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14 Chinese Institutions in WTC, Fate of 30 Chinese Unkown
At least one Chinese national was injured in the terror attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the fate of roughly 30 others was unknown on Wednesday morning, China's Foreign Trade Ministry said.
China had 14 companies with offices in the building at the heart of the global financial centre which was hit by two aircraft on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. China Increased Security around US diplomatic BuildingsChinese police blocked off the road past the US embassy in Beijing to all but American embassy cars and personnel and doubled the number of guards to about 30. Ordinary Chinese Scrambling for InformationOrdinary Chinese scrambled for more information, with many trying to access foreign news web sites.
Many condemned the attacks, first reported on the Sina.com, a NASDAQ listed Chinese portal, just several minutes after the event.
"I think no matter what, if you play with people's lives, it is too tragic," said Chen Xiao, who works for a Beijing publishing firm, as she bought a morning newspaper.
"It doesn't matter who did it or what they were upset about, but taking that many innocent lives is a price that's barbaric."
Feng Chang-lin, 63, owner of a downtown hardware store in Shanghai, said the world would never be the same again.
"This is just a cowardly act by terrorists," he said. "No matter what problems you might have with another country, you should never resort to such tactics." Stocks DropChina's stocks markets dropped sharply at the open on Wednesday, with Shanghai B shares down more than six percent.
Chinese investors, who routinely ignore everything from US Fed rate cuts to tumbling Asian bourses, would be unable to shrug off the attacks, brokers and analysts said. Flights to U.S. CanceledAll four flights scheduled from China to the United States on Wednesday had been cancelled.
Air China flight CA985 to San Francisco and China Eastern flight MU583 to Los Angeles were both diverted to Vancouver on Tuesday night and China Eastern cargo flight MU5787 was diverted to an American military airport in Anchorage, Alaska. China Consistently Oppose TerrorismChinese President Jiang Zemin sent a message of sympathy to US President George W. Bush at Tuesday's midnight.
Jiang also expressed condolences to the family members of the victims of the attacks and "grave concern" for the safety of tens of thousands of Chinese in the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said in a statement the Chinese people were "deeply shocked" by the attacks.
"The Chinese government has consistently condemned and opposed all manner of terrorist violence," Zhu said.
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