Although the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are still six years away, the security departments in Beijing have already started detailing security plans.

On Tuesday the Beijing Bureau of Public Security invited 22 experts from disaster-relief, meteorology, electricity, construction and other industries closely related to public security to be members of a special expert pool. These experts will make suggestions and help evaluate security measures at every stage leading to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The bureau plans to build a large-scale security inspection network covering major stadiums and other places visitors are likely to congregate, police sources said.

An efficient and high-tech communication network, to extend across the urban areas of Beijing, is also planned. With the network, any instructions from the headquarters could immediately reach local security forces, which could then quickly and properly react.

Special anti-terrorist police troops are scheduled to be organized in next few years. The troops will be considered the backbone of the security forces and will be the first to react in an emergency.

Special helicopter parking lots near the main Olympic Stadium are also under consideration, police sources said. They plan to station helicopters there in case of an emergency.

The sources said primary calculations indicate that nearly 100,000 security-force members will be needed for the Olympic Games, breaking down as the follows: 40,000 policemen; 27,500 armed policemen; 10,000 social-security officers and 5,000 volunteers; and a number of others.

Beijing will open the bidding for an Olympic-venue security system contracts next month.

(China Daily August 23, 2002)