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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BEIJING 003300 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT, FOR, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS/DO, DS/TIA/OSAC, DS/P/MECU, 
DS/TIA/ITA, DS/DO/P, DS/ICI/CI, DS/T/ATA, DS/TIA, 
DS/TIA/PII, DS/CC, EAP/CM, S/CT, CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, PASS TO 
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA) OPERATIONS 
CENTER, HONG KONG FOR RSO AND LEGAT AND USSS, SHANGHAI FOR 
RSO, SHENYANG FOR RSO,CHENGDU FOR RSO, GUANGZHOU FOR RSO, 
USSS HQS FOR INV, OPO, HNL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC CASC CH CMGT ECON KOLY OVIP PREL PTER
SUBJECT: BEIJING 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS: USG SITUATION REPORT 
26, 08/26/2008 
 
REF: A. BEIJING 3106 
     ¶B. BEIJING 3254 
     ¶C. BEIJING 3139 
     ¶D. BEIJING 3275 
 
¶1. (SBU) The following cable provides information on 
security, public diplomacy, political, and consular 
activities related to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games 
as of 08/26/2008. 
 
 
KEY ISSUES 
---------- 
¶2.  (SBU)  Conclusion of JOC Operations:  This is the final 
situation report from the USG interagency Joint Operations 
Center (JOC) in Beijing, China.  JOC operations in support of 
the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games will conclude as of 
1500 hours local time on 08/26/2008.  In total, ten federal 
agencies provided personnel to the JOC.  Overall, 868 USG 
temporary duty personnel supplemented the U.S. Embassy's 
staff of 1,100 employees and took part in supporting the 
Olympics security effort in the seven Olympic cities in 
China.   Of these, 172 were part of the law enforcement 
presence agreed to by the Chinese Government in the 
Memorandum of Understanding, 665 traveled in support of the 
U.S. President and the USG Delegation to the Opening Ceremony 
and included representatives from the U.S. Secret Service 
(USSS), the White House, and White House Communications 
Agency (WHCA), 10 were assigned to support the U.S. Embassy's 
American Citizens Services (ACS) office, 11 were attached to 
the Public Affairs Section (PAS), 3 supported the Regional 
Medical Officer, 4 were assigned to the Financial Management 
Office (FMO), and 3 supported the General Services Office 
(GSO).  In addition, 5 eligible family members, 2 summer 
interns, 1 summer hire, and 1 office management specialist 
were hired to provide additional resources for various 
Embassy offices, to include the Olympic Coordination Office 
(OCO).  Finally, logistics support staff was further 
augmented by 1 "When Actually Employed" (WAE) employee, 23 
Foreign Service National (FSN) drivers, and 1 administrative 
assistant. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  China Looks Forward to Paralympic Games:  With the 
Summer Olympics concluded, China's focus now turns to hosting 
the 13th Paralympic Games, which will take place from 
09/06/2008 to 09/17/2008 in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Qingdao. 
According to press reports, Chinese President Hu Jintao has 
promised that China will deliver a "high-standard" 
Paralympics in line with the motto of "Two Games, Equal 
Splendor."  More than 4,200 athletes from 148 countries will 
take part in competition, supported by 30,000 Beijing 
Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) volunteers 
and 2,500 referees; 4,000 journalists are also expected to be 
 
BEIJING 00003300  002 OF 006 
 
 
in Beijing for the event.  In efforts to accommodate the 
needs of the athletes and spectators, BOCOG announced that 
five of the sports venues--including the National "Bird's 
Nest" Stadium--have been equipped with "no barrier" 
facilities, 16 special bus lines have been opened, and all 
subway stations have at least one entry and exit that can be 
used by passengers in wheelchairs. 
 
 
SECURITY ISSUES 
--------------- 
¶4.  (SBU)  Threats:   Despite a series of bomb hoaxes in Hong 
Kong, three video postings by the East Turkestan Islamic 
Party (ETIP) threatening terrorist operations during the 
Olympic Games, and Chinese claims that extremists affiliated 
with the Uighur militant movement intended to disrupt the 
Olympics, the 29th Olympiad concluded without the occurrence 
of a significant terrorist incident.  In the Xinjiang Uighur 
Autonomous Region, a series of three early-August attacks 
ostensibly conducted by Uighur extremists against Chinese 
police and security personnel raised Chinese concerns of 
similar actions occurring in Beijing (ref. a); however, no 
such activity took place. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Incidents:  The JOC reported no security incidents 
took place overnight on 08/25/2008. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Olympic Protests:  Update to San Francisco 
Protest:  On 08/24/2008, approximately 250 pro-Tibet 
activists demonstrated outside of the Chinese Consulate in 
San Francisco (ref. b).  According to updated information 
obtained by Diplomatic Security's (DS) San Francisco field 
office, Consulate workers attempted to discourage protesters 
from accessing the facility by wrapping barbed wire around 
several trees near the building's perimeter.  The workers 
subsequently complied with a request by a San Francisco 
police officer to remove the wire, as it posed a public 
safety hazard. 
 
