The 60th anniversary of the CCP’s Rule finally passed. The $44 million celebration on Tiananmen Square on October 1 was a grand parade of thousands of troops along with 30 blocks of weapons, including jets, tanks, and missile-toting trucks. The communist leaders and the state media boasted of the prosperous and glorious era that China is in and the bright prospect of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
However, one “disharmonious” tone throughout the entire preparation and actual celebration was the extremely tight security control in Beijing. The Ministry of Public Security set up a “security moat” in neighboring provinces, including Hebei, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shandong provinces, and the Tianjin municipality, telling police to keep “all unstable factors” out of Beijing. More than 100,000 participated, but, except for top Communist leaders and 30,000 carefully selected guests, there was no live audience. Beijing residents had to stay at home and watch the parade on TV like the rest of the country. For the safety of the celebration, many areas of the Capital were blocked and businesses were closed. Staff and residents could not even open their windows; supermarkets could not sell sharp knives and all participants had to sign secrecy agreements prohibiting them from talking to journalists, taking photos, or sending text messages.
So, is China really in a “harmonious” “peaceful” development stage as the government portrays to its people and the outside world, or is it sitting on widespread social unrest that could explode at any moment? From the ethnic group conflicts in Tibet and Xinjiang to massive protests throughout this year, from the voice of “nationalize the army” inside the military to millions of people withdrawing their membership from the communist party, the answer is obvious.
And from the unprecedented virtual “martial law” during this “harmonious” era, the CCP leaders are telling the world that they could not agree more.
Below are selected briefings on a few Chinese news reports about the security issues for the 60th anniversary Day:
Xinhua: Passes Required for Residents near Tiananmen
During the period of September 23 to 29, non-local residents living in the “Celebration Control Area” will be given temporary passes to go in and out. Local residents will be required to present their identification cards. This measure impacts around ten thousand families living near the Tiananmen Square area.
Source: Xinhua, September 25, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2009-09/25/content_12109108.htm
Beijing Steps Up Police Patrols on Commuter Buses
Xinhua reported that, to be in sync with the communist regime’s national day celebration security plan, Beijing initiated full-scale police monitoring of the public transportation system, including commuter buses, commuter trains, long-distance buses between Beijing and other provinces, taxies, and rental buses. Uniformed police rode along in the buses and took places in each and every train station. Companies and organizations also provided 15,000 volunteers to prevent any unexpected and objectionable incident as well as to maintain control over the public transportation system.
During the previous week, the police searched 7.3 million people and 7 million bags and other items.
Source: Xinhua, September 24, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/24/content_12107824.htm
Xi’an Installing Monitoring Systems on All Public Transportation Vehicles
The Xi’an Party Committee and the government decided to install monitoring systems on more than 4,400 public transportation vehicles, a measure to ensure social stability during the 60th Anniversary celebrations. This is part of a larger Public Transportation Technological Safeguard System. The system is a required element to protect public safety.
Source: China Economy Net, September 23, 2009.
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/200909/23/t20090923_20081637.shtml
China News Agency: Beijing Applies “New High Tech Devices” to Protect National Day
According to a China News Agency article on September 18, 2009, a series of “new high tech devices” used for security purposes will protect the National Day celebration.
• An access system at the Beijing Capital International Airport to check passenger’s facial features and verify his/her identity against a database within one second.
• A traffic warning system to predict whether the flow of passengers will reach the alert level in the next 10 minutes and to monitor any non-regular gatherings and other abnormal behavior.
• “Electric Eyes,” a wireless monitoring system on the high-voltage electric transmission lines to immediately alarm the police through wireless communication once the top of a large vehicle gets too close to the electric lines.
• A light-emitting monitoring device to monitor any large machinery movements in the surrounding areas all day long on National Day.
• A command center on Tiananmen Square from October 2 to 8 to monitor the whole square around the clock. It will monitor Tiananmen Square with electronic eyes and GPS equipment and dispatch staff to the scene within 10 minutes.
Source: China News Agency, September 18, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/09-19/1874917.shtml
Zhou Yongkang: Maintaining Stability in the Capital is the Most Overriding Political Task
On September 12, 2009, Zhou Yongkang, a Political Bureau Standing Committee member of the CCP Central Committee and the secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission presided over a meeting in Beijing on maintaining stability, according to Xinhua.
He stressed that maintaining stability in the capital is the current most overriding political task. Beijing must apply the successful security experience during the Olympic Games period by mobilizing the masses to form a security network named the “coordination of experts and the masses” and the “united defense of the police and the ordinary people” so as to have a people’s war for national security during the National Day Celebration. To ensure the safety of the military parade, the mass celebration gathering, and other major events on National Day in Beijing, all the neighboring regions, cities and provinces around Beijing must immediately launch the “Moat” projects and strengthen security checks for the purpose of eliminating any unstable factors outside the capital city. The whole country must support maintaining stability in the capital.
Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, September 13, 2009
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/nfjx/200909130018.asp
Ministry of Public Security Strengthens Society’s Management and Control
On September 8, the Ministry of Public Security held an audio-video conference on Strengthening Society’s Management and Control, requesting that public security organizations at all levels closely follow the meeting spirit of the August 17 conference on Safeguarding Security during the 60th Anniversary Celebration of National Day, to ensure social stability and create a good social environment for the celebration.
The Ministry of Public Security also requested that the 6 neighboring provinces and the City of Tianjin become the “moat” for Beijing, providing a safety buffer for Beijing by implementing strict checkups and control processes. Public security organizations at all levels and all other departments and police organizations must implement emergency command processes with 24 hour on-duty staff and preparation under real battle conditions.
Source: Ministry of Public Security, September 8, 2009
http://www.mps.gov.cn/n16/n1237/n1342/n803715/2050129.html
Xinhua: Beijing Police Strengthen Control with the Approach of National Day
With the approach of the National Day Celebration, the Beijing police preventive control measures are gradually strengthening. Pedestrians experience road closures; drivers encounter a limitation on the number of vehicles on the road; passengers “enjoy” “luggage checks” whenever carrying a bag, etc. What makes Beijing residents complain most are the frequent traffic restrictions and subway outages without being notified on time. These create inconvenience and trouble when the city residents have activities outdoors. More and more community police, traffic police, and armed police are on the Beijing streets. They have increased patrol times and intensity, which leads to more visibility of the police and police patrols and to their having wider coverage. The inspections and searches in Internet cafes, game rooms, beauty shops, dance halls, hotels, and inns are thus more frequent and thorough. Security on National Day is very important. Under the present circumstances, we need to particularly prevent the activities of “East Turkistan,” “Tibetan Independents,” and “Falun Gong.”
Source: Xinhua, September 07, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-09/07/content_12008597.htm
Beijing Held Its First National Day Parade Rehearsal
In the early morning on August 29, 2009, the first rehearsal for China’s National Day Parade took place at Tiananmen Square, China News Agency reported. The practice started at 3 a.m. and lasted for an hour. About 100,000 people marched for 35 parade blocks, passing Tiananmen Square. Many college students participated in this patriotic event. The security, transportation control, medical, and weather forecast groups also participated in the practice.
The Beijing police started three security patrol lines based on the 2008 Olympic security control experience. The patrol control level has been increased to Level 2. Every day, nearly 7,000 policemen from the patrol police and special police departments patrol the streets and special areas.
Source: China News Agency, August 29, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/news/2009/08-29/1840252.shtml