Beijing games' security checks snarl roads: state press

2 days ago

BEIJING (AFP) — China has thrown a tight security perimeter around Beijing to safeguard the Olympics, causing huge traffic jams and long waits for motorists entering the city, state press said on Wednesday.

The "Defence Line" security plan was launched on Tuesday and included hundreds of checkpoints manned by armed police on routes into the capital, the Beijing News said.

China has vowed to prevent any suspicious persons or cargo from entering Beijing ahead of and during the August 8-24 Olympic Games and the September 6-17 Paralympics.

It warned the public to show patience over the measures.

"We hope that the drivers and passengers that often come into Beijing will be psychologically prepared for the coming two months," the paper quoted a police spokesman as saying.

"Although the security inspections will be faster, they will also still have to wait in line."

The traffic security plan comes in addition to hundreds of similar checkpoints in neighbouring Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing.

On Tuesday, at least six major arteries leading into the city were jammed up due to the checks, the Beijing News said.

A two kilometre (1.2 mile) long line of cars waited at one checkpoint Tuesday afternoon on the Beijing-Tianjin highway, it said.

"I have not moved for two hours, just sitting here waiting," the paper quoted a driver surnamed Lin as saying.

"It is taking them 20 minutes to check one vehicle."

The snarls led police to issue an order late Tuesday saying vehicles already checked in Hebei were exempt from subsequent inspections, but it was not clear how such vehicles would be distinguished.

Vehicles not registered in Beijing already must obtain permits to enter the capital, while all vehicles bound for the city must also pass emissions tests to curb pollution.

On July 20, security at checkpoints in both Beijing and Hebei would be stepped up with "suspicious vehicles and passengers" undergoing more thorough checks, it said.