Security gearing up for National Day celebrations
- Source: Global Times
- [09:15 September 01 2009]
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By Huang Jingjing
Maintaining security around the National Day celebrations shall be the top priority for all police and armed officers, Wu Heping, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security, vowed on Monday, one month before the country's 60th anniversary on October 1.
"We should make every effort to fulfill the security operation and guarantee the State and its people a stable and peaceful environment," the spokesman said at a press conference.
As the day approaches, more hostile forces have said they will create provocations during the celebrations, said Li Wei, director of the Security and Strategy Research Center at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
"Eastern Turkistan terrorists, Tibet separatists and the Falun Gong Cult will be the major threats for the security forces. On the other hand, some extreme and desperate actions ignited by social contradictions shall not be neglected, either," he told the Global Times yesterday.
"They all intend to take advantage of the celebrations to create some diversions and unrest, and try to make trouble and tarnish the image of China."
He said that compared with the threats during the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the challenge will be for the security force during the upcoming celebrations.
The Olympic Games was an international event, supported by international security forces. But the National Day celebration is a domestic affair, and China should shoulder the security maintenance independently, he said.
"Furthermore, there will be many outdoor celebrations nationwide. So the security forces have to cover more places and more people," he said.
The security efforts in and around the capital have been tightened the most.
As many as 800,000 volunteers, including retired grandmas, who joined security operations during the Beijing Olympics, will wear red sleeve emblems and resume their patrol duties, according to the International Herald Leader.
Hundreds of special policemen, police officers, security guards and plain-clothed officers are on patrol in the capital's commercial sites, including Xidan market and Wangfujing Street.
Neighboring cities and provinces have also geared up with more security.
In Tianjin, security guards will be on duty in every subway station starting today, local media reported.
Hebei Province's Zhangjiakou, nicknamed "Beijing's Northern Door," has also tightened its inspection of people who enter the city.
"All people who enter the city or the city's hotels are required to show an identification card first. Expats need to provide their passports and visas," an employee surnamed Wang from the local public security bureau told the Global Times.
Some travelers complained that the efforts to improve security have caused them trouble.
Emmet Till, an English teacher from England, said he was turned away by several hotels Sunday, when he tried to check in to locations in Huailai, a tourist site. He had to stay overnight in a local railway station.
"They said they would not allow any foreigners to stay in any hotel in the town at any time until the National Day holiday ended," Till told the Global Times yesterday.
However, his claim could not be verified by a third party source yesterday.
"If people are not able to offer credential certificates, we have to turn them down," an unnamed receptionist from the Yixinyuan Hotel in Huailai county, Zhanjiakou, told the Global Times yesterday.
