Memorial ceremony held to mourn Chinese peacekeepers killed in Haiti quake

A memorial ceremony has been held in Beijing to commemorate the eight Chinese peacekeepers who died in Haiti's earthquake. Their colleagues back home are greatly saddened by the huge loss.

The memorial hall is prepared at the Ministry of Public Security. Police officers from all over the capital have been gathering since early this morning to pay their tributes to the officers. Six of them had only arrived in Haiti just four days before disaster struck.

Senior officers from the Ministry described the eight peacekeepers as "outstanding officers" and "guardians of world peace." Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also called the ministry to express his sorrow and pass on condolences to the deceased officers' families.

The Foreign Ministry has made it clear that China will consider sending more peacekeepers to Haiti if needed. Since October 2004, the Chinese government has dispatched eight peacekeeping and anti-riot police teams to Haiti at the request of the UN.

Chinese peacekeepers bid farewell to the bodies of Chinese victims in  Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 17, 2010. The bodies of eight Chinese  police officers who died in the Haiti quake would be brought home by  a chartered plane of China Southern Airlines.(Xinhua/Yuan Man)