Critics Rounded Up in Beijing

Ahead of the Olympic Games, Beijing is being emptied of political critics, underground Christian organizers, and ordinary Chinese who come to the capital to protest local government injustices. Officials in charge of security have denied they are rounding up peaceful critics and have defended their actions as necessary, given global terrorism’s scope and the publicity attacking the Olympics would bring. To squelch any threat, they are mobilizing an army of security many times greater than previous Olympics — 110,000 police, riot squads, and special forces, augmented by more than 300,000 Olympic volunteers and neighborhood watch members.