Excessive security may lead to ‘no-fun’ Olympics

Probably the biggest challenge the Chinese have to face is ensuring that their intense security doesn’t suffocate the festival atmosphere that usually surrounds the Olympics.

Just three weeks before the Beijing Olympics, concerns are growing that China’s sweeping security measures could end up sucking all the fun out of the world’s biggest sportsfest.

The atmosphere was less than festive this week at a checkpoint in Yanjiao on the outskirts of Beijing, one of hundreds thrown up around the capital where police with laptops and sniffer dogs halt traffic.

“I know they are working hard, but this really is overkill. We had been checked three times already before we arrived here,” said a bus driver from neighbouring Hebei Province.

The checkpoints are part of a security operation thrown up around the Games by leaders who fear they could be marred by protests, sabotage by “hostile forces” or terrorist attack.

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