At 2:20pm today, Wednesday, a man threatening to detonate a bomb in Reuters Beijing office was captured by local police. He said the bomb he carried was a hoax.
The man carrying the hoax device, entered the Reuters Beijing office on the sixth floor of the Shengfu Plaza at about 10:30 am this morning, claiming to be carrying a bomb.
Within five minutes, the authorities were notified and the fire service and local police arrived, cordoning off the area.
Police quickly rushed to the scene to begin negotiations with the bomber.
According to spokesperson Liu Wei of the Beijing Bureau of Public Security, the bomber identified himself as Fang Qinghui, 34, from Yichun, northeastern China?s Heilongjiang Province. During the intervening time the man negotiated with members of the police bureau.
Liu Wei revealed that during this time the man was over-agitated and wanted to speak to reporters about his reason for taking the actions he did. No further information has been released at this time about the terms of negotiation or what group or purpose lay behind the threat.
Reuters Beijing staff are said to be safe and have all been evacuated from the building.
(China.org.cn March 12, 2003)
