Beijing will be able to hold a safe Olympic Games while keeping the relevant costs low said Liu Shaowu, head of the Security Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

"We will adhere to a principle of frugality for the Olympic Games, and we remain confident that the safety of the Games will be achieved at a low cost," he said in a recent interview.

The BOCOG announced in 2005 that the security cost of the 2008 Games would stand at US$300 million, around 20 percent of the total spent at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Liu, also deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, said this confidence rests on several reasons.

The city has worked hard of late to unilaterally improve its security system, focusing on technology, information and equipment, enabling Liu to predict the system is now able to oversee the security for the Olympics. Liu admitted that all that remains to be done is to strengthen some specific aspects since the equipment is not good enough.

Around 20 government agencies are collaborating to develop the Games' security plan, including the municipal public security, the fire fighting bureaus, the Ministry of National Security, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Mutual aid between these organizations will help cut costs since external contracting will not be necessary.

The general public will also be actively encouraged to aid a smooth and safe staging of the Games, said Liu, adding that volunteers would be recruited to help out. These volunteers will be drawn from military colleges, armed police colleges, and public security universities.

When finally put together, police, security personnel, and residents will be on the watch throughout Beijing for any infringement of public security.

(China Daily March 6, 2007)