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U.S. NEWSSaturday 12 September
Police and emergency responders stand outside a McDonald’s located inside Union Station in APNewsBreak: Spying fears drive
US from Chinese-owned Waldorf
Washington, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, after a security guard shot a suspect who attacked a worker
MATTHEW LEE
with a knife at the restaurant. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fears of espionage have driven
Police: the U.S. government from New York’s famed Waldorf-
Astoria Hotel, which has housed presidents and other
Man shot by guard at D.C. rail station top American officials for decades but was bought
last year by a Chinese firm from Hilton Worldwide.
JESSICA GRESKO but police said there was believed to be non-life- Instead, President Barack Obama, his top aides and
Associated Pres no apparent connection threatening, police said. staff along with the sizable diplomatic contingent
WASHINGTON (AP) — A between the two. Their identities were not who trek to Manhattan every September for the an-
man stabbed a woman “Obviously, with this being yet released. nual U.N. General Assembly will work and stay at the
and then was shot by a 9/11, fears were height- Union Station — home to New York Palace Hotel, the White House and State
security guard at Wash- ened and escalated,” national railroad Amtrak’s Department said.
ington’s Union Station on D.C. police Commander headquarters — is big- The Associated Press first reported the impending
Friday, sending people Jeff Brown said. But offi- ger than the nearby U.S. move in June but it wasn’t formally announced until
fleeing outside as trains cials said they believe the Capitol, and some 90,000 Friday, a day after the final contract was signed with
were briefly stopped and incident was the result of a people pass through each the Palace.
officers converged on the domestic dispute. day. Flags on the towering Officials said the change is due in large part to con-
massive transit hub. The security officer — a pri- poles outside the station’s cerns about Chinese espionage, although White
“I saw people running, vate security guard asso- main entrance were flying House and State Department spokesmen said the de-
and I just started running. ciated with the Securities at half-staff Friday in re- cision was based on several considerations, including
It sounded like it was right and Exchange Commis- membrance of 9/11. space, costs and security.
next to me,” said Ursula sion, across the street from Lauriston said that once “While I don’t have the details on the specific ar-
Lauriston, a 28-year-old Union Station — saw the she was outside the sta- rangement that’s in place for the president’s trip to
magazine editor who was man stabbing the woman tion, she felt “that need to New York in a couple of weeks, I can confirm the re-
ordering lunch at Jamba and chased him, police capture the moment.” She port that president will stay and the rest of the US del-
Juice, one of dozens of said. The man turned and snapped a photo of peo- egation will stay at the New York Palace Hotel,” White
restaurants and shops in pointed the knife at the ple fleeing and tweeted House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
the station. “... People security guard, lunging at it. She said she’s relieved At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner said
were completely con- him, according to police. that police suspect a do- the decision followed a review “to take into account
fused as to what was go- The guard fired one shot, mestic dispute is to blame. changing circumstances.”
ing on, and no one knew and the man was wound- “I thought it was a terror In addition to the switch for the U.N. meeting, Toner
whether to run or hide.” ed in the side, officials act just because Union said the department is also considering whether the
The incident came on the said. Station would be a prime Waldorf should still serve as the residence of the U.S.
14th anniversary of the Both the man and the location for something like ambassador to the United Nations as part of a review
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, woman’s injuries were that,” she said.q of “our security protocols and standard operating
procedures to ensure the safety and security of our in-
formation and personnel.” The hotel has served as the
home of the ambassador to the UN since 1947 and
presidents and other top officials have traditionally
used the Waldorf for decades. “We are evaluating
our options,” Toner said. “The decision about the lo-
cation of the U.S. Ambassador’s residence must nec-
essarily take into account numerous factors, including
costs, the needs of the United States government and
the U.S. Mission to the UN, as well as any possible secu-
rity concerns.” U.S. law allows the department to rent
the ambassador’s residence for a term of 10 years or
less. The current lease expires next year with an option
to renew for one or two years.
U.S. officials have pointed to Hilton’s sale of the
Waldorf-Astoria to China’s Beijing-based Anbang
Insurance Group for $1.95 billion last year as hav-
ing prompted the security concerns and on recent
overnight trips to New York, Obama, Vice President
Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry have all
shunned the Waldorf for other hotels. It was not im-
mediately clear if U.S. officials would be barred from
meeting with foreign dignitaries at the Waldorf, which
will continue to host non-U.S. delegations.q
