From sniffer dogs, to food safety, to cleaner fuel, Beijing is doing its utmost to provide a good image to the citizens of the world who will be attending the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games this August.
Beijing is deploying about 80 sniffer dogs to patrol the subway system to sniff out flammable products such as fireworks, before the Chinese New Year next month. Xinhua quotes police officer Wang Ning as saying, “the security patrol ahead of the festival will be good practice for the police dogs ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games later this year”. Eight dogs have already started patrolling five downtown stations.
A special monitoring centre for food safety will be set up for the Games. The Olympic Food Safety Command Center will issue warnings of food risks and deal with food related emergencies, said Zhang Zhikuan, head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau for Industry and Commerce. Food to be provided for the Games will be classified into 345 items under 10 categories, with each item checked against specific technical standards.
Zhang said Beijing is also putting into full operation a food safety date retroaction system for the athletes that follows all stages of food processing from the farm to the dining table.
Beijing started enforcing a stricter auto fuel standard Monday to help reduce pollution, reports Xinhua. Gasoline and diesel sold in Beijing must meet the China IV standards equivalent to the European Union’s Euro IV requirements. Beijing introduced China III fuel standards at the end of 2005 which cut emissions by 2,480 metric tons annually, and the latest benchmark is intended to cut annual emissions by a further 1,840 tons.
Nearly every policeman, from new graduates to those close to retirement, is studying foreign languages and “refined” manners hoping to polish the city’s image. A handbook containing useful phrases in seven languages – English, French, Russian, German, Japanese, Korean and Arabic – has been given to all police and state-approved volunteers who will assist security service forces at the Games.
Beijing police launched a campaign Wednesday to eradicate illegal activities in Tiananmen Square and along the Chang’an Avenue ahead of the Games. Beggars, unlicensed peddlers, those distributing flyers, and illegal motorcycle and tricycle taxi riders will be fined, detained, or have their equipment confiscated once detected by police in the square or along the east-west artery.
A Qinghai official said Wednesday that Jade from China’s Qinghai province will be used to make the Olympic medals. BOCOG unveiled its medal design in March showing the gold silver and bronze medals incorporating a distinctive band of jade. It is reportedly the first time in Olympic history that medals are made of a material besides metal. Several thousands of jade bands will be handed over to BOCOG by the end of March.
