Did China stage those attempted terrorist attacks?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A couple days ago, we told you about a report from Chinese officials that an attempted terrorist attack forced a plane to make an emergency landing in the western Chinese city of Lanzhou. Chinese investigators had almost no details about the incident, but they were quick to call it the work of terrorists and seemed to imply that an Uyghur separatist group was responsible.

Now, questions are being raised about the veracity of the Chinese officials’ claim. Steven Tsang, an Oxford professor and expert on China, wonders why the supposedly almost-hijacked flight was allowed to continue to Beijing after landing in Lanzhou. “There’s no way any anti-terrorism police would have released the plane and passengers to fly on without extensive interviews of the passengers, forensic examination of the plane and so on.”

According to Time Magazine: “Tsang also noted that it was particularly easy to blame a shadowy Islamic separatists movement in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics, possibly as a deterrent to those or any other groups who might want to disrupt the Games.”

The exiled leader of the Uyghur people also claims that China fabricated the attacks, saying, “The real goal of the Chinese government is to organize a terrorist attack so that it can increase its crackdown on the Uighur people.”

That doesn’t sound like the Olympic spirit to me.

Attempted terrorist attack on Chinese flight forces emergency landing

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Air police on a flight from the western Chinese city of Urumqi to Beijing foiled a would-be terrorist attack on Friday, said Chinese officials. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, after two passengers aboard the flight tried to crash the plane. Everyone aboard the flight arrived safely, and the suspects are in custody in Lanzhou.

Though details of the incident are largely unknown, the state media is calling it a terrorist attack. It’s unclear how the attackers were planning on bringing down the plane, but officials say they found flammable materials in the plane’s toilet.

Urumqi, the city in which the flight originated, is the capital of Xinjiang, a region that is “home to 8 million Muslim Uighurs, many of whom resent the growing presence and economic grip of Han Chinese,” according to Reuters.

This attempted hijacking comes less than two months after Chinese officials say they thwarted a plot to attack the Beijing Olympics– a plot hatched in that same region of Xinjiang.

Why take the Buddha Bus?

by Abha Malpani on

I don’t understand why the OzBus is popular. Why would you want to spend 13-weeks on a bus, traveling with a rigid itinerary and a bunch of people you don’t know?

People say: it’s the most environmentally friendly way to travel, it’s the hippy way to travel (?), it’s a different experience. To me, just the thought is excruciating and exhausting. That’s just me though, no strings independent travel is more my thing and I can travel in an environmentally friendly way without being handcuffed to a bus.

Anyway, I bring this up as I read news of the launch of the Buddha Bus: a bus that will take you from London to China in 16-days. The first “Zen bus” will depart from London on September 6.

“To broaden the mind, to stimulate the senses; the perfect antidote to the stresses of the modern world,” is it’s philosophy. It plans to average about 800km a day (with the occasional rest days inserted here and there) — that’s at least 8-hours of daily bus journey. To me that translates to: a sore bum from bumpy roads, waste of time because of numerous bathroom breaks, 60-odd chattering strangers, traffic jams coming into and leaving the city, occasional overnight travel, departures at dawn — urrmm — how exactly is it an antidote to stress?

The longest time I have spent being on a road at a stretch is 4-days/3-nights on a train in India. It was air-conditioned, I was only with my family, the train had sleeper-bunks; it was a typically smooth ride, I can’t complain but I wanted to strangle my parents at the end of it, and other than green fields and a few dirty bathrooms at the train stations, I saw nothing.

I have not been on the OzBus, or any such journey — so it’s really not my place to rant. I’d love to think that the “environmental-friendly experience” is the whole and sole reason why people choose to take such long and organized road trips, but I have my doubts about that.

Have any of you been on a similar journey? Was it worth it?

Björk offends Chinese over Tibet independence

by Anna Brones on

The status of Tibet is a touchy subject. Abroad, China‘s 58 year occupation of Tibet is seen as controversial, but most Chinese see Tibet as a part of their country. Speak of Tibetan independence is therefore seen as divisive, which is why at Björk’s recent Shanghai concert, she managed to push some serious buttons.

At the end of her Declare Independence song, originally dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands which still have formal links to Denmark, the Icelandic singer shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” clearly indicating her feelings on the controversial issue. Although her statements were greatly appreciated by the Free Tibet Campaign, Björk can probably plan on not being invited back to China anytime soon.


Via Boing Boing

Low fare alert! Get to Shanghai next month for under $600!

by Grant Martin on

Wow, I haven’t seen prices to Shanghai this low in a while. Apparently, sales on Delta’s new route to China have been sluggish, so perhaps this is a secret sale to get things kick started. Or maybe someone fat fingered the price feed, but either way, this is a great price.

Availability seems to be from a variety of cities centered around Atlanta, with the lowest prices ringing in at about 580$. Travel can be assorted times in April and the price seems to go up pretty quickly once May rolls around. You can use a flex search on either Kayak or straight on Delta’s website to find the lowest price compared to the best availability.

In case you’re considering jumping on this, don’t forget that you have to get a visa before you go to China, usually in person at the Chinese consulate. This takes time, money and more priority mail envelopes than you think. But for the experience of seeing China’s Gateway to the West this is definitely worth it.