Police officers from China to patrol tourist hotspots in Italy 'to help Chinese visitors feel safe?'

• Two Chinese policemen will patrol in Milan and two will be based in Rome
• The four officers will wear the same uniforms as the Italian police force 
• The Chinese, who speak Italian, received training from Italian officials
• Chinese policemen are starting to patrol with Italian officers in Rome and Milan as part of a two-week experiment.
• Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday that the aim is to make Chinese tourists feel safe. He also noted that it's the first time that China have sent police to Europe for such a project.
  Starting on Tuesday, two Chinese uniformed policemen are patrolling with Italian counterparts in Rome, while two others are based in Milan. For the second week, the Chinese will switch cities.
  

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  Chinese police Shu Jian and Sa Yiming, together with two Italian police, check the documents of a Chinese tourist group outside the Colosseum in Rome
  

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  Chinese policemen are in Italy to start patrols with Italian officers in Rome and Milan as part of a two-week experiment
  

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  Interior Minister Angelino Alfano noted that it is the first time that China have sent police to Europe for such a project
  The Chinese, who try to speak Italian, received training from officials in Beijing.
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  The four officers will wear the same uniforms as the Italian police force to make it easier for tourists to identify them.
  The idea of the project is to provide assistance to a rising number of tourists visiting major sightseeing spots. More than three million Chinese tourists visit Italy annually. 
  
  

  With two officers based in Milan and two in Rome, the policemen will switch cities in the second week of the project
  

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  Interior Minister Angelino Alfano says the aim is to make Chinese tourists feel safe
  

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  The four officers will wear the same uniforms as the Italian police force to make it easier for tourists' to identify them
  Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said: 'This service was planned with Chinese tourists in mind, and if it works well we may consider other forms of collaboration, given the presence of the Chinese community in our country.'
  The officers will share information with Italian police and help Chinese tourists if they need to contact local authorities and diplomats from Monday until May 13, the ministry said.
  Liao, the head of the Chinese International Cooperation Bureau, said the officers' assignment was a 'historic moment', recalling that the route between China and Italy had been mapped out 700 years ago by Venetian merchant traveller Marco Polo.
  

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  The officers will share information with Italian police and help Chinese tourists if they need to contact local authorities and diplomats
  

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  Liao, the head of the Chinese International Cooperation Bureau, said the officers' assignment was a 'historic moment'

  
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