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US senator alleges China plans to spy on foreigners

Other News Materials 30 July 2008 03:49 (UTC +04:00)

(dpa) - A conservative US senator on Tuesday alleged that Chinese authorities plan to spy on foreign guests staying in hotels during the Olympics next month in Beijing.

Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas, said that lawyers representing international hotel chains have provided his office with documents ordering hotels to install monitoring equipment.

"In short, the government has set up a system to be able to spy and gather information about each and every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are located," Brownback told reporters.

"This means journalists, athletes' families, human-rights advocates, and other visitors will be subjected to invasive intelligence gathering by the Chinese Public Security Bureau," he said.

The Olympics begin August 8, amid widespread protests that China's human-rights record leaves it unfit to host the Games. US President George W Bush brushed aside calls to boycott the opening ceremonies and decided to attend.

The White House said that Bush will continue to press the Chinese on human-rights issues. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned the Chinese against using security concerns as a pretext for cracking down on political dissidents. dpa mm ff

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