Press conference: Olympic security work in full swing

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Related story: Head of Olympic security assures reporters

Date/Time: 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 23

Venue: Main Press Center (MPC)

Sun Weide

Ladies and gentlemen, media friends, good morning. Welcome to this press conference. Today we have Mr. Liu Shaowu, director of BOCOG Security Department, to brief us on Olympic security work. Mr. Liu, please.

Liu Shaowu

Friends from the media, good morning. I am delighted to see you here on this press conference. I want to say thank you for your attention to the Beijing Games and also for the Games security. Thank you for your support. We are open in terms of security just like all the areas in our preparations. We have several press conferences like this because we need your understanding and support and also we want to hear your opinions and suggestion so that we can improve our work to have a safe Olympic Games.

It is the commitment of the Chinese government to the world. To honor this commitment with the IOC, the government made security as one of the top priorities. We have fully devoted to ensure the safety of the Games and the family members and also all the spectators who are here during the Games-time.

Now the security operations are in full swing. All the security people are in place. Today, I would like to brief you on several actions of security operations.

1. An efficient security command system

The Chinese government and all the parties involved in security operations give high priority to Games-time security. We offer a strict command level at national level, co-host city level and venue levels. Each has its roles and responsibilities. This is to ensure efficient command during preparatory period and Games-time. At national level, in December, 2004, with the approval of the Chinese government, we set up security coordination group which is made up of 21 member entities at national level and municipality level.

Also we have set up an intelligent center and command offices in all host cities. At host city level, we have command offices. In Hong Kong, the equestrian city, the security is provided by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to the basic law. At venue level, we have venue security team. Most of the activities will take place in Beijing, and we have lots of venues in Beijing so we have a frontline command center in Beijing to coordinate all the competition, command coordination and training venues. Within the framework, we have strengthened the communication infrastructure, for example, network and communication system between venues and command system to ensure efficient coordination between venues. Now at the command office at national level, we have accessed real-time image of all the venues.

2. An elaborate security plan

There are two major aspects. First, according to the IOC requirement, we developed the Strategic Plan on Security of the Beijing Olympic Games and Security Operations Guidelines of the Beijing Olympic Games, which have been approved by IOC. And then according to our own situations, we worked out 52 master plans covering venues safety, transport, fire protection, big events and anti-terrorism, and anti-virus protection, and also 900 specific implementation plans. Our focus has been on the contingency plans. The above plans cover all aspects of Games security and have been tested during the test events. We have been keeping refining them and most of them have been implemented now.

3. In venues construction and designing, we have built related facilities into the venue construction designing.

First, we built the security operation plants for people flow, vehicle flow and security facilities into venue construction.

Second, for these facilities like image surveillance and alarm system, we have designed them into venues construction. All the security plans, operations and facilities go in parallel with the construction, in terms of designing, construction, examination and delivery. They are all involved in the design of all important spaces, such as entrances and evacuation parts for spectators to ensure security needs reflected.

At the pre-inspection of all venues with installed surveillance and alarm system, all the people, vehicles and items should be screened to go into the security perimeter at all venues. In competition and non-competition venues and all training venues, we have 24-hour guards and patrols. In terms of planning, we have elaborate plan, an instant-response plan for each venue to ensure swift reaction in case of incidence.

4. For a safe society for safe Games, we want to ensure good public order to ensure Games safety and security.

We have top efforts to preserve public order, cracked down on law violations, and resolve issues affecting public order and safety, and also step-up efforts in certain areas like managing dangerous items, protecting key places, to remove security risks. On top of such programs, we've also carried out educational program across the society on Games security to engage all parts of society. We want everyone to be part of our security program.

5. The development of Olympic Security Sci-tech Information System

We relied on ourselves in designing all the Olympic Security Sci-tech Information System. It is a top-level overall design. And we have constructed the system according our design. The system is now in full operation. The system is based on the existing system of the Chinese police. It is also based on the advanced technology on the past experience of major international events to ensure that our system is a world class one. After we finished the designing, we upgraded the existing information system of the police. Also, we set up an infrastructure construction between venues and command system to ensure efficient communication between venues and command offices of all levels. We've seen good result in the test result that has taken place. This system can also be used in future major events.

6. We have carried out a wide range of international communication cooperation. Just now, I said the security work is open and international communication cooperation is an important part of our security work. Our police agencies have sent people to have on site inspection in the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, the 2006 German World Cup and a lot of international big sports events. They have learned a lot from the security department, police sectors from the host counties and cities. So that provides us with rich experience. We have also set up the Memorandum of Cooperation with Greek government and invited experts on security from IOC and also the past organization committees. And we also listen to their suggestion and comments. A lot of suggestions have been paid attention by our senior leaders and also leaders who implemented those polices. Until now, we have held more than 10 international conferences on securities.

