Macao's police chief said Wednesday that the city's entire police force would be put on duty to beef up public security during the Macao leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay.
Macao is the last stop of the Olympic torch relay outside the Chinese Mainland, after which the flame will continue its journey in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the Mainland.
Local police have made "sufficient" preparations for the torch relay, such as information collection, risk assessment and contingency plans, said Cheong Kuoc Va, secretary for security of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) government.
Since the entire police force will be on duty to secure a stable law-and-order situation in the island city during the event, police officers have had to cancel their vacation plans, he said, adding that the police force "has prepared for the best and the worst."
Some 120 torch bearers will participate in the Macao-leg relay, and the 26-km route will cover well-known places and landmark buildings in Macao.
Cheong said that they have sent delegates to the neighboring Hong Kong region to observe a security drill of the torch relay there.
The Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive in Macao from the neighboring Hong Kong region on May 2. After completing its relay the next day, the flame will be delivered to Sanya, regional capital of China's Hainan province.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2008)