recruiting ISIS members in the city. However, as Rosedah points out, there is no specific evidence to prove that Najima has gone to Syria, or has joined ISIS.

An estimated 20,000 foreign recruits are thought to have joined ISIS, with 500 originally coming from Indonesia.

The post Hong Kong Maid Believed to Have Joined the Islamic State in Syria appeared first on The Nanfang.