Al Qaida in China: the next battlefield

It's hard to imagine that Communist China, a state so controlled and controlling -- would allow something like Jordanian-style suicide bomb attack to occur. However, if this is true, the Jihadist made create a new enemy of boundless resources and an exceptionally long memory. This from the Voice of America, which carries the same source credibility issues as Debka. That stated, it is interesting:

U.S. diplomats say that Chinese police have warned luxury hotels in China of possible terrorist attacks sometime next week. The warning Wednesday comes as preparations for President Bush's visit to Beijing later this month are under way.

The U.S. Embassy says the Chinese police warning was specific: Islamic extremists are planning to attack five and four-star hotels in China "sometime over the course of next week". [bold mine] The embassy advised Americans staying at luxury hotels to remain vigilant and to exercise caution.

The warning comes as Chinese and U.S. officials are preparing for President Bush's November 19 arrival in Beijing. A host of U.S. officials including U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President George Bush, the father of the current president, also are visiting Beijing next week.

There are few known Islamic militant groups operating in China. However, China's northwestern frontier region is home to minority Muslim groups such as the Uighurs. China considers one Uighur group, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, to be engaged in terrorist activities.

Moreover, several Uighurs fought with the Taleban in Afghanistan and are now in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "China could be vulnerable to terror activities," said Li Nan, a Chinese security expert at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore. "For instance, Chinese policies in the western part of China like in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region were pretty heavy-handed."