Beijing Olympics 2008

Health professionals in Beijing are being trained to deal with the aftermath of terrorist attacks, the municipal health bureau said yesterday.
Some 130,000 medics are taking part in the scheme to ready them for possible incidents during the Olympics and Paralympics, the bureau said on its website.
The training began on Monday and will run for a month.
“It is very important that we are able to maintain social stability,” Jin Dapeng, the bureau’s Party secretary, was quoted on the website as saying last week at the launch of the initiative.
“It is our mission to react to any terrorist attack during the Games to ensure public security.
“Therefore, we must carry out the training with earnestness and efficiency to raise awareness of possible threats and boost out capability to deal with emergencies”, he said.
Medics will be taught about nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, response and rescue procedures, and treatment, the bureau said.
Their instructors are all experts from the Academy of Military Medical Science.
About 4,000 trainees from the emergency services are being trained in response and rescue work, while medics, including those at the 22 hospitals that will serve athletes and officials, are being given training on how to treat the victims of attack.
Jin said health organizations should also be on high alert to the possibility of terrorist groups attempting to steal potentially deadly chemicals, drugs or other toxic materials.
The central government said last month that more than 10,000 security personnel will be deployed in Beijing during the Olympics.
Interpol has also warned of the threat of possible attacks by groups such as al-Qaeda during the Games.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on Thursday China hoped “relevant country” would understand and aid the work of the Beijing Olympic torch escort.
Jiang made the remarks when asked to comment on Japan’s refusal of the torch escort from China in the relay in Nagano, on April 26.
She told a press conference that the convention of arranging the escort in the relay has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
She said the escorts, all volunteers, protected the torch with their bodies from the seizure by “Tibetan independence” supporters.
“This kind of spirit should be praised and understood, while the mob which disrupts should receive universal condemnation,” she said, adding China hoped “relevant country” would have a clear understanding of the task and provide active coordination and assistance for the relay.
Jiang praised the torch relay in Pakistan, saying China noticed that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have both attended the ceremonies of the torch relay which was a great success in Islamabad.
“Through the relay, we have seen the colorful culture of Pakistan and the great enthusiasm of the Pakistani people toward the Olympics,” said Jiang.
On the torch relay in India, scheduled for Thursday, Jiang said the Indian people hoped to use the opportunity to show India’s ancient culture and modern development achievements, and China believed the Indian government would take effective measures to ensure a smooth and safe torch relay in New Delhi.

from: xinhuanet.com

Tibetan sports authorities have pledged to take security measures to protect the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay against sabotage by supporters of the Dalai clique.

The leading team of the relay will closely work with relevant departments to ensure security and prevent disturbances and sabotage, according to a report published in the Tibet Daily on Monday.
Under the guidance of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the leading team, comprised of seven working departments, worked out the route and agenda for the relay, selected torchbearers and improved working procedures, an unidentified sports official of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China’s remote southwest told the newspaper.

Preparation for the relay in Tibet and taking the Olympic flame to the summit of Mount Qomolangma (Everest) is proceeding in an orderly way, the report said.

After the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony, which is scheduled to be held later on Monday in Greece, the flame will traverse Greece for six days before it is handed over to BOCOG on March 30 in Athens.

The global tour of the Olympic flame will begin on April 1, covering 137,000 kilometers across 135 cities in 130 days before the torch arrives at the National Stadium in Beijing on August 8 for the opening ceremony.

The highlight of the relay, which involves 21,780 torchbearers, will be an attempt to take the flame to the summit of Mount Qomolangma in May.

