Shanghai beefs up security ahead of CICA Summit

The streets of Shanghai have been swarming with security guards and police officers in preparation for this week’s upcoming Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), to be held at the Shanghai Expo Centre May 20th and 21st.
“Emergency units” have been established, in charge of ensuring the safety and security in key areas of the city such as bus stops. From April 20th, already over 1,000 police officers have been certified to carry 9mm revolvers in their patrols and have been stationed on the busiest streets of Shanghai.

With heightened security already in place at Shanghai railway stations following this year’s Kunming attack, Shanghai airport has also maximized its security with armed soldiers doing 24-hour patrols around the vicinity.

The Huangpu River and Yangtze River are also under intense scrutiny with a total of 42 patrol boats inspecting all incoming and outgoing traffic.
The entire city is on high security alert as the summit will be attended by 11 heads of states and one government head including President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
10 chiefs of international organisations will also be making appearances, including the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Many have high hopes for the summit, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping claims that CICA member states are set to issue a Shanghai Declaration to commit the strengthening of strategic coordination and an integrated security environment.
As the event approaches, the city is only set to have an even higher security presences; the price we pay for a day off work.
[Photo credits: pic.twitter.com/HN7AWrJMMj and //CCTV]

By Mandy Liang

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