Did China Get Its 9/11?

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    A day after a sport utility vehicle mowed down dozens of pedestrians near Tiananmen Square and exploded at the foot of the nation's most hallowed monument, killing five people, the authorities appeared to be focusing on suspects from Xinjiang, the region in China's far west that has been the scene of increasingly violent resistance to Beijing's hard-line policies.

    Officials increased security at pivotal intersections, subway stations and tourist sites across the capital, but they remained conspicuously silent about an episode that many Chinese believe was a deliberate attack on the political and symbolic heart of the nation.

    The attack was no less unnerving given that it took place before a Nov. 9 meeting of party leaders at the Great Hall of the People, which is close to where the car exploded. Just hours beforehand, President Xi Jinping and other members of the Politburo Standing Committee attended the opening session of the National Women's Congress in the same building.

    By Tuesday morning, there was no evidence of the mayhem caused by the vehicle, which struck and killed two people and wounded 38 as it hurtled more than 400 yards along a sidewalk thronged with tourists. Some witnesses said the driver warned pedestrians by honking as the car sped forward. Reuters quoted a witness who said the vehicle was trailing a white banner with black letters.

http://www.aina.org/news/20131029114510.htm