BEIJING - China announced on Monday it would tighten public security measures ahead of the Olympic Games in the wake of alleged terror plots and unrest in Tibet.
Measures will be taken to protect oil and gas networks from sabotage, and special attention will be paid to the security of public recreational places, hotels and leased housing, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Illegal guns and explosives will also be seized, it said.
Details of the security measures were also posted on the website of China's Ministry of Public Security.
The country overall is currently stable, the ministry said, but "there still exist some unstable elements that could influence the smooth running of the Olympic Games."
The announcement comes after China made public several alleged terror plots, amid skepticism over whether Beijing is inflating a terror threat to justify tighter control on dissent ahead of the Olympics in August.
China said last week it had cracked a terrorist group plotting to kidnap foreigners during the Games, and another that planned to carry out attacks with toxic materials.
Xinjiang officials said last month that police on January 27 smashed a terrorist group planning an attack on the Beijing Olympics and that a separate bid to blow up a Chinese airliner was foiled in March.
Chinese authorities have refused to publicise evidence relating to either two incidents, fuelling accusations from rights groups and exiles that the plots had been fabricated by Beijing.
China has also accused Tibetan independence forces of planning suicide attacks, which has since been denied by Tibet's government in exile in Dharamsala, India.
The heightened security measures are part of a seven-month campaign from April to October this year to ensure stability for the Olympic Games, the ministry said.
mbx/skj
04/14/2008 12:33 GMT