China Arrests a Farm Worker in Bombings at 2 Universities
A farm worker from southeastern China arrested Saturday has confessed to bombings at two Beijing universities last month that injured nine people, authorities said.
The Beijing Public Security Bureau identified the man as Huang Minxiang of Fuzhou, in Fujian province.
“The Beijing police rapidly mobilized all its strength and, with close cooperation between all branches, and a day-and-night struggle
Two homemade bombs exploded about 90 minutes apart Feb. 25 in the cafeterias of elite Beijing and Qinghua universities, both in northwestern Beijing. Authorities said the devices contained homemade gunpowder, and the official New China News Agency said police had found the place where the bombs were made and discovered leftover components.
There had been speculation that the bombings were politically motivated because of the status of the two schools, but the news agency simply quoted Huang as telling police that he targeted the universities because “they are renowned institutions. I’d be famous if I could make explosions there.”
Qinghua, one of China’s leading science and engineering schools, is the alma mater of many upper-level officials -- including Premier Zhu Rongji and Hu Jintao, the new Communist Party general secretary and the nation’s incoming president.
Beijing University also has political links: Its students were considered the wellspring of the 1989 democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
The news agency said Huang, 27, had been working on a farm in Hainan province.
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