Beijing is tightening security around Tiananmen Square ahead of the Beijing 2008 Games, reports ESPN. Under the new rules issued by the city government, dangerous articles including guns, explosives, knives and “other items that affect social order and public safety” are banned.
The new rules were enacted last month but announced Monday. They allow random searches of people and vehicles around the Square and permit authorities to take “unspecified” emergency measures to disperse crowds.
China has told broadcasters it will bar live television shots from Tiananmen Square during the Games which will disrupt plans of NBC and other international networks that have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast live shots of the square.
ESPN reports the move was apparently linked to recent unrest among Tibetans and protests by critics of the government.
There is also a marked increase in the number of police and paramilitary troops in the centre of the city.
Meanwhile, Beijing’s online ticketing system slowed down but appeared to survive Monday as the last round of domestic tickets went on sale.
About 1.38 million tickets were on sale Monday at Bank of China branches and the official website. According to the Associated Press those purchasing tickets reported waiting several hours to buy at Bank of China outlets and attempts to buy online were slow and sometimes difficult to complete.
Organizers said four competitions sold out in the first 30 minutes although there were tickets available for sports including boxing, soccer, baseball and wrestling.
Zhu Yan, director of the Beijing ticketing centre said, “the website may become a little slow at peak hours but it’s still normal and there’s no problem”. He said about 320,000 tickets were sold with the system, at its peak, receiving 27 million hits in an hour.
