Police have upgraded security at foreign consulates in Guangzhou in the wake of bomb blasts at Peking University and this week's hostage-taking incident at the Reuters office in Beijing.
The presence of baton-wielding police officers along Huanshi East Road yesterday was a rare sight for a mostly apolitical city, where the top priority is making money and eating well.
A Japanese consulate official said two paramilitary officers were stationed at the entrance of the Garden Hotel, where the consulate was located. This is an unusual arrangement as the government does not normally provide such security for consulates located within hotel and office buildings.
Only three of the 20 foreign consulates in Guangzhou are located in independent buildings.
Plainclothes officers were posted in the lobby of the Garden Hotel and stationed on each floor of the Guangdong International Hotel, where other countries have their consulates.
Consulates at the CITIC Plaza were protected by their own security guards.
A Guangdong foreign affairs office spokesman said it was usual to step up security before the annual spring commodities trade fair in Guangzhou.