China stages massive Olympic security drill

Chinese forces foiled mock riots and rappelled from buildings to free hostages in Olympic security drills yesterday designed to display the country’s readiness for anything at the Beijing Games.

The show of force comes days after the head of Interpol warned there was a “real possibility” that the Games would be targeted by terrorists, and as the Olympic torch is dogged by anti-Chinese protests as it makes its way around the world.

“The Beijing city commission will firmly carry out the Olympic directives given by President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤),” Vice Minister of Public Security Liu Jing (劉京) told the ceremony. “We will impose high standards and strict requirements on ourselves and do the job with first-class standards.”

China’s top security official, Zhou Yongkang (周永康), and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) also attended the event, presiding over an “oath-taking” rally that included police, army and paramilitaries, and anti-chemical squads and SWAT teams.

CAR CHASE AND HOOLIGANS

Special forces clad in black kicked and punched their way through choreographed martial arts routines, and police staged a car chase, tires screeching as they wheeled around to entrap a stolen car, whose driver was yanked to the ground and handcuffed.

In another scene, complete with sets of a sports ground and a city street of bars and restaurants, soccer hooligans surrounded a team bus, prompting riot police to emerge to take control.

“Attention please! The game is over. Please be calm and abide by instructions. Leave the scene as soon as possible,” an officer yelled at the crowd through loudspeakers, in English and Chinese.

“Your behavior has already violated the laws of the People’s Republic of China and disturbed the public order. You must follow police instructions. Leave the scene immediately!” he said.

The prospect of such an event is all too real — during a 2004 Asian Cup match in China, Chinese fans rushed the bus of the Japanese side, forcing it to leave without two players.

In yesterday’s scenario, the fans confronted each other outside a bar, throwing chairs and setting a car on fire, before riot squads fired tear gas and water cannons to restore order.

But the climax of the show was the anti-terror drills.

In one, security forces dressed up as a road maintenance crew and hid in trash cans, popping up in time to intercept a hijacked bus.

In another, men in black descended from helicopters and rappelled down buildings in a display worthy of a Hong Kong action film to free tourists taken hostage by a group demanding China release from prison followers of their unspecified cause.

In related news, Vietnamese police broke up a demonstration in Hanoi yesterday ahead of the final international leg of the Olympic torch relay, witnesses said.

VIETNAM

Officers detained seven people for unfurling a banner and shouting “Boycott the Beijing Olympics” through a loudspeaker in a market in the capital Hanoi, two witnesses said on condition of anonymity.

Police refused to comment on the incident.

Scores of riot police also blocked the road in front of the Chinese embassy in Hanoi.

The torch relay was scheduled to begin at 6pm last night in Ho Chi Minh City. Several police officers were stationed close to the starting point outside the city’s 19th century opera house.

Earlier, a group of pro-Chinese supporters rallied there, waving flags and shouting slogans.

HONG KONG

In other developments, actress Mia Farrow may be barred from entering Hong Kong to give a speech about human rights on Friday, the day the torch is carried through the city, pro-democracy Legislator Emily Lau (劉慧卿) said yesterday.

Lau said she had heard that the actress, who has criticized China for failing to stop genocide in the Sudan, would not be allowed into the territory.

Danish artist and rights activist Jens Galschiot and his sons were sent home on Saturday after arriving to take part in protests on Friday.

“If we do that, we are going to turn ourselves into an international laughingstock. These are people with a very, very high international profiles. They are not the Taliban of al-Qaeda — so what is going on here?” Lau said on RTHK radio.