At the Conference on International Security Cooperation for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games held in September 2007, Olympic security issues were discussed with the IOC, the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and 30-strong national law enforcement departments and reached broad consensus. At the International Conference on Olympic Security, held in April 2008, significant headway was made in information acquisition through multilateral and bilateral cooperation with law enforcement departments of fellow countries. The security officers from all countries have been present in this conference. We have good communication with them. All those communication cooperation has laid a very solid foundation for our cooperation during the Games-time. Also, we have intensified the cooperation on the intelligence gathering and collection. We have set up the international policing command center and the daily report mechanism with international security organizations. At the same time, through multilateral and bilateral channels, we intensify the coordination and the communication in the intelligence gathering. Now this work has made positive progress. We have learned a lot of valuable intelligence, and also got a lot of experience and suggestions.

7. We integrated Olympic security forces to deal with the challenges and stress. Beijing is one of the safest cities in the world. And China is one of the safest countries in the world. The general situation faced by Beijing is stable. Now in the background of the frequent occurrences of the recent incidence, Beijing Olympic Games is also facing a lot of risks caused by the terrorists' attacks. To this end, the Olympic Security Department has done a lot to give a full play of all professional organizations and the whole society to participate in the Olympic security work and crack down all the disturbances. Through all kinds of efforts and by relying on the support and cooperation from the international society and the general public, we are confident we can deal with all the threats and risks and challenges.

8. We carried out a lot of Games-time oriented training for the personnel in the Olympic security. We have police, army, and armed police in our team, and we have recruited volunteers to participate in this work. In our work, we adhere to the principle of following conventions, uniform standard and respecting individuality and focusing on details. We have adopted a lot of ways, such as lectures given by experts and case studies and live exercises, to provide training on Olympic knowledge service, language, policing, fire prevention and traffic management, emergency response and other knowledge that pose specific skills. We have this real name policy. And each person has a very clear awareness of his duty and responsibilities. We also give priority to the training on their awareness on their services. On the one hand, we showed guaranteed safety and also they have to be polite and friendly. Through this systematic standard and professional training, this team is professional, well trained and friendly. And they are ready for good service for the participants from all countries including the journalists.

9. Intensifying the Olympic venue and training venues of security work. In order to ensure the security in the competition and training venues, the Olympic security departments has learned about the successful experience from the past Games. Considering our real situation, we have carried out a lot of preparations. After analyzing the extent of the competitions, the popularity of the events, the degree of difficulty of controlling and the problems occurred in the past, we classified those competition venues into four kinds, A, B, C, D. We have specific managements according to different levels, considering different characteristics of different venues, the sitting capacity of the venue, the spectator numbers, the high demand stations and risk evaluation. We have different levels of security measures to make sure we can control the situation and avoid the waste of police forces.

In terms of the measures, we combined the security management with security service to create a joyful and harmonious atmosphere in the venue. Except for the necessary guards at the entrance and the traffic management, we have those police in their uniforms. The other security personnel wear plain clothes as volunteer. We also have close cooperation with the Spectator Service Deparment to help the spectators with the entering and exiting the venues, the lost and found services and police call answering. By adopting the working method of 'putting the venues on the bases', we have established different security teams at different venues. In each team, we have an experience deputy security director.

Today, we only have 16 days to go before the Opening ceremony, and our security work has been under way smoothly. Our security personnel will try our best improve our service level and also we would like to listen to your suggestions and comments to promote our work. The Olympic Games is an international sports festival. We welcome all people from all countries and regions to visit Beijing. And we will provide you a safe and good security environment. Thank you.

Sun Weide

Thank you for your introduction. Now the floor is open. Please raise one question each time and also identify your organization. Thank you.

China Youth Daily

What about the budget of security this time?

Liu Shaowu

As for our budget, we have two principles. First, to ensure security and safety, and second, to be economical. As for the specific number, I have to count it and I will tell you afterwards.

Beijing Radio Station

You talked about a lot of measures, I think the important thing for venue safety is for the spectators. Do you have any suggestions for spectators in case of any incidences, how can they cooperate with the police to ensure safety?

Liu Shaowu

I guess you are referring to incidence response, right? For incidence at venues, to help to response to them, we have contingency plans at all venues. We have several types of plans. Also, there are open venues. In case of the bad weather, like to arrange rains, we have a plan. If there is anything wrong with the building or there are some criminal incidences, we all have plans. For how to evacuate spectators, our department and other parties are working together to develop plans. For example, we work with spectator services, VIP services, and media services in doing this job. The foremost thing is to ensure the safety of the people in the venue, to rescue the injured and to evacuate all the people out of the venue for all the venues. For example, for the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, we have all developed contingency plans. We have exercised them with all parties. In case of incidents, we will give priority to the safety of the people. We have conducted related rehearsals. Thank you.

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