Security apparatus in place for visit to historical landmarks

Mount Fortress

Ruins of St. Paul’s

On the sidelines of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum Macau, Li Keqiang toured several heritage landmarks in the city’s historical center yesterday afternoon.
The visit was surrounded by very high security measures that included the closure of several streets in the surroundings of the Ruins of Saint Paul’s and a detailed search to all media equipment with the use of special unit police dogs capable of detecting explosives and other dangerous substances.
The flow of people to the touristic sites was also stopped for several hours with the police forces and other authorities organizing a very controlled number of people to receive the Premier companied by the Chief Executive Chui Sai On and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam among other government officials.
The number of plain-clothes police officers and security members was visibly high and occupied all the strategic places and surrounding buildings including all the nearby rooftops.
Local residents living in the area were not only prevented from entering or exiting from their buildings but, in some cases, they have been ordered to vacate window and balcony space, being forced to be inside their houses with the shades or curtains closed.
Only a few minutes after the exit of the Chinese officials normality returned to the area and the tourists were able to return to sites. RM