Beijing police give self-defense lessons to students

Beijing police gave lessons on personal safety to students at the Beijing Film Academy on Thursday afternoon as several women around China have disappeared or been assaulted in the past two months.

Similar lessons will be extended to universities as well as middle and primary schools across the city, said Wang Wei, a publicity officer at the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

On Aug 12, Gao Qiuxi, a 19-year-old student in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, was reported missing after she was last seen heading home from school. A month later, Nanjing police confirmed that Gao had been robbed and killed that day.

On Thursday, police officer Cao Zhigang from the Beijing Public Security Bureau taught students basic self-defense tactics and told them not to take unlicensed taxis or venture out alone at night.

Cao told the students that if they have to take a so-called black cab, they should remember the car's license plate number. If they're alone, he added, they should tell their parents or friends of their whereabouts.

"Before you travel or head back to school, you should inform your families of your routes and keep in touch with them throughout the way," he told them.

Sun Jiayu, 18, a student at the academy, said she has taken illegal taxis but that she'll refrain from using them again.

"I'll ask my male friends to accompany me back to campus in the evening," she added.

Wang, of the Beijing security bureau, said protective devices such as pepper spray are helpful, especially for women.

But Wang Dawei, a professor at the People's Public Security University of China, suggested using devices that set off loud alarms for about 20 minutes to deter offenders and arouse attention from bystanders instead of using pepper spray or stun guns.

"Pepper spray and stun guns can sometimes cause excessive damage," he said.