China’s first world soccer tournament began at...

China’s first world soccer tournament began at Peking under tight security against crowd violence and a government prize for fans who engaged in such model behavior as “civilized clapping.”

Chinese authorities deployed thousands of police around the Workers’ Stadium at Peking to guard against a repetition of the riot that occurred after a World Cup tie in the same stadium in May when Hong Kong beat the Chinese national team.

Spectators were searched and forbidden to carry bags into the stadium for the match, the first in the International Football Federation (FIFA) under-16 world tournament.

There was no trouble as China and Bolivia played to a 1-1 tie and the United States lost to Guinea, 1-0.

Once in the stadium, the near-capacity crowd of 80,000 was repeatedly told by loudspeaker announcements to be “disciplined and civilized.”

The tournament, involving 16 teams, is being held simultaneously in four Chinese cities (Shanghai, Peking, Dalian and Tianjin) and authorities have started a competition among the cities to ensure violence-free games. The crowds win or lose points depending on behavior, and the winning city gets a trophy. The Peking crowd would have won points for “civilized clapping” but would also have lost a few for “jeering in unison.”