A senior official from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security said Tuesday that the number of 110 emergency call services totaled 1.46 million in 2000, up 70 percent from 1999.

Xu Song, commissar of the Directing Center in the Municipal Bureau of Public Security, said that some 650,000 people benefited from the 110 service the previous year.

Xu said that the swelling number of emergency calls reflected a strengthened crime-fighting awareness among the public.

Statistics show that Beijing police have caught 8,270 suspects through emergency calls in 2000, an increase of 31 percent over 1999.

Meanwhile, 110 call service has effectively responded to various urgent requests from the public. Emergency police officers rushed to save the life of a woman committing suicide only four minutes after receiving the 110 call on January 18, 2000.

January 10 is Beijing's 110 Emergency Call Day. This year's activity will focus on how to call the police effectively.

(People's Daily 01/10/01)