One hundred and thirty-one Chinese anti-riot policemen passed a final UN recruitment exam for peacekeepers on Sunday and 125 of them will be dispatched to Haiti in August on a UN peacekeeping mission. 

 

This will be the fourth unit of UN peacekeepers dispatched to Haiti by China.  

 

The UN selection process, held at the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center in Langfang of North China's Hebei Province which is 50 km southeast of Beijing, includes training and exams on anti-riot procedures, search methods, VIP protection, combat techniques, psychology skills, physical agility, driving and vehicle maintenance. 

 

Deputy Chief Adviser to the UN mission in Haiti, John Smith, said the Chinese policemen were very professional and he believed they'd play an important role in improving the unstable situation in Haiti. 

 

All members of the unit received advanced training for five months prior to their examinations in 31 disciplines including shooting, driving and anti-riot procedures. 

 

Ministry figures show over 700 of its police peacekeepers have served on UN missions since China dispatched the first team in 2000. 

 

"All provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China have contributed to the operations," said Gao Xinman, deputy director of the training center. 

 

China is the second largest contributor of peacekeeping police officers of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and they're working under the UN flag in several locations including Kosovo, Liberia, East Timor, Afghanistan, Sudan and Haiti. The length of a tour of duty for Chinese peacekeepers varies from 8 months to one year. 

 

And they've many plaudits for their work because of their strict discipline and high efficiency. In January 2005 Chinese peacekeeping police in Haiti were awarded UN peace medals for their outstanding performance in the crisis-torn country. This is the highest honor granted by the UN for peacekeeping missions. 

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2006)