Across China: Beijing

3-step guide to policing

Meng Jianzhu, minister of public security, said in an article published in yesterday's Qiushi magazine that in handling mass incidents, authorities must exercise "three cautions" in using police, weapons and coercive force.

"In handling mass incidents, we must be clear that the chief tasks of the public security authorities are to maintain order on the scene, ease conflicts, avoid excessive steps and prevent the situation getting out of control," he wrote in the article.