 
SECURITY OPERATIONS 
------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) OCO Turns to Paralympics:  With the successful 
closing of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the OCO in Beijing has 
turned its attention to providing security assistance for the 
upcoming Paralympic Games.   There will be no interagency JOC 
operations during the Paralympics; U.S. security efforts will 
be overseen by the Olympic Security Coordinator (OSC) and a 
senior DS watch officer; the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation's (FBI) On-Scene Facilitator and his deputy 
will also remain in Beijing to provide support to the OCO. 
USG security operations for the Paralympics will be relocated 
from the U.S. Embassy to the OCO at Silver Tower.  A total of 
 
BEIJING 00003300  003 OF 006 
 
 
17 DS Field Liaison Officers (FLO) will be assigned to 
provide security assistance to U.S. Paralympic athletes at 
the competition venues; as they did during the Olympic Games, 
the FLOs will coordinate security measures for U.S. athletes 
and coaches with Chinese counterparts.  On 08/15/2008, the 
Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) advised the Olympic 
Security Coordinator (OSC) that Paralympic FLOs would be 
issued "infinity" accreditation that will allow them 
unrestricted access to all Paralympic venues (ref. c).   The 
OSC will also work to obtain Vehicle Access and Parking 
Passes (VAPPs) for the FLOs. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  FLO Activities Prior to Para Games:  In the two 
week timeframe between the conclusion of the Summer Olympics 
and the commencement of the Paralympics, FLOs will assist the 
Regional Security Officer (RSO) with preparations for the 
move to the New Embassy Compound (NEC). 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Arrival of Paralympics Athletes and Status of 
Olympic Village:  According to the U.S. Olympic Committee 
(USOC), U.S. Paralympic athletes will arrive in Beijing 
between 08/30/2008 and 09/04/2008; a total of 300 U.S. 
athletes are expected to participate in the games.  Chinese 
personnel at the Olympic Village have indicated that the 
Village will remain open during the break between the Olympic 
and the Paralympic Games, with the first Paralympic 
participants arriving on 08/24/2008.  U.S. athletes will 
occupy the same buildings that were used by U.S. teams during 
the Olympics.  In addition, BOCOG has designated 16 hotels as 
residences for Paralympic support personnel and has named 22 
Beijing hospitals as treatment centers during the games. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Beijing Lifts Traffic Restrictions:  Beijing's 
Traffic Management Bureau has announced the lifting in some 
areas of the odd/even license plate restrictions imposed on 
07/20/2008 to reduce pollution and to keep vehicles off the 
streets of Beijing during the Olympic Games.  As of 
08/28/2008, the restrictions will no longer apply on roads 
outside the 5th Ring, with the exception of the airport 
highway and sections of the Badaling and Beijing-Chengde 
expressway; however, the regulations will remain in place 
until 09/20/2008 for all locations within the 5th Ring Road. 
In addition, all Olympic travel lanes will reopen to traffic 
on 08/28/2008 and 24 of the 34 Olympic bus routes will be 
closed as of 08/31/2008.  The bureau noted that eight Olympic 
bus routes will remain in operation through the Paralympics. 
 
¶11.  (U)  Status of United Flight and Departure of Olympic 
Personnel:  The 08/25/2008 United Airlines flight to 
Washington, DC, that was delayed until 0830 hours local time 
on 08/26/2008 (ref. c) has departed Beijing.  Two hundred and 
forty U.S. Olympics athletes and a number of USG personnel 
were ticketed on the flight.  The change in schedule is not 
 
BEIJING 00003300  004 OF 006 
 
 
expected to affect United's other daily flights to 
Washington; according to Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) representatives, the airline is 
operating at full or nearly full capacity from 08/25/2008 
through 08/27/2008--the peak travel days for Olympics 
departures.  With the exception of the DS watch officer, the 
two FBI on-scene personnel, and the 17 Paralympic FLOs, all 
USG Olympic support personnel will have departed Beijing as 
of 08/28/2008.  The majority of U.S. Olympic athletes, 
coaches, and family members were scheduled to leave China 
prior to 08/27/2008. 
 
 
VIPS 
---- 
¶12.  (SBU)  Departure of Head of USG Delegation:  Secretary 
of Labor Elaine Chao--who led the USG Delegation to the 
Olympics Closing Ceremony--departed Beijing on 08/26/2008 for 
Shanghai.  Secretary Chao will remain in Shanghai until her 
departure from China on 08/28/2008. 
 
¶13.  (SBU)  USG Delegation to the Paralympic Games:  The USG 
Delegation to the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games is 
scheduled to arrive in Beijing on 09/05/2008.  The 
composition of the Delegation has not yet been announced. 
 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS/PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 
------------------------------- 
¶14.  (SBU)  White House Comments on Human Rights:  White 
House spokesperson Tony Fratto's 08/25/2008 comments on 
China's human rights record during the Olympics received wide 
coverage in the Western media.  Reuters quoted Fratto as 
saying, "It was maybe a missed opportunity for the Chinese to 
demonstrate their willingness to be more open and to allow 
more freedom...I would say perhaps we're disappointed that 
they didn't take the full opportunity that was offered to 
them while the world was watching during these Olympics." 
Fratto's comments came after the 08/24/2008 U.S. Embassy 
statement pressing for the immediate release of eight 
detained American pro-Tibet protesters (ref. d) and expressed 
disappointment with China's failure to demonstrate greater 
tolerance during the Olympic Games. 
 
