Italian Police to Patrol Beijing
Four Italian police officers will perform joint patrols with their Chinese counterparts at Beijing tourist destinations as part of an ongoing international exchange between China and Italy.
Over the next two weeks, the patrols will be conducted at top local tourist attractions like the Badaling portion of the Great Wall of China, the Bird's Nest, and the Temple of Heaven before moving onto Shanghai locations.
As part of their deployment in China, the Italian police officers are ordered to strictly abide by Chinese laws and will not be equipped with any weapons. Instead, the new arrivals are instructed to offer their police training and expertise in order to assist the Chinese police officer with whom they are partnered.
As explained at an introductory ceremony held at the Ministry of Public Security on Monday, the role of the four Italian police officers is "to provide safety to Italian tourists visiting China."
In much the same way, China echoed the need to protect its own citizens when a contingent of four Chinese police officers were dispatched to Italy in May 2016 to perform joint patrols with Italian cops (shown below).
"Chinese police officers stationed abroad can provide a sense of security to Chinese expatriates as well as demonstrate the positive image of Chinese police officers to the world," said Shu Jian, a Chinese police officer from Shenzhen who took part in the joint patrols in Italy.
The apprehensiveness for Chinese tourists to travel abroad was highlighted by last year's terror attacks in Paris and Brussels that killed 24-year-old Chinese citizen Frank Deng. And yet, it turns out that Italy is actually a very safe destination for the three million Chinese tourists that visit the European country every year.
Interior minister Angelino Alfano was quoted last year as saying crime and murder rates in Italy were at an all-time low. When asked about the redundancy of the joint patrols, Alfano said Chinese tourists "would have been protected anyway, but now they will feel even more protected."
But, it's not just Italy. Chinese news media report that China is perceived by its guests as being a very safe place.
The China Youth Report cites a Quora answer in which expats in China reveal they feel extremely safe during their stay. Similarly, video interviews made by the Global Times reveal Shanghai expats feel the same way, prompting the state-run newspaper to conclude that "In Shanghai, there seems to be no such thing as imminent danger."
From how officials from both two countries describe it, it just may be that the joint patrols are less about policing (and the massive amount of selfie-taking involved) and more about strengthening bilateral ties at its highest echelon.
Liao Jinrong, director of the international cooperation office of the Ministry of Security, said the joint patrols will "continually strengthen the mutual trust and communication between the two countries as well as advancing policing skills and cultural immersion." Meanwhile, China's ambassador to Italy Xie Guoyi (Chinese Pinyin name) said the joint patrols were a way to help promote Chinese President Xi Jinping's ongoing "belt and road initiative."
Whatever impact the Italian police contingent will have during their upcoming patrols in Beijing, it's clear they have already made an impact upon a Chinese press that love compliments.
Forty-nine-year-old Italian police officer Guido Lubo has nothing but praise for his hosts. "I fervently love Chinese culture," said Lubo, whom along with his Italian peers has been described by the Chinese Police Network (news.cpd.com.cn) as having "high-arched noses and golden-colored hair."
"Not only have I studied Chinese language for five years, but have studied it at a Confucius Institute back in Rome," said Lubo.
Most impressively, Lubo used an oft-quoted Communist phrase to describe how policing in Italy and China are both the same. "It's to serve the people," Lubo said in Chinese (为人民服务 wéi rénmín fúwù).
Chinese police officers will return to Italy for another round of joint patrols this coming June.
Images: Weibo, BJNews.com.cn
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