Police in southern China practice ‘anti-terrorism’ drills, including villagers protesting against forced evictions

Hundreds of police in southern China’s Guangdong province have conducted anti-terrorist drills, including a scenario of handling villagers protesting against forced evictions.

More than 650 officers practiced using net guns, demolition tools, bomb-disposal equipment and “advanced police equipment”.

The drill was designed to test police’s crisis handling skills after a month of intensified training.

The first scene involved a knife-wielding assailants attacking civilians while another tested officers’ response to a hold up of an armoured cash carrier.

Police were also trained to handle mock protest by disgruntled villagers blocking construction of a land project after they were forcefully evicted. Police responded quickly by dividing crowds in smaller groups to be dispersed before rounding up and arresting the protest leaders.

The drill was arranged by the public security bureau in Pengjiang district of Jiangmen, in the western part of the Pearl River Delta. The city is centrally located between Guangzhou, Taishan and Zhongshan, which respectively have seen a knife attack outside a main railway station by suspected Uygur separatists, residents’ clashes against a nuclear fuel disposal facility, and village protests against illegal land grabs.