Beijing authorities put swaths of the city under lockdown, stationing armed guards on street corners and in pedestrian plazas.
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December 24, 2015 Sinosphere By AUSTIN RAMZY Several foreign embassies in Beijing, together with the American & British ones, warned on Thurs. of attainable threats against Westerners in a shopping district on or around Christmas Day, urging their citizens to “exercise heightened vigilance”. “The U.S. Embassy has issued the same guidance to U.S. government personnel”.
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China’s state-run news agency says Beijing police have put all medium- to large-sized malls and supermarkets under a yellow security alert, with plans for a greater police presence and all public trash bins being checked every 30 minutes.
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The French and Australian governments have also urged their citizens to remain vigilant.
The Sanlitun area is home to big-name brand stores – including China’s first Apple store – along with trendy bars, restaurants and cafes and a busy nightlife.
No further details were given about the nature of the threat or where the information came from. Camouflage-clad paramilitary police were deployed in Sanlitun and other areas across the city.
Regular police tend not to carry guns in China and gun crime is uncommon.
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“There is a general threat from terrorism 1/8in China3/8, but the risk of attacks is higher in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region”, it said.
