At the request of the United Nations, China will send 125 police officers to form a contingent of riot police for a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

It will be the first time China has ever sent riot police abroad to participate in a UN peacekeeping mission.

The 125 policemen and women were selected by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security from riot police and police forces for border defense in the four municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing and will be required to pass a three-month training course, said sources from Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security on Saturday.

All 23 candidates recommended by the Shanghai public security bureau, including three policewomen, have been picked up by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the sources said. Their average age is 28.

The contingent will leave for Haiti in two groups on Sept. 12 and on Sept. 27.

China has so far sent 267 policemen and women for UN peacekeeping missions in the world since January 2000, of whom, 13are from Shanghai.

Source: Xinhua