China is on high alert as it deals with new security threats on the opening day of the Olympics.
An
Air China plane that departed from Japan had to make an emergency
return Friday after the airline received an e-mailed bomb threat.
Japanese
authorities say the e-mail threatened to bring down the flight on the
site of the Beijing Olympics. The flight was bound for the
southwestern city of Chongqing when it was forced to return to Tokyo's
Narita airport.
In Hong Kong, local media reports say police
cordoned off a busy train station to investigate a suspicious package
near a giant screen set up to show the Olympics opening ceremony.
Chinese
police tightened security in the remote region of Xinjiang, where an
Islamic group threatened to attack buses, trains and planes during the
Olympics.
Police shut down a popular bazaar in the region's city
of Kashgar and stepped up control on religious figures and alleged
trouble makers.
The order by the Kashgar government followed an
attack earlier this week that killed 16 police officers and a new video
threat by separatists in Xinjiang to attack the Games.
Two U.S.
groups that analyze extremist messages - SITE Intelligence group and
the IntelCenter -- say the Turkistan Islamic Party is responsible for
the new video tape that was released on Thursday.
The video
features graphics of a burning Olympics logo and an explosion over an
Olympic venue. Chinese authorities have not commented on the validity
of the tape or the threat.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
