Public security was highlighted on Wednesday by Luo Gan, a Chinese senior leader, to guarantee a safe environment for the country's approaching week-long National Day holiday, which falls on Oct 1.

Luo, a member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, pointed out that the maintenance of social security with effective prevention and penal measures should be elevated to a political obligation.

"It will help curb crimes and maintain long-term social stability," Luo said at a national working conference in Nanchang City, east China's Jiangxi Province.
It has been a common practice for China to make a nationwide appeal for more efforts for social security previous the National Day, since the holiday was first officially prolonged to seven days in 1999.

Now the holiday has really became "golden" for the economy, since more people are encouraged to travel across the country and the consumer spending volumes usually soar in the seven days.

Over the National Day holiday in 2001, some 63.97 million people hit the road, generating 24.98 billion yuan (US$3.02 billion) in revenue for the travel industry. While during last year's October week-long holiday, China reported a total tourist number of over 80 million people, realizing a travel revenue of 30.6 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion), 22.4percent higher than previous year.

Along with booming tourism, violations of public security, including theft, explosions and unexpected accidents, also rise, which should be guarded against to ensure Chinese people enjoy a peaceful holiday, according to an official with the Ministry of Public Security.

Departments at various levels are also urged to strengthen supervision of tour sites, tourism facilities and hazardous tour programs.

However, tragedies do happen. A suicide explosion, which killed the perpetrator and left 18 people injured, took place on the night of Oct 2, 2002 in Guilin City, a picturesque tourist resort of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It was fortunate that people in Guilin were not unduly affected, as local authorities made immediate responses to tighten up safety at all scenic spots.

Beijing, the country's capital city boasting rich historical relics, makes an annual spot-check on tourist sites to reaffirm their security standards.

(eastday.com September 25, 2003)