22274: Esser: China to send anti-riot peacekeepers for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

XINHUA

June 05, 2004

China to send anti-riot peacekeepers for Haiti       

China kicked off a three-month training for 148 anti-riot policemen
on Friday, and will select 125 to compose its first team of anti-riot
peacekeepers for missions in Haiti, according to the Ministry of
Public Security.

Vice Minister Meng Hongwei said Friday at the training's opening
ceremony that the anti-riot peacekeeping team would help maintain
local public security order and handle possible social turbulence,
which would require rigid and higher standards in skills and
disciplines than a common peacekeeping police.

The team will head for Haiti in early September this year and stay
there for about six months.

"China's active involvement in peacekeeping missions of the United
Nations, especially in Haiti which has not set up a diplomatic
relationship with China, fully exhibits a peace-loving and
responsible image of the country," Meng said.

According to him, the 148 trainees, including 13 females, come from
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities and are aged
28 on average, with the oldest up to 41 and the youngest only 22.

 From the Tianjin anti-riot squadron, Yang Yunsheng, 41, was quite
confident in fulfilling the training. "We will cooperate and train
hard to build a powerful force with tenacious style, adept skills and
strict disciplines," Yang said in his oath.

Female trainee Han Yiqiu said her major goal was to build up her
physical strength so that she could get qualified for the mission
when the training ended.

The organization of an anti-riot team with international working
experience could not only boost the government's cause of promoting
peace and stability in the world, but also benefit domestic public
order, especially the security defense work for the 2008 Olympic
Games to be held in Beijing, Meng acknowledged.

Since 1999, the Chinese government has sent 253 police to participate
in UN peacekeeping missions, including operations in East Timor,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liberia, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Haiti.
Currently, 55 policemen are still left in these areas for
peacekeeping tasks. .
.