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Subscribe to RSSBEIJING -- Let us be clear from the start: this is not a blog post about a would-be revolution.
It’s about the demonstration of state power in a police state.
Today was the second Sunday in a row of an unspecified number of mass gatherings anonymously called across the country to protest against the Chinese government and some of its policies.
At 2 p.m. local time, ordinary people were urged “to take an afternoon stroll” to show solidarity. “As long as you are present, the authoritarian government will be shaking with fear,” says the call for “Jasmine Rallies” circulating online.
In Beijing, the location was a McDonald's in the busy shopping district of Wangfujing. But just hours before the scheduled hour, rumours surfaced that the designation had been changed to a KFC a few storefronts north of the McDonald's.
This may have been due to the overnight appearance on Friday of a construction site that surrounded the original site. Wooden walls barricading some mysterious edifice took up half of the street, severely limiting traffic.
By Adrienne Mong/NBC News
Water cannon truck parks itself outside the KFC before the rally was due to begin at 2 p.m. local.
Today, we turned up in Wangfujing early and were immediately confronted with a massive police turnout. Uniformed and plainclothes officers populated the main thoroughfare every few feet. Inside the shops and malls were small groups of local community police volunteers with red armbands.
Rows of police vehicles — vans and sedans — were parked on side streets running off the main strip. At least a handful of large buses — both the tourist kind and the type used by city transport — sat next to the vehicles or on Wangfujing. We guessed they would serve as paddy wagons should things get out of hand.
It turns out the only thing that got out of hand was the security.
This was the heaviest police presence we'd seen in the capital since the 2008 Summer Olympics, and even this seemed to rival the overtly public scale of what was on display three years ago.
A shadowy detail
The designated KFC was on the first floor above ground, and there were large windows overlooking Wangfujing. We entered to eat lunch.
Tables alongside the window were occupied by plainclothes police, some carrying tourist camera bags, but all of them wearing some sort of earpiece — the telltale curly white wire running down their necks.
By Adrienne Mong/NBC News
Plainclothes security sit inside the KFC overlooking Wangfujing. Spot the earpiece on the man to the left.
One table began filming us as we stood nearby, eating at a counter.
The same group filming us followed us out of the restaurant and onto the street. They even entered the same café we dropped into to buy some coffee. One man, in a bright red anorak, stood out; his constant companion was a small digital video camera.
By now, fellow journalists we recognized were appearing and being checked for IDs. The police were taking no chances. They even stopped a western couple with two small children.
Pairs of uniformed police with large German shepherds on muzzles patrolled the street.
Three water trucks pulled up outside of the KFC entrance.
In the meantime, the 3G signal on my Blackberry was acting up. I could no longer receive/send emails or tweet (using hashtag #CN227 for today's date). China Mobile, a major state-owned telecoms company, kept our handsets firmly on GMS, which permitted only phone calls and text messages. China Unicom, another state-owned telecoms company, only had SOS service.
Flooding the zone
By Adrienne Mong/NBC News
More plainclothes police with earpieces sit inside a cafe.
Two o’clock came and went.
The water trucks were joined by one more. They began driving up and down the length of south Wangfujing, spraying the road and, more significantly, clearing it of pedestrians.
No one was allowed to loiter for long. Police regularly pushed people along, sometimes politely, sometimes roughly, but always saying the same thing, “Move along, move along, don’t stop here, you’re interfering with traffic flow.”
As two o’clock got further away, however, the authorities became more aggressive.
A police tape went up on the street south of McDonald’s. The authorities checked Chinese people for IDs now, too; they appeared to be singling out young men with backpacks—anyone who looked like a student, perhaps a likely participant in the Jasmine rally?
Journalists were prevented from filming. Anyone with a camera was suspect. Professional cameras were confiscated or their owners barred from entering. A handful of journalists were roughed up.
