China, eager to use the Games to showcase its rise as a modern economic power, has already instituted a raft of security measures. A 100,000-strong anti-terrorism force is in place, surface-to-air missiles have been deployed around the major venues and bag searches are conducted on the subway.
Hundreds of armed police checkpoints have been set up on the edge of Beijing to prevent "dangerous materials and people" getting into the Olympic host city.
Every vehicle coming into the city will be checked and three security rings would be established around the city.
Olympic security costs have spiraled since the 2001 attacks on the United States, but China is hoping to secure the Beijing Games for considerably less than the $1.8 billion spent in Athens four years ago by using its own forces.
Rights groups say that China is using Olympic security as an excuse to crack down on internal dissent, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet, the scene of the March 14 riots that sparked anti-Chinese protests around the world.
Image: A Chinese police officer checks the passengers' identity cards as he inspects a vehicle at a checkpoint in Beijing.
Advertisement
