Police pull out all the stops for XVIth Asiad in Guangzhou

GUANGZHOU - Security forces in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are leaving nothing to chance to ensure the safety of the thousands of competitors and spectators attending the Asian Games.

Beginning on Thursday and continuing for the next two months, subway passengers in Guangzhou must undergo the city’s most stringent security checks, including manual checks, X-rays and police dogs.

According to the China Daily, police have carried out counter-terrorist drills, stepped up security checkpoints in and around the city and cracked down on the possession of arms ahead of the 16-day event starting on November 12.

Authorities have yet to reveal the size of the security forces in place in Guangzhou, choosing to emphasize the importance of the task at hand.

“Security is our top concern and our top responsibility for the success of the Asian Games,” Gu Shiyang, deputy secretary-general of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Nearly 12,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions will be competing in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which sits in the Pearl River Delta, the hub of China’s huge, export-oriented “workshop of the world”. (ANI)