Chinese Hotels Warned of Terror Attacks

Chinese police have warned luxury hotels that they could be attacked by Islamic extremists, the US embassy in Beijing said yesterday, 10 days ahead of a scheduled visit by President George Bush.

"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 some time over the course of the next week," the embassy advised in an email message.

"American citizens visiting Chinese four- and five-star hotels should review their plans carefully, remain vigilant with regard to their personal safety, and exercise caution."

President Bush is to make a three-day visit to Beijing from November 19, his first trip to China since Hu Jintao became Chinese president in 2003.

Muslim unrest in China centres on the vast western province of Xinjiang, where much of the Turkic-speaking Uighur population seeks independence from Beijing.

The Chinese authorities claim that local separatists are linked to extremist Islamist groups in Afghanistan and Asia, and have stepped up suppression of cultural and religious activity since serious protests against the government in 1997.

In September Beijing's public security ministry said that 160 people had been killed and 440 wounded in more than 220 "terrorist" actions in the province since the 1980s. Last month the government said 19 foreigners were arrested in Xinjiang on terrorism charges.

But rights groups claim that the government has used anti-terrorist claims as a way of clamping down on legitimate dissent in Xinjiang, in a campaign characterised by arbitrary arrest, trial and executions.