BEIJING – On alert for protests and terrorist attacks against the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese authorities put heavy security in place in central Beijing on Friday when the Games started.
At three subway stations in the vicinity of Beijing National Stadium -- more commonly referred to as the "Bird's Nest" -- which is the venue for the opening ceremony, station entrances and exits were closed at midnight Friday so that people could not use them. At 6 a.m., access to roads leading to the Bird's Nest was limited to Olympic-related activity in an area of about 5 kilometers from north to south and about 1 kilometer from east to west, as police officers on alert set up barricades.
