Beijing Olympics Security

China is mobilizing an anti-terrorism force of 100,000 to protect next month's Olympic Games that includes SWAT teams on Segways and officers who can shoot nets like Spider-Man at suspects.

An additional 500,000 volunteers will be on neighborhood street corners to watch for suspicious people. And there's a reward up to $73,000 for anyone who tips police to a major terrorist threat.

Vice President Xi Jinping told a "mobilization" rally held off Tiananmen Square last week that "a safe Olympics is the most significant symbol of a successful Olympics in Beijing and also the most important symbol to display the national image of China." [...]

"Once the Olympic torch relay started, it was obvious that China has opponents. So the government is determined to secure the Games," he says. "They are making a huge effort to ensure that not the slightest security failure takes place. They do not want China to lose face."

Protecting that image are the most well-trained and highly armed professionals in recent Chinese history. The government has placed surface-to-air missiles around the major Olympics venues. Beijing's SWAT team was launched in November 2005 and now numbers around 1,000 who will focus on anti-terrorism and riot control, according to the Beijing police department.

China also has the Snow Leopard Commando Unit, an elite police tactical force that trained at a secret camp for five years to be used if terrorists, hijackings or bombs threaten the Aug. 8-24 Games, according to the Beijing Review, a state magazine. And last month, the 120-member No. 1 Detachment of Beijing SWAT was renamed the Blue Sword Commando Unit.

The SWAT arsenal includes guns that shoot a nylon net resembling a spider web to ensnare anyone considered a threat. Beijing SWAT teams "have net guns among their weapons," says Zi Xiangdong with the city's police department. "They do not always carry them, but bring them according to the situation and will deploy them when necessary."

In recent years, each of China's 31 provinces have set up SWAT teams. On July 2, the Jinan SWAT team in eastern China's Shandong province held an Olympic anti-terrorism training drill that featured armed police riding Segways. Officers in precision clutched the vehicles' posts between their legs while aiming guns at cars and other targets.

Pictures of the drill provoked humor both in China and abroad, amid concern that the riders could lose their balance from the recoil of the gun.

"The Segway has a stabilizing system, and the police have undergone specialized training so that they will not fall over if they fire a gun," assures Liu Wei, a Segway spokesperson in Beijing.