US senator says Beijing hotels told to monitor internet

Foreign-owned hotels in China face "severe retaliation" if they refuse to install government software that can spy on internet use by hotel guests during the Olympics, AP quoted a US lawmaker as saying. Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas produced a document from China’s Public Security Bureau that requires hotels to use the monitoring equipment. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brownback said several international hotel chains confirmed receiving the order, and that the hotels are in a bind, as they do not want to comply with the order but also do not want to jeopardize their investments and potential expansion plans in China. Earlier this year, the US State Department warned travelers attending the Olympic Games that "All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to on-site or remote technical monitoring at all times."