Nationwide police training program

Police officers across China will participate in a three-month training program in the use of weapons in accordance with the law, a month after a terrorist attack in a train station in Kunming, Yunnan province, claimed 29 lives and injured another 143.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Public Security Thursday, police officers who patrol streets and who shoulder the responsibility of coping with emergency incidents in big cities and county-level regions are the primary participants in the program.

The main goal of the program is to enhance their combat skills and improve their knowledge of weapon-related laws. The program is also aimed at increasing local police chiefs' tactical command abilities and ensuring that crimes that severely threaten public safety can be effectively stopped.

The detailed implementation plans of the program will be released by the ministry to lower level police departments. The ministry and provincial-level public security organs will also dispatch instructors to aid the lessons in weapons.

The ministry also stressed that public security organs at all levels should establish rules and regulations for routine exercises and a set time frame for intensified training, establish standardized long-term training mechanisms and strive to improve practical skills, in order to protect people's lives and property.

On March 1, a group of knife-wielding assailants attacked civilians at Kunming Railway Station. Police shot four of the attackers dead and captured another at the scene. Three other alleged conspirators were arrested separately. The assailants were later identified as extremists from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The Kunming attack is seen as a shift in strategy from targeting government symbols, such as police stations and police vehicles, to ordinary civilians.

Shanghai has introduced tactical police teams in an effort to cope with emergency situations, especially terror attacks and other violent incidents, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported. The teams are well-armed and modeled on Hong Kong's Police Tactical Unit, founded in 1958 and aimed at dealing emergency situations.