Raby concerned for Australians amid Beijing security clamp

(Wednesday 30 July 2008)

Australia’s Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby, is concerned that tight security measures at Beijing airport in the lead-up to the Olympics could lead to the detaining of some Australian athletes and tourists.

Under current Chinese law, if one of the 433 Australian athletes or 5000 visitors was detained in the super-tight security network, the Australian embassy would not be notified for 72 hours. Mr Raby has asked for notification to become immediate.

The ambassador says that, with foreigners not at the top of Chinese security’s priority list, extra Australian staff have been flown into Beijing to assist the embassy during the Olympics and help Australians with any problems that might arise.

“This is a very big exercise for all of us, and we have additional staff from Canberra posted to the embassy for the duration of these Games,” he said.

(read full story at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24099766-601,00.html)

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