Chinese police appear at the opening ceremony for the Second World Police Service Pistol Shooting Championship in Foshan, South China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday. (Photo: Cui Meng)
In the lobby of a high-end hotel, Chinese police officers Xia Feng and Sun Wanpeng are on a mission to protect an important figure. They spot danger. In less than 17 seconds, they fire dozens of bullets and kill over 10 targets.
This is not reality, but a simulated scene at the second World Police Service Pistol Shooting Championship in Foshan, South China's Guangdong Province. Organized by the International Police Sports Union (USIP) and the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the event organizers invited 256 police officers from 68 countries and regions worldwide to attend the competition from Wednesday to Monday.
Real-world scenarios
Unlike traditional shooting competitions, the World Police Service Pistol Shooting Championship creates 10 scenes to simulate real-world scenarios, such as dealing with a stabbing spree on a campus, an anti-terrorism operation in a subway station, or guarding an important person.
The scenes, which are closely related to the police profession, are designed to test the contestants' speed, precision, immediate response and the ability to deal with psychological pressure when an emergency occurs.
Alain Joly, head referee of the championship, said all the scenarios are kept a secret from the contestants before the competition begins. To test their response, during each competition, the contestants are only given one chance to react.
Xia and Sun are among the four male and four female Chinese officers who were selected to attend the championship. This August, they stood out from over 200 sharpshooters nationwide through a preliminary competition, and went through special training one month prior to the championship.
Sun is the vice leader of a SWAT team in Guangzhou and has won numerous shooting awards before.
The duo aced in the hotel lobby scenario on Wednesday. They were followed by two female Chinese contestants, who completed the targets in the scene even quicker, in 16.56 seconds. Compared with two teams from other countries, who spent over 50 seconds to shoot all the targets, the Chinese contestants outperformed them with a sweeping lead.
"They performed normally," said Tang Qiang, the coach of the Chinese team. He added that Chinese contestants are well-prepared for the championship after one month of training.
The championship provides two pistol models for the contestants, the MP22 and the 92G, according to Wu Qingxiong, vice director of the public security administration bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. Contestants from some 23 countries brought their own guns.
Held in Guangdong
In order to better serve the event, an international-standard 270-degree shooting range and multi-functional shooting complex was built in Foshan. The shooting range will also serve as a venue for the training of Chinese policemen.
In 2015, the USIP held the first World Police Service Pistol Shooting Championship in Budapest, Hungary. According to its website, the USIP was established in 1990. With 66 member countries, it aims to promote and encourage sports within all police forces in the world.
Simon Geza, vice president of the USIP, told the Global Times that he expressed the intention to invite Guangdong to host the championship during a visit to the city in April 2016. Following his visit, USIP sent an official letter to Guangdong authorities repeating the invitation. After discussions, the Ministry of Public Security officially authorized the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department to host the event in 2017.
The opening ceremony was attended by police delegations and referees from 73 countries and regions. Many countries are along the Belt and Road routes.
Wang Xiaohong, executive vice minister of the Ministry of Public Security, said in a speech during the ceremony that such a sporting event, which gathers police officers from many countries, can boost global exchanges and promote international police cooperation and legal enforcement capabilities.