China pledges to keep security at Asian Games

GUANGZHOU - China has made every effort to ensure security at the Asian Games which will open in South China's Guangzhou city on Friday, security authorities said Thursday.

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"The security panel of the Guangzhou Asian Games has adopted effective and necessary measures to ensure a safe Games. We have done our best to provide a safe and favorable environment for athletes, coaches, officials and audiences," said a statement from the security panel, which is headed by Li Dongsheng, a senior official with the Ministry of Public Security.

"As the Guangzhou Asian Games will have the most ever athletes, officials and reporters in the history of the Asian Games, the security work is a great challenge," the statement said.

The security work for the opening ceremony is even more difficult as it will be held on an island in the Pearl River, and so the security work will have to cover land, air and sea, it said.

About 103,000 police officers will be engaged in security affairs at the Games, it said.

Guangdong province, where Guangzhou is located, has reached security cooperation agreements with six neighboring provinces and autonomous regions to beef up security, the statement said.

The security team also apologized for any inconvenience the security measures have caused to local residents and asked for their understanding and cooperation.