The emergence of China as an economic superpower

In perhaps the most unfortunate event pre-Olympics, several Australian tourists were held hostage by a Chinese man armed with explosives in the northwest city of Xian, home to the famous Terracotta Warriors. At about 10am on Thursday, a lone man, believed to be Xia Tao, a local worker in Xian, boarded the tourist bus and threatened to detonate his bomb. "He was pacing up and down the bus, they couldn't understand what he was saying. Then he turned around, opened up his jacket and he had a bomb strapped to him," said Sue Wynne, a friend of one of the hostages. The ordeal ended when the local police came, who then promptly shot the man dead with a sniper team. No hostages were hurt.

Some of the tourists look tired and weary from their experience as they boarded a green van to Pudong International Airport today, flanked by Susan Dietz-Henderson, the Australian Consul General for Shanghai. After they leave, perhaps their recollection of the whole life-and-death situation will become a fleeting memory, but this is not the case for China. With the Olympics less than six months away, Chinese authorities have no room for mistake. Heightened security should be the number one priority, especially at times when a large influx of foreigners are expected.

What is the motivation behind that man's terrorist act? A protest against Iraq? Some Xinjiang seperatist act? It isn't as simple as stealing and assulting. Nevertheless, if you already have tickets for the Olympics, then the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang is here to remind you that "compared with other countries, China is a safer destination for foreign tourists and we will continue to provide a safe environment for foreigners to work, study, live and travel."