KABUL: (MEP) Foreign embassies including British, U.S. and French in China issued a warning Thursday about possible threats against Westerners visiting a popular shopping district in Beijing around Christmas.
The embassies said they had received information about possible threats to westerners in the Sanlitun area of the Chinese capital, shopping centers and urged their citizens to be vigilant.
The embassies sent out warnings to their citizens and staff, urging extra vigilance if they are in the Sanlitun district. The Australian embassy soon followed suit.
The area has been the site of occasional violence against foreigners, including a grisly murder in August when a Chinese attacker stabbed a French man and his Chinese wife with a sword. The woman later died from her injuries.
Dozens of police, some armed with rifles, were guarding the area, which has many big-name brand stores and some embassies. Roads leading into the embassy district were closed to traffic.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said authorities are familiar with the reports.
“Relevant Chinese departments have always attached great importance to social security work, and spared no effort in protecting the safety of Chinese citizens and foreign institutes and their staff in China,” Hong said.
The city’s police department issued a yellow alert Thursday, the second level in a four-tier system, according to a post on its social media account.
A yellow alert is issued when authorities have information about a significant and approaching threat to public security, state media said. They can relate to natural disasters as well as issues linked to social order.
