Beijing should give top priority to improving public safety for its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, said Jia Qinglin, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Wednesday.

The focus of the improvements should be on the prevention of crime, said Jia at the municipal work conference on politics and law held Wednesday.

The police along with other departments should strive to maintain a secure environment and social order to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games and to implement the 10th Five-Year Plan, said Jia.

The Beijing municipal government has focused on building a strict, efficient, and capable police force to ensure public safety, he said.

The secretary also called on all Beijing citizens to make contributions to public security by enhancing campaigns against crimes.

On April 7, 1999, the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee formally presented Beijing's bid report to Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the IOC's Lausanne-based headquarters.

(People's Daily 12/20/2000)