¶15.  (U)  Embassy Statement Receives Coverage:  The 
Embassy,s 08/24/2008 statement on the eight detained U.S. 
citizens--whom the Chinese deported to the U.S. the same 
evening--also received wide media coverage.  A front page 
article in the 08/25/2008 Financial Times observed, "On the 
day of the Closing Ceremony of the Games, the U.S. Embassy in 
Beijing issued an unusually strong statement criticizing 
Chinese authorities for their handling of protests and 
dissent during the fortnight....  The tough language employed 
 
BEIJING 00003300  005 OF 006 
 
 
by the U.S. underlines the way the Beijing Games have at 
times been overshadowed by accusations of human rights 
abuses."  An 08/25/2008 article in the Washington Post read, 
"Before Sunday, the United States had made few public 
statements while China rounded up and deported foreigners who 
participated in unauthorized demonstrations."  The New York 
Times on 08/25/2008 quoted a "Students for a Free Tibet" 
activist as saying that "pressure from Western governments 
and attention from the foreign news media might have prompted 
the early release of some of the detainees." 
 
 
CONSULAR AFFAIRS 
---------------- 
¶16.  (SBU)  Summary of Detentions:  During the period 
08/06/2008 to 08/24/2008, 44 U.S. citizens were detained by 
Chinese authorities for various violations of Chinese law. 
Thirty-four Americans--28 of which were affiliated with the 
"Students for a Free Tibet" (SFT) and six of which belonged 
to "Free Tibet Reporters"--were detained while staging or 
planning pro-Tibet protests; five were detained for 
ticket-scalping; four were Christian activists protesting 
Chinese policies on abortion and religious freedom; and one 
was detained following an altercation with a taxi driver. 
Separately, another pro-Tibet activist was denied entry into 
China upon arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport 
on 08/07/2008 and was returned to the U.S. on a returning 
flight on 08/08/2008.  Of the 44 detained Americans, all but 
one was deported to the United States; the remaining 
individual is currently on bail awaiting possible trial for 
assaulting a taxi driver. 
 
¶17.  (SBU)  Rights Activist Deported:  According to family 
members and later confirmed by Beijing's Public Security 
Bureau, U.S. citizen Edward Romero was deported from China on 
08/26/2008.  Romero is a rights activist whose protest 
involved defacing of hotel rooms; he was detained by Chinese 
police on 08/24/2008 while staging a protest at Tiananmen 
Square (ref. d). 
 
¶18.  (U)  Tibet Earthquake:  According to Chinese state-run 
media, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale 
struck Zhongba County in the southern region of Tibet at 2122 
hours local time on 08/25/2008.   A U.S. Consulate General 
Chengdu consular officer who is currently in Lhasa felt no 
tremors in the Tibetan capital.  There are no reports of 
injured or missing American citizens. 
 
 
POLITICAL AFFAIRS 
----------------- 
¶19.  (SBU) MFA Urges Respect for Chinese Law:  According to 
media reports, in the wake of the numerous pro-Tibet 
 
BEIJING 00003300  006 OF 006 
 
 
independence protests and deportations of activists that took 
place during the Olympics, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MFA) issued a statement on 08/25/2008 noting that 
engaging in "Tibet independence" activities violates Chinese 
law.  "We hope the relevant countries will educate their 
nationals in respecting Chinese law when they come to China," 
the MFA statement added. 
 
¶20.  (SBU)  Reported Detention of Underground Catholic Bishop 
Jia:  The U.S. Embassy is seeking further information and 
registering concern with the Chinese Government over 
08/26/2008 media reports that Bishop Julius Jia 
Zhiguo--already under house arrest as a leading figure in the 
underground Catholic Church in China--was detained on 
08/24/2008.  The Chinese Government has detained Jia on 
numerous occasions for his underground church activities. 
 
¶21.  (SBU)  Chinese Media Lavish Praise on Olympics 
Achievement:  Chinese national media outlets have effusively 
praised China's hosting of the Olympic Games and the Games' 
positive impact on China's image in the world.  "An image of 
an entirely new great country appeared before the world," 
read the Beijing Youth Daily.  The English-language China 
Daily declared:  "The Games were a historic climax of three 
decades of China opening to the world."  The People's Daily, 
the Communist Party's mouthpiece, claimed that "never before 
has the Olympic spirit been shared as today, building a 
bridge of unity and friendship."  Chinese media also reported 
extensively on positive comments from foreign governments and 
media.  Absent from Chinese media coverage is any mention of 
controversies surrounding the Olympics, such as suppression 
of internal dissent, limitations on press freedoms and other 
human rights, and unrest in Tibet and the Xinjiang Uighur 
Autonomous Region. 
RANDT