China syndromeState Department stays away from Chinese-owned Waldorf Astoria

Published 19 June 2015

The U.S. State Department said American diplomats and State Department officials, for the first time in decades, would not be staying at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel during this year’s UN general assembly. Worldwide last year sold the high-end Midtown hotel for $1.95 billion to the Chinese group Anbang Insurance Group. The sales contract allowed for “a major renovation” by the Chinese, and American security experts had no doubt as to the purpose of these “renovations”: As is the practice in China, the Chinese owners, working on behalf of China’s intelligence services, were going to plant listening devices in every room and ball room, and wire every phone, Wi-Fi hot spot, and restaurant table in order to eavesdrop on hotel guests.

The U.S. State Department said American diplomats and State Department officials, for the first time in decades, would not be staying at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel during this year’s UN general assembly.

The State Department gave no reason for the decision, but the writing was on the wall since Hilton Worldwide last year sold the high-end Midtown hotel for $1.95 billion to the Chinese group Anbang Insurance Group. The sales contract allowed for “a major renovation” by the Chinese, and American security experts had no doubt as to the purpose of these “renovations”: As is the practice in China, the Chinese owners, working on behalf of China’s intelligence services, were going to plant listening devices in every room and ball room, and wire every phone, Wi-Fi hot spot, and restaurant table in order to eavesdrop on hotel guests.

Foreign diplomats also preferred to stay at the Waldorf while in New York, and they, too, will likely look for another place now.

The International Business Times reports that the switch to the New York Palace Hotel will affect hundreds of American diplomats and support staff who travel to New York for the General Assembly each September and stay at the Waldorf.

U.S. diplomats and American businessmen traveling to China are routinely warned by the State Department about the Chinese physical and electronic surveillance capabilities, and about the fact that many hotel rooms in China are wired by the Chinese intelligence services.

“Hotel rooms (including meeting rooms), offices, cars, taxis, telephones, Internet usage and fax machines may be monitored onsite or remotely, and personal possessions in hotel rooms, including computers, may be searched without your consent or knowledge,” the department says in its warning to travelers to China. “Business travelers should be particularly mindful that trade secrets, negotiating positions and other business-sensitive information may be taken and shared with local interests.”

Adam Segal, a China and cybersecurity expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the Guardian that the

Waldorf-Astoria’s ownership did not necessarily indicate that it was or was not subject to surveillance. Segal said that the sale of the Waldorf-Astoria to Anbang Insurance Group gave U.S. officials a sense that there were greater chances for spying, but actually hacks had little to do with who owns a particular building. Segal said moving their location to the Palace Hotel “may provide the perception of greater security, but not any guarantee of it.”

“Because the Chinese have made so many cyberattacks and eavesdropping against the United States, it’s very prudent for the United States to make sure that all these important bilateral meetings with heads of state don’t take place where they’re going to be transmitted to China,” foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk told CBS New York.