北京：奥运首日杭州人袭击美国游客，一死两伤
BEIJING (AP) -- A knife-wielding Chinese man attacked two relatives of a coach for the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team at a tourist site in Beijing, killing one and injuring the other on the first day of the Olympics on Saturday, team officials and state media said.
The man then committed suicide by throwing himself from the second story of the site, the 13th century Drum Tower just five miles from the main Olympics site.
The brutal attack shortly after midday was all the more shocking because of the rarity of violent crime against foreigners in tightly controlled China, which has ramped up security measures even more for the Olympics.
The stabbing came only hours after what by many accounts was the most spectacular opening ceremony in Olympic history and it has already dampened some of the enthusiasm.
''They are deeply saddened and shocked,'' Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, said of the volleyball team.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement that two family members of a coach for the men's indoor volleyball team were stabbed at the Drum Tower ''during an attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant.''
One of the family members was killed and the other was seriously injured, it said, without giving details.
The official Xinhua News Agency identified the attacker as Tang Yongming, 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou. It said Tang attacked the two Americans and their Chinese tour guide, who was also injured, at 12:20 p.m. on the second level of the ancient tower, then leapt to his death immediately afterward. The second level of the tower is about 130 feet high.
Seibel said the two Americans who were attacked were not wearing anything that would have identified them as Americans or part of the U.S. team. He could not name the coach.
''They were not wearing apparel or anything that would have specifically identified them as being members of our delegation'' or as Americans, he told The Associated Press.
He said it is ''too early to say'' whether the U.S. delegation or athletes will require additional security.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Buangan said it was aware of an incident involving two Americans and was working with Chinese authorities to find out more. He said U.S. officials were in contact with relatives of the two Americans who are in Beijing.
Police blocked off streets leading to the Drum Tower immediately after the attack and cordoned off the area with yellow police tape. Security officers were examining the scene on the tower and below.
Attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare. A Canadian model was murdered last month in Shanghai, but police said that was because she stumbled onto a burglary.
In March, a screaming, bomb-strapped hostage-taker who commandeered a bus with 10 Australians aboard in the popular tourist city of Xi'an was shot to death by a police sniper.
Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier than for crimes against Chinese, and police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant. Chinese are not allowed to own guns.
Even so, the U.S. ** now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities.
Built in the 13th century, the Drum Tower is one of the few ancient structures still in Beijing, and was used to tell time in imperial China for the city, using drummers who pounded their instruments to mark the hours. It is located on an important central axis of the city, to the north of the Forbidden City, the former home of the emperor.
The White House saidPresident Bush, who is in Beijing for the opening days of the games, was informed of the incident, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims. It said the administration and the Beijing U.S. embassy have offered those families any assistance they need. Also, U.S. officials have been speaking to Chinese authorities about the incident.
International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in a statement that the committee had received reports of the attack and was in contact with Beijing Games organizers ''to find out full details, and are ready to provide whatever assistance we can.''
北京東城區一男子持械襲擊遊客造成一死二傷
（2008-08-09 4.20pm）
（北京訊）北京市**新聞辦消息：8月9日12時許，一名男子在北京市東城區鼓樓城樓二樓上突然持械襲擊3名遊客，致使1人死亡，2人受傷。行兇男子隨後跳樓，當場死亡。
北京警方接報後迅速趕到現場，將傷者送往附近的醫院救治，並展開調查工作。
經初步調查，行兇男子隨身攜帶證件顯示：唐永明，男，47歲，浙江省杭州市人。
死者為美籍男性遊客，傷者為美籍女性遊客，二人均持旅遊簽證入境；另一名傷者為中國籍女導遊。
目前，北京警方正在對此事件作進一步調查。
《聯合早報網》
（編輯：黃愛蓮）
