‘Say cheese’: IOC member urges Chinese police to smile

August 12, 2008 by Philip Dru 

Chinese security forces should smile more to stop terrifying foreign visitors, a Norwegian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Gerhard Heiberg, told the Aftenposten daily on Monday.

“The police and military … need to act differently. They have stony faces. They’re seriously scaring the foreigners in Beijing. Something has to be done,” he said.

“The fact that they’re armed and look sinister, just makes things worse,” he added.

Heiberg said he had talked to China’s political authorities and Olympics organisers about the issue.

“I’ve asked them to get people to smile more,” he said, noting that his request was met with … laughs.

AFP | Monday, August 11, 2008

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