Chinese police on the beat in Italy s cities

Rome June 5 (IANS/AKI) Unarmed Chinese policemen began patrolling Italy s cities on Monday alongside Italian colleagues after the success of an initiative last month when Italian police officers were deployed to Peking and Shanghai to assist tourists.

The Chinese policemen are on the beat in the Italian capital Rome in the art city of Florence in the southern city of Naples and the northern city of Milan until June 24 in the experiment Italian and Chinese officials said.

The 12 Chinese police officers are tasked with safeguarding public security and helping Chinese tourists deal with embassies and consulates as well as with Italian authorities.

We are certain that for Chinese people who are in Italy just as for Italians in China it is very helpful to spot a friendly police uniform said Italy s Deputy Police Chief Antonino Cufalo.

Cufalo presented the initiative to reporters at Rome s Spanish Steps with Italian security officials China s Ambassador to Italy and Chinese officials.

I believed that the cooperation involved in the joint patrols meets a need felt by many Chinese tourists in Italy and Italians visiting China said Chinese envoy Li Ruiyu.

The experimental project in Italy may be repeated in future during the peaks of the Chinese tourist season the officials said.

--IANS/AKI
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