DATE=2/15/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=BEIJING BLAST (L)
NUMBER=2-259175
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A man exploded a bomb in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square Tuesday, killing himself and slightly wounding
a South Korean tourist. VOA correspondent Roger
Wilkison reports police in the Chinese capital
describe the man as a deranged farmer.
TEXT: The explosion occurred in mid-to-late
afternoon, Beijing time, when the square is normally
crowded with Chinese and foreign tourists. Witnesses
said the blast went off in the east-central side of
what the Chinese describe as the world's largest
public gathering place.
Police identified the bomber as a mental patient from
the central province of Hubei, named Li Xiangshan.
The official Chinese news agency Xinhua described him
as a farmer.
A police official told foreign reporters that Mr. Li
had been to Beijing four times to appeal to Chinese
leaders, but the official gave no further details. He
also refused to say what type of bomb the victim used.
After the blast, police quickly cordoned off the
square and cleared it of people. Tiananmen Square has
been the scene recently of bold protests by members of
the Falun Gong exercise and meditation movement, which
was banned by the authorities last year. As a result
of those protests, there has been a heavy police
presence in the area since the beginning of the year.
In less than three weeks, China's legislature -the
National People's Congress- will hold its annual
meeting in the Great Hall of the People, on the
western side of the square. Chinese citizens normally
use that occasion to air their grievances over rampant
corruption and rising unemployment.
Bombings are rare in Beijing, but three years ago an
explosion was set off in a public bus on one of the
city's main thoroughfares, injuring several people.
Although the cause of that blast remains a mystery,
police say they suspect Muslim separatists from the
northwestern Xinjiang region were responsible.
On Tuesday, police had little information about Li
Xiangshan other than to say that he was deranged.
They refused to speculate as to why he decided to blow
himself up in Tiananmen Square. (Signed)
NEB/RW/KL
15-Feb-2000 10:56 AM EDT (15-Feb-2000 1556 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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