We saw a scrum and tried to see what was happening. Stephen Engle, an American reporter with Bloomberg TV, was being shoved and pushed by the police. When he fell to the ground and shouted for help, we tried to approach. We were immediately bundled away — dozens of police turned us around and pushed us down the street. Large men, in down jackets and tracksuit pants, individually began bumping into people, like pinballs, keeping them away. (Engle was reported to be still in police custody at the time of this posting but planning to go to the hospital tonight.)
Bystanders confused
Even the street cleaners, in their neon-colored vests, got in on the act. One of them used his broom to sweep at the feet of my colleague, cameraman David Lom, to keep him off-balance when he tried to film and to drive him away.
Ordinary Chinese were bewildered. “What’s going on? Why can’t we walk here?” they asked.
By Adrienne Mong/NBC News
Passersby take photos of the police dogs, normally an unusual sight in an ordinary shopping district like Wangfujing.
Some were more belligerent. One woman started shouting, “Why can’t I go down here? Why are you stopping me? Stop pushing.”
Others tried to work out the reasons for security by identifying the authorities. “These are ordinary police [Public Security police], not wujing (People’s Armed Police),” said one man.
But he was wrong. The wujing were there, too.
What looked like a handful of squads of PAP troops marched in formation past the water trucks outside the KFC and McDonald’s.
Around three o’clock, the authorities had stopped traffic altogether on the southern end of Wangfujing, right where it abuts with Chang’An Road — where the People’s Liberation Army drove its tanks down toward Tiananmen Square in 1989 to crush the student protests.
Crowds were building at this end, behind police tape and police.
And then suddenly they were free to go.
What is remarkable is, at the end of the day, no recognizable protest took place in Wangfujing.
Click here for details on the security crackdown elsewhere in China.
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There are many things in this world that the Chinese must not know. There are many things that I must not know. If I experiment, I will know those things. If I know those things I sometimes find out the truth of things where others believe differently.
When I come to a conclusion different from my dad, I am sinful.
When I come to a conclusion different from my mom, I am crazy.
When I come to a conclusion different from my brother, I am uncool.
I would imagine that the Chinese government rolls all those admonitions into one admonition of "don't do it". And they are able to back up all their don't-do-its by disappearing you. In my case, I eventually disappeared from my family on my own accord.
Freedom is the right to be different, to hold a different view. Freedom allows a diverse set of people to function in their own way. Democracy brings those people under one roof and keeps those differences from colliding. But that does not prevent people from demanding that others follow them on bended knee in order to demonstrate their respect. The seeds of authoritarianism, of feudalism, of narrow-minded dominance are planted in every democracy. And that is why we must continually fight for freedom.
Hmmm ... Don't hear Mr. Obama or Hillary complaining about this crack down. How about we shut off their imports to show support for the Chinese peoples right to demonstrate peacefully against their government. We seem to be throwing our support behind the people in Middle-East. Double standard or what? THIS administration has NO foreign policy, or any policy, that is consistent. One term and out for this one.
Bottom line people! the Chinese Government is afraid of it's own people. they try to show force blah blah blah,but the problem with them is FEAR flashes just like a neon light. it flashes on and off, on and off.they try to make people fear them,but down deep they know their opressive style of government's days are numbered.
the military is the answer inorder to crumble this pathetic excuse for a government.that is the answer.it all depends on what the real feelings are with the ranks of the miltary. my hope is that they become so diselusioned with the gov ernment, and begin to side with the people.i hope this happens, somehow and in some way.
the problem why democracy can be a problem, is because there are so many factions of people under this filthy governments control, that they are afraid of the people. these idiots created this monster and now their backs are against the wall, so they use fear and opression to deal with it..the biggist feat with crumbling this stupidity that calls itself a government, is to unite all these factions.they really can't.
that ladies and gentlemen is the real PROBLEM of why the chinese government manages to stay in business.again it's not just the people that are afraid of this idiot government, IT'S THE GOVERMENT MORE AFRAID OF IT'S PEOPLE.there are two old and wise sayings, 1. united we stand and divided we fall.2. the bigger they are the harder they fall.
my fondest wish is saying number 2. the bigger they are the harder they fall.i hope some how some way that the military does back away from this pathetic circus called the chinese government, and pulls off a miracle.it's not impossible either.
