Security is the single most important factor in hosting a successful Olympics, China's Vice President Xi Jinping told a “mobilization” rally on Wednesday, 30 days before the Beijing Games open. China has long identified terrorism as the biggest threat to the Games and state media on Wednesday said police had shot dead five people who wanted to wage “holy war” in the troubled western region of Xinjiang, home to 8 million Muslim Uighurs. Xi told the “Beijing Olympics and Paralympics Games-time Work Mobilization Rally” at the Great Hall of the People that China must give its all in the last 30 days to ensure the Aug. 8-24 Games were safe. “A safe Olympics is the most significant symbol of a successful Olympics in Beijing, and also the most important symbol to display the national image of China,” he said. “The existing security system must further intensify its comprehensive drilling and practice to constantly improve. All departments must entirely carry out the security requests from the central government.” Xi, the heir apparent to Chinese President Hu Jintao, said the coordination of Beijing and its surrounding provinces and contingency plans for security incidents were priorities. “The people must be widely mobilized to support and take part in the Olympic security work,” he added. “At the same time, we must actively increase international cooperation to form a joint strong security force for a safe Olympics.” China, eager to use the Games to showcase its rise as a modern economic power, has already instituted a raft of security measures. A 100,000 strong anti-terrorism force is in place, surface-to-air missiles have been deployed around the major venues and bag searches are conducted on the subway. From next week, hundreds of armed police checkpoints will be set up the edge of Beijing to prevent “dangerous materials and people” getting into the Olympic host city, the municipal public security bureau said in a statement on Wednesday. Every vehicle coming into the city will be checked and three security rings would be established around the city, it added. Olympic security costs have spiraled since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, but China is hoping to secure the Beijing Games for considerably less than the $1.8 billion spent in Athens four years ago by using its own forces. Rights groups say that China is using Olympic security as an excuse to crack down on internal dissent, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet, the scene of the March 14 riots that sparked anti-Chinese protests around the world. Air quality and media issues were identified as the remaining problems for the Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in an otherwise glowing report after their final briefing by Beijing organizers on Tuesday. “A high quality Olympics calls for a high quality city operation and guarantees, especially smooth transportation, air quality which meets standards and safe food,” Xi said. “We must greatly improve our media services and propaganda to create a good environment and atmosphere for the Games.” Contingency plans to ensure good air quality during the Games, including shutting down factories and taking 45 percent of vehicles off the roads, come into effect for two months from July 20. Beijing officials on Wednesday urged drivers to leave their cars at home and pledged an extra 20,000 buses would be put into service during the Games period to cope with demand. Xi said China needed the same energetic attitude it displayed after the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, which left more than 80,000 people dead or missing and united the nation in grief. “We must transform the great spirit of earthquake relief into practices and actions for the preparation for hosting the Olympic Games,” he said. - Reuters __
