The Chinese northwestern city of Xi'an, the hometown of terracotta warriors, is very capable of ensuring the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists, Mayor Chen Baogen said Saturday.
On Wednesday, a Chinese man armed with explosives hijacked a tourist bus in a downtown square of Xi'an, taking an Australian tourist and a local translator as hostages. Police shot and killed the man after unsuccessful negotiation. No one was hurt.
The man's motive of hijacking the bus remains unknown.
"The incident was settled in an appropriate way by the local police, guaranteeing the safety of the foreign tourists," Chen said in Beijing while attending the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top parliament.
"Xi'an police have prepared emergency plans and held regular exercises for all possible incidents, including traffic accidents, public security incidents, fires, explosions, epidemic outbreaks and natural disasters," Chen said.
"We have the full capability of ensuring the personal safety for tourists from both at home and abroad," the mayor said.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday he was pleased the hostage crisis was resolved so quickly and the hostages were safe.
Xi'an, one of China's most popular tourist destinations, is most famous for the terracotta warriors from the tomb of Qinshihuang, China's First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221 to 207 B.C.) and the man who effectively created the state of China over 2,000 years ago.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday China has always attached great importance to the legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in the country.
"Especially on the occasion of the Beijing Olympics, there will be a great number of foreign tourists here and we will definitely take more effective measures in this regard," Qin told a regular press conference.
Qin also expressed sympathy and solicitude for the tourists involved in the case. "I sincerely hope they will come to travel in China again and won't consider China unsafe just because of this case."
(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2008)