BEIJING -- Already tight security in Beijing will be stepped up for the 2008 Olympics with paramilitary troops, electronic surveillance and even taxi drivers helping out, the government said Thursday.
Security will play dominating role at the games, the official China Daily newspaper said.
"We do not want to turn Beijing into a fortress, but a place with an auspicious and peaceful atmosphere that will make athletes, coaches and visitors feel relaxed and safe," Qiang Wei, the city's deputy Communist Party secretary, was quoted as telling the newspaper.
Police, soldiers and paramilitary troops, as well as city workers such as bus, subway and taxi drivers, will be part of the increased security, Qiang said.
The government says it wants to prevent terror attacks, but security in the capital already is tight in order to prevent any public dissent against communist rule.
The government considers the Olympics an event of enormous national pride. Authorities also typically increase monitoring of dissidents during sensitive events and anniversaries.
Chinese authorities will also adopt tactics used last year at the Olympics in Athens, which had "a vast computer surveillance network with thousands of hidden cameras and microphones that analyzed dozens of languages," the China Daily said.
