China is deploying its second group of peacekeepers today to the
war-torn West African nation of Liberia to replace those sent last
year.
The military peacekeepers will be responsible for the safe
transport of goods and personnel during their eight-month tour of
duty, reported China Central Television on Tuesday.
At the request of the UN and approved by the Chinese government
and Central Military Commission, China sent the first contingent to
Liberia on December 10, 2003.
Since 2000, China has joined peacekeeping missions in East
Timor, Liberia and Kosovo and elsewhere, but it had never before
sent combat troops overseas.
According to the General Logistics Department of the People's
Liberation Army, before their departure the soldiers received
intensive training in weapons handling, field survival, land mine
removal and first aid.
On Saturday, a team of 125 police officers and border guards
from Guangdong
headed for Langfang City, in north China's Hebei
Province, to be trained for a peacekeeping mission in
Haiti.
The 125-member force, which includes four women, will join a
multinational unit on the troubled Caribbean island next year. The
unit is specially trained in crowd control and handling riots.
Ninety-five riot police, including 13 women, left Beijing for
Haiti in October, the first Chinese troops to be deployed to the
Western Hemisphere.
(China Daily CCTV.com December 22, 2004)
