Embassies warn of threat against foreigners in Beijing

Foreign embassies in China issued a warning Thursday about possible threats against "Westerners" in a popular Beijing neighbourhood ahead of the Christmas holiday. The notice, from the US and British governments, covered the popular shopping and nightlife area of Sanlitun. The area has been the site of occasional violence against foreigners, including a grisly murder in August when a Chinese attacker stabbed a French man and his Chinese wife with a sword. The woman later died from her injuries.
Mass attacks in Beijing are very rare, although in October 2013 five people were killed and dozens injured when a vehicle ploughed into crowds in Tiananmen Square, with the suspects appearing to be mostly from the restive Xinjiang region. Beijing described the incident as a terrorist attack.