Police at all levels have been ordered to crack down on
tourism-related crimes during the National Day holiday, the
Ministry of Public Security said.
The holiday period is one of the country's major tourism weeks,
during which many people travel to destinations across the
country.
In a notice released on Saturday, the ministry said it will work
with local departments to strengthen the supervision and patrol of
tourist sites and tourism facilities in a bid to weed out "hidden
dangers."
Hard strikes will be given to activities including pornography,
gambling, drug taking, forced buying and selling, swindling, and
maltreatment of tourists at scenic spots, according to the
notice.
Violations of public security, including theft, explosions and
unexpected accidents, must be guarded against, and extra efforts
should be made to seize illegal guns and explosives, the notice
added.
October 1 is the beginning of the National Day holiday. It was
first officially prolonged to a week-long holiday in 1999. The
National Day holidays have become a "golden week" for the economy
with more people spending money in restaurants and on
entertainment.
During the last National Day holidays, Beijing recorded 4.32
million visitors.
Meanwhile, police have cracked nearly 500 gang cases since it
launched a crackdown against Mafia-style crimes in February 2006,
according to authoritative sources.
Police so far have referred 340 cases of alleged gang crimes for
prosecution, said a spokesman for the office for national campaign
against organized crime.
The spokesman did not explain what happened in the other
cases.
More than 4,000 criminal gangs were wiped out during the
campaign, the spokesman added.
Thanks to the crackdown, the number of serious crimes including
homicide and robbery has dropped year-on-year in the first half of
this year, said the spokesman.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)