China car blast may have links to ethnic unrest – media

BEIJING – A fatal car crash in Tiananmen Square may have links to China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang, state-run media said yesterday, a day after the high-profile incident.

The incident – in which an SUV vehicle drove along the pavement before crashing and catching fire at Beijing’s best-known and most sensitive site – killed at least five people, three in the car and two tourists, according to the Beijing police.

The square, opposite the Forbidden City, a former imperial palace and top tourist attraction, was the location of pro-democracy protests in 1989 that were violently crushed by authorities.

In a notice to local hotels, police identified two suspects and four car number plates, all from Xinjiang, in relation to a “major case” that occurred on Monday, the Global Times reported.

Police also instructed hotels to watch out for “suspicious” guests and vehicles, said the paper, which is close to the ruling Communist party.

It only carried the details in its English-language edition, with the Chinese version not mentioning Xinjiang.