Tallainen tupsahti sahkopostiini pari paivaa sitten. Ei aavistustakaan missa tama on ilmestynyt, mutta jotenkin kummasti artikkeli nosti hymyn suupieleen valittomasti.

Kiinassa juhlistetaan pian Keskustan valtakunnan 60 vuotista taivalta ja KAIKKI mahdolliset keinot on otettu kayttoon kaiken sujumiseksi mutkattomasti ja turvallisesti.

...

"Stabbings bring cutting-edge security in Beijing

Raymond Li in Beijing
Sep 21, 2009

Kitchen knife too dull or the blade separated from the handle and you
need a new one? Your paper cutter needs replacing?

In Beijing, you're out of luck for a couple of weeks.

Supermarkets and stores have been ordered to halt sales of kitchen
knives and other sharp objects until after October 1, the 60th
anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

The draconian measures came after two stabbings in three days in
downtown Beijing that have overshadowed preparations for the massive
National Day parade.

Several police officers were seen performing spot checks at a Wal-mart
outlet at Wanda Plaza in the central business district, apparently to
enforce the ban. In the store's kitchenware section, managers told the
officers that kitchen knives and other sharp items such as paper
cutters in the stationery section had been taken off shelves.

A Wal-mart saleswoman said the ban would be in place until the end of
National Day celebrations. "We've been told to halt the sale of knives
as they might be used as weapons."

A few hundred metres from the Wal-mart store, an employee at Bonjour,
a French-based supermarket chain, said they had received notice of the
ban on Friday, and another worker said paper cutters longer than 7cm
were no longer on display. But another saleswoman was seen taking a
box of paper cutters from a shelf and selling one with a 9cm blade.

As the anniversary approaches, Beijing has seen the most elaborate
security exercise since the Beijing Olympics last year.

Uniformed security personnel are guarding key spots such as flyovers,
and commuters are required to go through stringent security checks
before being allowed to board subway trains and inter-city buses.

City authorities also want no unaccounted for flying objects, as they
have also banned kites and homing pigeons - a common sight in the
skies above Beijing parks - between September 15 and October 8.

Three knife-wielding men killed at least two people and injured 14 in
Dashilan, a Beijing downtown neighbourhood frequented by tourists, on
Thursday night. On Saturday a Frenchwoman was attacked by a man in his
early 40s who was believed to be disillusioned and jobless. The victim
suffered only minor injuries."