Hotan Hijacking Bid Indicates Lax Airport Security In China – Analysis
By B. Raman
More details have become available of the unsuccessful attempt to hijack a plane flying from Hotan to Urumqi in Xinjiang by six Uighurs last Friday (June 29, 2012). These details have been gathered from two official accounts carried by the Chinese Communist Party owned “Global Times” and from accounts disseminated by Chinese micro-bloggers. One of the micro-bloggers has claimed that one of his relatives was on board the flight and carried pictures of one of the hijackers being overpowered.
The details available so far indicate that the hijackers used a crutch, normally used by physically-handicapped persons, and explosives to seize control of the plane 10 minutes after it had taken off from the Hotan airport. It is not clear whether one of the hijackers was really a physically-handicapped person or posed as one in order to carry the crutch on board.
It is also not clear how they managed to evade security checks and carry the explosives on board and where they had concealed the explosives. After the attempt, the Ministry of Public Security, which is in charge of internal security, has asked all airport security personnel to make passengers remove their shoes and belts and check them for explosives.
Another point that is not clear is whether the hijackers managed to cause an explosion on board. The “Global Times” account says that two of the hijackers died in hospital and two others. “who reportedly mutilated themselves”, are being treated in hospital. This would indicate that there was probably an attempt to activate an explosive device before the hijackers were overpowered.
According to the “Global Times”, the six hijackers, who were between 20 and 36 years of age, were from the city of Kashi, Hou Hanmin. It quoted some passengers as saying that the men were quickly subdued as they tried to break into the airplane’s cockpit with a crutch, and their attempt to ignite explosives was foiled. The flight had 92 passengers and nine crew members, 10 of whom were injured. The passengers included six police officers.
Dear Mr. Raman,
I read your analytical pieces with great interest. I believe you are one of the best political thinkers in India on China. I encourage you to write more on China and expose China’s expansionist strategy and goals not only to the Indian political elite but also to the Western political thinkers and policy-makers.
Regarding the piece you wrote above, I was just wondering if you had considered the possibility that Beijing used an on air brawl between uyghurs and Chinese to its political advantage in order to further justify the heavy handed repression right around the corner of the 3rd anniversary of July 5th massacre. Think about it, who would hijack a plane with a broken crutch in his right mind? This is most likely fabricated by China. In fact, airport security has been so tight for the Uyghurs since July 2009 that they are checked like criminals before they can board a plane. It is like the days when Indians were treated like criminals in Great Britain when India was a British colony. The situation of Uyghurs today is not much different than the situation of Indians during the British rule of India. The only difference is Britain had the wisdom to recognize the moral authority of Gandhi while China treat HHThe Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer “terrorist”.