Many Chinese expect their government to extend an umbrella of protection and care over them – this is the system in which they have grown up, so they welcome a strong show of security. Don’t forget also, that Chengdu is in Sichuan, and close to recent protests in the Tibetan sphere. The Chinese will no doubt be less well informed of the issues, but well informed of the ‘separatist unrest’ which may even be conflated with the brutal July 2009 riots in Xinjiang which killed 200 people.

Anyway, a smart and sexy PR ready SWAT team looks good for the local govt and the local people like it, even though to us it looks like a clown show. I’m not sure about the training – exercises shown on TV are even more funny, like jumping through burning hoops and staged events. Very similar to the Russian shows. When it comes to the real thing, the Police often show a hamfisted approach, undertrained in soft control and resort to blunt tactics. They don’t mess round though – they shot a hostage taker in a Carrefour a couple of years ago when they drew him out with some noodles they’d left him.