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Police boost security ahead of key meetings

2014-10-20 08:48 Global Times Web Editor: Qian Ruisha
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Information sharing crucial to terror fight

Beijing police have mobilized thousands of community officers to guard against any potential terrorist attack or violence during an upcoming key Party plenum and APEC meetings, which will focus on the collection and sharing of information.

Following a spate of terrorist attacks in Beijing, Southwest China's Yunnan Province and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over the past year, security concerns have reached new heights with the two major meetings to be held in the capital.

The highly-anticipated Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee is set to open on Monday to discuss the country's construction of governance by law, followed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in November when leaders from more than 20 countries and regions descend on Beijing's mountain district of Huairou.

"It is a tempting opportunity for terrorists, especially when such important meetings are held in the capital city," said Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, citing the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

"But their chances of success are slim because they don't have a strong enough ability [to break though the security network]," he added.

According to a meeting held Friday by the municipal government in Beijing, the recently tightened surveillance will target terrorist activities and individuals conducting extreme acts, as well as mass incidents, with police, armed police, volunteers and the public all mobilized to minimize the risks.

Beijing will remain combat-ready for the APEC meetings and raise the anti-terrorism level, with the venues and the leaders' routes being the focus, the Legal Daily's website quoted a representative from the security meeting as saying.

On Saturday, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said at a teleconference that more than 3,000 community police officers have been mobilized for the upcoming meetings.

Experts believe the deployment of community police is essential to combat terrorism.

"Being able to spot the emergence of terrorist activities at an early stage is key in fighting against terrorism. These community police will help build anti-terrorism awareness among the public so as to serve the purpose of prevention," Li told the Global Times.

"Community police often hold first-hand information, for they are the first ones to arrive on the scenes of terrorist attack, yet they are less equipped to take professional actions against terrorism," Wang Guoxiang, an associate professor at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Li, however, believes the sharing of information is functioning well under the coordination of the National Anti-Terror Work Leading Group, chaired by President Xi Jinping.

While police are increasing their patrols during the meetings, high-tech facilities are also being deployed to tackle potential risks.

About 1,000 surveillance cameras have recently been installed in Huairou to watch over the APEC meetings, on top of the over 500 monitoring devices that were already in place in Huairou before the latest installations, news portal qq.com reported.

Experts are confident about the security force's ability to keep the situation under control.

"China is capable of preventing and handling terrorism acts with its abundant experience in hosting big-scale events. Beijing also has comprehensive security systems in place," said Wang.

Security enforcement has reached new heights in the capital after terrorists plowed an SUV through crowds in front of Tiananmen Square last October.

Armed police have increased their patrols in the capital city since the railway station attack in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in March. Police helicopters have also been patrolling routes covering train stations, shopping centers and tourist spots twice a day since May.

Beijing police have officially established an anti-terrorism team, and promised to handle emergency events within one minute in 14 major hot spots.

"The work against terrorism does not only target periods when we are having big-scale meetings. It has become an integral and regular part of the security forces," said Li.

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