Police pull out all the stops for XVIth Asiad in Guangzhou
Guangzhou (China):Security forces in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are leaving nothing to chance to ensure the safety of the thousands of competitors and spectators attending
the Asian Games. Beginning on Thursday and continuing for the next two months,
subway passengers in Guangzhou must undergo the city's most stringent security
checks, including manual checks, X-rays and police dogs. According to the China
Daily, police have carried out counter-terrorist drills, stepped up security checkpoints
in and around the city and cracked down on the possession of arms ahead of the
16-day event starting on November 12. Authorities have yet to reveal the size
of the security forces in place in Guangzhou, choosing to emphasize the importance
of the task at hand. "Security is our top concern and our top responsibility for
the success of the Asian Games," Gu Shiyang, deputy secretary-general of the Guangzhou
Asian Games Organizing Committee. Nearly 12,000 athletes from 45 countries and
regions will be competing in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which
sits in the Pearl River Delta, the hub of China's huge, export-oriented "workshop
of the world".
