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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Hijacker shot in China |
| 2008-03-06 |
| A hijacker armed with explosives took a group of Australian tourists and a translator hostage in China on Wednesday before police shot and killed him, an Australian embassy official and Chinese media reported. Ten Australians were taken hostage on a tourist bus in the city of Xi’an in northwest China but nine were released soon after, Janaline Oh, spokeswoman for the Australian Embassy in Beijing, told reporters. “Nine Australian passengers were released and transported to safety and a 48-year-old woman from New South Wales was not released with the rest of the group,” she said. Chinese police agreed to let the hijacker, Xia Tao, change buses and head to the airport before shooting him as he approached the toll station. “Chinese security authorities intervened and secured the release of the woman and the Australian government is pleased the hostages are now safe,” said Oh. Oh said she did not believe the hostages had suffered any injuries. Xinhua said the woman and translator were unharmed. Xia took the passengers hostage just before 10:00 am (0200 GMT) and was shot dead at 12:36 pm after negotiations failed, the report said, citing the local public security bureau. It was not clear why he took them hostage. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Shouldn't you have tried to send in a negotiator first, Mr. Ming? That was our negotiator... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-03-06 20:50 |
| #6 This is the way to teat hijackers. Shoot first, question-asking later is optional. Shooting them in the teat seems a little vindictive, but I'm basically ok with it. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-03-06 17:52 |
| #5 Could be. But Xi'an is pretty far from the Uighur area - it's really in central China, not the western part of the country. One of the ancient capitals and a common tourist stop. Mr. Lotp's parents visited there in 1976 shortly after they began allowing tourists into China. We still have photos they took of the terracotta armies buried with emperors there. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-03-06 16:41 |
| #4 Bomb - Northwest China - Australians Alex, I'll take Islamic Terrorists for 50. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-03-06 16:37 |
| #3 'Uh Vanna, can I have an 'r' please?' Thanks, that should be 'tReat' thanks for playing. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2008-03-06 14:12 |
| #2 Who cares about the 'why?' This is the way to teat hijackers. Shoot first, question-asking later is optional. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2008-03-06 14:09 |
| #1 It was not clear why he took them hostage. Uh, yeah. It's pretty clear that he was probably a peasant who got his land stolen for development. The government in Beijing allocated money for compensation but it was all stolen by provincial and local officials. I bet that any media will never report on the whys of this situation. |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-03-06 02:36 |