Shanghai was on "terrorism alert" yesterday - and the city came
through with flying colors.
Police simulated the terror scare to test the time of response,
and officials' capability of handling such an emergency.
The drill, codenamed "No.3 Huangpu River," began in the morning
with the simulated alert that a venue in the city was under
biochemical attack by terrorists.
Under the command of the Shanghai Emergency Response Center, set
up in the Public Security Bureau building, more than 10
governmental departments, including fire control, civil defense,
environmental protection and public health, were sent to the
scene.
Officials would not reveal how many staff were involved in the
operation, nor where the exercise was carried out. The two major
aims, they said, were to test the capability of the headquarters
and the combat power of the emergency teams.
"The Shanghai government has always attached great importance to
a special anti-terrorism force," said Liu Yungeng, deputy Party
secretary of Shanghai. "We hope to make a greater contribution to
social security and stability by enhancing the anti-terrorism
outfits and improving the anti-terrorism response
capabilities."
He said the drill was successful.
(Shanghai Daily February 5, 2007)