Militia soldiers patrol railway stations in Beijing area

More than 2,000 militia soldiers have taken turns patrolling railway stations in Beijing and neighboring regions since May 10, The Beijing News reported on Tuesday.

The Beijing Railway Administration organized 2,200 militiamen to patrol at six railway stations in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province since May 10, aiming to ensure public security and make such patrols regular, the report said.

Four hundred militia soldiers were dispatched to Beijing Railway Station to provide patrols from 8 am to 11 pm each day, the report said, adding such patrols would help police deal with attacks such as those that occurred at railway stations in the past two months.

A passenger surnamed Wang told the paper she felt more secure when saw the patrols at the station, and she hoped they would continue.

On May 6, six people were injured after being attacked by a man with a knife in Guangzhou, while on March 1, 29 people were killed and 143 injured in an organized attack at a railway station in Kunming, Yunnan province.