Authorities will expel beggars from the Guangzhou Railway Station square as part of efforts to restore order to the area.

Officials also plan to install more than 30 video cameras in a bid to help reduce criminal activities which have plagued the railway station for many years.

These were among measures disclosed by the police chief and other officials who inspected the square Tuesday.

Zhang Guifang, deputy secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC, vowed to restore order in the square "at all costs."

The campaign to fight crime and restore order precedes the "spring transport period" which starts Jan. 7 next year. Millions of migrant workers will embark on their journey home from the railway station. Tens of millions of Chinese people hit the road for family reunions during the Spring Festival.

While Chinese law does not ban begging, officials said expelling beggars from the square would benefit them because they could face danger in the crowded area.

Underage beggars whose parents or guardians could not be found would be sent to orphanages or relief centers open to vagrants and beggars, officials said.

Drug addicts found in the square will be sent to drug rehabilitation centers. They would be sent to labor camps if found to be recidivist addicts.

The officials plan to deploy more policemen to the area and request the courts and procuratorates to handle cases as quickly as the law allows.

According to Zhang Tieying, vice director general of Yuexiu District Public Security Bureau, 2,289 robberies were reported in the square in the first 10 months of the year, surging 74 percent over the same period of last year.

The number of criminal cases reported in the area rose to 4,973 in the period, nearly 10 percent more than last year.

Many cases involved underage, pregnant and handicapped suspects who caused a headache for police.

(Shenzhen Daily November 13, 2003)