Foreign-language services available to visitors

SHANGHAI - The Shanghai municipal public security bureau has launched foreign-language services to assist overseas visitors to Shanghai during the Expo.

The emergency police hotline 110, which formerly provided only Chinese-language services, is now offering services in nine foreign languages. These include English, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Korean and Italian.

Related readings:  Shanghai promises to host the best Worlds  Shanghai Police warn of jewelry robberies on buses  Youths in Shanghai gather to go green  Say it in Shanghai-Lesson 13

Police officers fluent in foreign languages have also been dispatched to airports, railway stations, seaports and bus stations. These officers will offer services in five languages and will help foreign visitors hoping to travel in China, said Tang Haixing, director of the port department of the Expo security office.

Railway police have assigned 24 English-speaking officers to Shanghai Railway Station and Shanghai South Railway Station.

Shanghai's social order has remained stable since May 1, said He He, deputy director of the Expo security office.

Criminal cases have decreased by 43 percent. Traffic and fire accidents have respectively decreased by 29.4 percent and 48.1 percent, He said.

Police have advised visitors to take care of valuables in the Expo Garden, especially in crowded areas.

Zhao Yong, the head of the criminal investigation department of the municipal public security bureau, said 40 percent of visitors who claimed to have lost items believed they had misplaced them in the Garden, while another 40 percent could not remember when and where they had lost their belongings.

"We remind tourists to frequently check to make sure they have their belongings, especially after a meal or when they move from a resting place," Zhao said. "We also encourage visitors to carry their cameras and backs in front of them when in large crowds."

Zhao also suggested visitors report lost items to the police or to the Expo Garden's lost and found offices.

"If visitors find unattended belongings, we encourage them to call 110 or to notify Expo Garden staff," Zhao said.