CHINA: OLYMPIC GAMES - Beijing puts a crack police squad through rigorous training ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games

Record ID: 332108

  • Title: CHINA: OLYMPIC GAMES - Beijing puts a crack police squad through rigorous training ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games
  • Date: 24th November 2005
  • Summary: MV: JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 9th December 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Police,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABKH6WZB5EN3P71W6HV8D7L2ZW
  • Story Text: Beijing showed off a special team of crack police ahead of the 2008 Olympics on Friday (November 25) with a Hollywood-style demonstration of riot control, hostage situations and explosions.
    With less than 1,000 days to go before the opening ceremony, Beijing is keen to show that it can hold a world-class event and protect the safety of the hundreds of thousands of athletes and spectators expected to attend.
    "Beijing is the safest international city, with low crime rates. Police in Beijing will try their best to assure the Beijing Olympics will be held safely, and provide outstanding services related to security to all participants," Beijing police chief Ma Zhenchuan told a news conference.
    Previous games have been marred by violence. A bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics killed two people and injured more than 100, while at the 1972 Munich games Palestinian gunmen killed 11 Israelis.
    Seeking to prevent similar problems in 2008, Beijing has trained a top force of some 150 policemen who are experts in martial arts, counter-terrorism, riot control and kidnapping.
    "We will widely consult with security forces around the world who have experience holding large activities, we will also invite some influential experts to directly take part in our work on security and protection during the Beijing Olympics," said Ma Zhenchuan.
    The government gave rare access to a police base in a southern Beijing suburb to show off the skills of its team who performed on a sports field surrounded by large red and yellow posters exhorting discipline, acute reactions and perfection.
    Police dogs intercepted suspects, batton-wielding officers in black flak jackets advanced on rioters and armoured vans screeched round corners at high speed, sirens blaring and lights flashing, chasing getaway cars.
    While China has not been the focus of attacks from Middle Eastern groups like Al Qaeda, in recent years Beijing has blamed bomb attacks on militants from the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang in its northwest.
    Resentment at China's growing rich-poor divide has also been the cause of unrest in the countryside and some cities, which the stability-obsessed Communist government has tried hard to stamp down on.
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