Authorities have called for an improvement in the legal system and in social security to safeguard the rights and interests of the mentally disabled women and their family members. (Photo : Reuters)
Beijing police have started street patrols at the highest security level since Monday as part of a campaign to counter violence and terrorism in the capital.
The campaign, coded as a "peace action," will see patrol officers, traffic officers, armed police and assistant police deployed to densely populated areas, including subways and busy streets, until mid-August, the Beijing police announced on its official Weibo account. Security guards and community volunteers are also encouraged to join the campaign.
According to the post, the patrols will focus on anti-terrorism measures, with controls and supervision especially tightened on knives, express deliveries, secondhand markets, gas stations, and low-flying small aircraft.
The campaign is aimed at maintaining stability for the 2015 Beijing World Championships in Athletics that is scheduled to kick off in August, and events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Second World War in early September, an unnamed official from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau told the Beijing News.
"It also comes in the midst of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when the world is witnessing a high frequency of terror attacks," said Wang Guoxiang, an associate professor at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.
On Friday, an armed man killed 38 people in a Tunisian resort, followed by a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Kuwaiti that led to the deaths of 25 people on the same day. The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attacks, Xinhua News Agency reported.
"The Beijing police also attempted to avoid another July 5 Xinjiang riot that claimed over 180 lives in 2009, as terrorists tried to stir up troubles around each July 5 since 2009," Wang said.
Xinjiang authorities have clamped down on 181 suspected terror groups as of May this year after launching a sweeping anti-terrorism campaign in 2014, according to Xinhua.
The increased patrols will serve as a psychological deterrent to would-be terrorists, Wang said.
The campaign will also address other social security issues, including gambling, prostitution, illegal hotels and illegal taxis.