However, the unrest in Lhasa, believed to have been organized and masterminded by the Dalai Lama clique, has raised concern over the security of the torch relay.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Guns, drugs, explosives, and poisonous and radioactive materials will be banned from Beijing’s Olympic venues, a security official said Thursday.
Animals, drinks, radio equipment, and banners and oversized flags will also be prohibited, but guide dogs and small flags on poles shorter than 1m will be allowed, Zhu Yijun, from the Beijing Olympic security command center, said at a press conference to announce the new security regulation.
Drinks are banned to remove the risk of spectators throwing containers, while radio equipment makes the no-go list as it may disturb TV broadcasts and the operation of security equipment, he said.
Banners and oversized flags are not allowed because they could block people’s view of events, Zhu said, adding that the Olympic Charter already bans any form of political, religious or racial propaganda at venues.
Liu Shaowu, director of the security division of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, said the rules are in line with those introduced at previous Olympics, with some elements being specific to the Beijing Games.
He said the eight-chapter regulation, which will be published in full soon, also stipulates that venues must be equipped with at least one X-ray machine, two walk-through metal detectors, one vehicle security check channel and a system to automatically check vehicle chassis. Special security check channels will be set up for the disabled.
“All people and vehicles will have to go through security checks before entering venues,” Liu said.
“If everything is okay, a person can pass through a standard security check in about five seconds. But that might be longer for media workers if they are carrying a lot of equipment.”
Liu also urged spectators to leave their bags at home.
“The venues will provide all kinds of services. There’s no need for people to bring too many things.”
Liu said he was confident the Games will be safe.
The security operation in Beijing will directly involve about 80,000 people, including police, professional security guards and volunteers, he said.
“The number will be adjusted according to specific circumstances.”
Security became a focus for media attention following a foiled attempt on March 7 to crash a passenger jet flying from Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, to Beijing.
Former Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang said late last year that although the general security situation for the Beijing Olympics is stable, the challenges of “terrorism, separatism and extremism” remain. “The Olympic Games is a big target for terrorism,” Zhou said.
International anti-terrorism experts have said China should learn from other countries and proposed information exchange within the international community.
“The large number of athletes and visitors to the Beijing Games and billions of people watching TV will make the event a prime target for terrorists,” Boaz Ganor, founder of the Israel-based International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, said in an interview. “Their desire to harm us and their threat against us remain real.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/21/content_6554347.htm

The civil aviation authority said on Thursday that stricter security checks would soon be implemented to guarantee passenger safety.
The announcement came in the wake of a foiled terrorist attempt on a Beijing-bound passenger plane last Friday.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) said in a new release that the new measures include increasing hand luggage inspections and body checks, as well as ending express check-in services currently enjoyed by frequent flyers.
The CAAC is also drafting more rules to ban carry-on liquid items on domestic flights after at least two liquid-filled cans smelling of alcohol were found in the foiled plot.
For passengers on international and regional flights, security check rules will remain unchanged, the authority said.
At present, according to rules adopted last May, all liquids carried in hand luggage on international flights must be held in containers with a capacity of no more than 100 milliliters.
The containers should be placed in a transparent, resealable bag with a maximum capacity of 1 liter.
Each passenger will be allowed to carry just one bag.
Exemptions will be made for baby milk and baby food in the baby’s presence as well as medications with prescriptions.
Although domestic flyers have previously been subject to more lax security checks, stricter security checks than those before international flights are likely to be introduced in the not-to-distant future.
The CAAC declined to reveal any details of the new rules yesterday, but the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported that all bags containing liquids of any description, even those containing baby milk, would all have to be checked in.
The report suggested that parents would have to request formula when buying tickets, and flight attendants would in turn provide it.
Some local airports confirmed they had already tightened security before the CAAC news release.
Gao Zhengpu, an official with Shanghai Airport Authority, said that the two airports in the city had both tightened their security check.
“Security staff open up and smell every bottled liquid in carry-on bags,” he was quoted as saying by Oriental Morning Post.
According to Gao, greater security checks have slowed passenger flow.
Every 10 minutes, no more than 15 are checked through, as opposed to 30 every 10 minutes previously.
Zhu Kelin, an official with the East China branch of the CAAC, told China Daily that the administration would soon issue detailed implementation measures.

from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/14/content_6535178.htm