Security blanket sets stage for safe Games

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Armed police patrol the West Railway Station in Beijing yesterday. Passengers at the capital's main rail terminal are asked to taste any liquids they carry or put sealed containers under a special detector handset to identify their contents. More in photo gallery

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FROM anti-terrorism drills to the halting of flights during the opening ceremony, Beijing is taking every possible measure to ward off terrorism and ensure security for next month's Olympic Games.

The China Civil Aviation Administration yesterday announced a new safety move: no planes would be allowed to take off or land at Beijing Capital International Airport from 7pm until midnight on August 8, the opening-ceremony night.

The security measure followed the experience of other countries that had hosted the Olympics and was ratified by the Chinese government, officials said yesterday.

China has also launched a one-month crackdown on the production and sale of replica guns as an added security measure. Police must destroy the marketing, storage and transport networks of imitation guns and track down and bust the original sources of the illegal production, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

The ministry asked its border-inspection agencies to strengthen supervision and focus on the illegal import and export of any guns.

"At present, the security work for the Olympics is in a key phase, and we should mobilize the masses of people to contribute to the security of the Games," said Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, during an inspection tour of a community in Beijing's Dongcheng District.

He urged major officials of security-related departments and bureaus to monitor the safety work personally to ensure a smooth, orderly and effective operation.

Air, rail and long-distance bus facilities in Beijing are on heightened alert.

Armed police with dogs began round-the-clock patrols on Monday at the capital's four railway stations, including a renovated one in a southern district that hasn't yet opened.