Politic-Economic-Society-Tech

China bars many Mideasterners from its airlines

China has barred people from large parts of the Middle East from its airlines following the September 11 attacks on the United States, an airline official said on Saturday.

The official at flag carrier Air China told Reuters the government had issued a note to all Chinese airlines limiting sales of tickets to citizens of such countries.

"We do have such a circular concerning restrictions on issuing tickets to citizens from 20 mostly Middle East countries," the official said.

"But I don't know if the regulation applies only to international flights or to domestic flights as well."

The Foreign Ministry declined comment and officials at China's airline regulator were not immediately available.

But Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said the circular ordered airlines to issue tickets to citizens of named countries only with the approval of the local Chinese embassy or consulate.

It named the countries as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

It also listed Palestine, which is not yet recognised as a country.

China has backed the U.S.-led war on terrorism following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington by hijacked commercial aircraft which killed some 5,500 people.

It is also staging the first major international conference since the September 11 attacks next week.

Ministers from the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meet in Shanghai and their leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, assemble for a summit next weekend.

The war on terrorism is expected to be at the top of the agenda and China has tightened already severe security in Shanghai, the country's commercial hub, for the APEC meetings.

U.S. warplanes have bombed Afghanistan, accusing the country's Taliban rulers of harbouring chief suspect Osama bin Laden, for the past six nights in the opening phase of the war on terrorism.

China has not criticised the strikes, although it has urged that targets be selected carefully and civilian lives spared. The Taliban say some 300 people have been killed in the air raids.

source: excite.com, 13 October 2001