Capital takes fast lane on security for Games

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-10  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

FROM next week Beijing will start to use security staff at hundreds of checkpoints on entries to the city, just one of a host of safety initiatives as the Olympic Games loom.

The Beijing municipal public security bureau said yesterday armed police with dogs trained to sniff out explosives and equipment such as metal detectors and security scanners would be posted at road and rail checkpoints.

According to the bureau's plan, the first defense line is at entries along the city's borderline, where police may stop cars, trucks and trains for security checks on both people and cargo.

The second line will see police checkpoints at road entries linking Beijing's six rural districts with the urban area. Inner-city defense posts are being scattered on ring roads.

All vehicles with license plates registered outside Beijing will be subject to security searches at the checkpoints. They can only enter the city with road-entry certificates and valid documents.

Police would shut down entries at the first sign of an emergency, the bureau said.

Beijing has also built up a security network with the neighboring city of Tianjin and Hebei Province as part of its Olympics security plan. This requires the areas to standardize the use of guns and coordinate in crime prevention and resolution.

The public has been reminded they are not allowed to take long umbrellas, any liquids, including soft drinks, and lighters into the Olympic stadiums during the Games.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games said security staff would confiscate banned items from ticket-holders.

After a series of national-level anti-terrorist drills held in Beijing and other co-host cities, security work has been further streamlined.

Beijing subway passengers were subjected to new security checks on June 29 at the start of a three-month campaign.