The recent bomb attack that killed 16 policemen in the northwestern region of Xinjiang on Monday has led to the Chinese authorities taking a number of steps to tighten security. China has already cracked down on domestic terror groups targeting the Olympics. Relying on its armed forces, Beijing hopes to pay less than a third of the $1.8 billion the previous-host Athens had paid for security. Some of the measures include:

• Tightened visa rules where in travelers are required to show a return air ticket and a hotel booking before getting a visa.

• Hong Kong, host of Olympic equestrian events and a major gateway to China, has created a watchlist of unwelcome activists, and brought in new visa restrictions ahead of the Games

•·Interpol will give Beijing airport and other major border entry points access to its database of more than 14 million lost or stolen travel documents

• A 1,00,000-strong security force, including the elite Snow Wolf Commando Unit, is already on alert for terrorists. 3,00,000 surveillance cameras have been installed to monitor the city.

•·A ban on homing pigeons and kites in seven central, southern and western districts of the city that includes about 40 neighbourhoods.

• Since May, a team of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) engineers in charge of the Games’ security checks and emergency rescues has run daily drills on finding and defusing explosives and rescuing and evacuating people from damaged buildings. The UN nuclear watchdog has trained Chinese security personnel to respond to radiological attacks.

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