@ JohnS
JohnS wrote: @ Pain Sense: "...can an ordinary chinese citizen leave china whenever they wish? If not, then it isn't a country, it's a prison."
Have you ever tried leaving the country without a passport? Is anyone who is undeservedly been placed on a 'No-Fly' list able to leave the contry at will? I guess that we too are in a prison by your definition.
The operative word is "They" and the answer is NO. They first must get permission from the chinese gov't to leave, the purpose of needing a passport when traveling abroad is to gain entry into your destination country, it is not needed to leave the U.S.A.!
So your assertion is void of merit.
@JimmyAmerica-1529517
Wrote:
Paine Sense said "Just one question, can an ordinary chinese citizen leave china whenever they wish?"
Paine Sense, you are totally wrong! It is the US who doesn't allow Chinese citizen to come or just visit relatives in US!!! You get it?
One true story: A Chinese mother would like to visit her son (a US citizen) in US. She is allowed to leave China, but US denied her. The reason is that she visited his son several years ago and stayed a little longer than the limit US gave her (6 months). She was told by US government that she was not allowed to enter US forever. Now tell me: Is US government is any better than Chinese Government????
If anyone can help this poor mother, please let me know. Thanks.
Sorry but the example you gave refutes your first sentence. "she visited his son several years ago and stayed a little longer than the limit US gave her (6 months)." So obviously she WAS allowed to enter the U.S. once, She and her family screwed it up by breaking the conditions of her visa and by doing so She has lost the trust of the U.S. Gov't. I can't believe you are using this weak example to claim that the U.S. Gov't is no better than their Chinese counterparts in regards to freedom to exit or enter their respective countries.
While i feel sorry for the problem the Mother and her family face, it is a problem of their own making and the blame should be placed on Their shoulders, the U.S. Gov't bears no fault in this case.
So i will repeat your statement: "you are totally wrong!"
@Nowyouknow
wrote:
To answer Paine Sense: "Just one question, can an ordinary chinese citizen leave china whenever they wish?" Yes, as long as the chinese is truly "ordinary" and not a well-known activist already worshiped by the oversea folks.
The correct answer is NO! A Chinese citizen must first get permission to leave China, as an American Citizen I can leave whenever i wish, provided the country i am leaving to allows me to enter.
I don't know if you were consciously lying or whether you just responded viscerally to my question?
The only excuse i can think of is that you were referring to Chinese from Taiwan.
China is the model that our global overlords want to base the remainder of society upon. But this model is flawed, and will implode from within, Consider:
TO: 1.5 BILLIONS CHINESE INNOCENT CITIZENS
When All 1.5 Billions of Chinese Citizens all STAND UP AND GO OUT TO CRUSH/SMASH/ELIMINATE FEW MILLIONS OF CHINESE DICTATORIAL COMMUNISTS !Then all 1.5 Billions of Chinese Citizens will function like a great ocean of strongmen to destroy so easily the few millions of Serious Chinese Criminals or the Chinese Communists or the bloody Dictatorial Chinese.
In this case all Criminal Communist Dictators will be all killed in one day!
Chinese are not going to murder like Americans. The Communists saved China and made it what it is today. Americans trying to instigate wars in China are being watched.
This is good. There are a lot of government jobs riding on the suppression of the will of the people in
China. Kind of like in Wisconsin.
China is being built into an opponent so that America and it's vassal states in Europe have another Menacing Threat to western freedom to divert their own populations away their own overseers that have owned the working class in the west like cattle for decades. China has no ability to remain united as a country of 1.5 billion people. There are 600 - 700 million people making up disadvantaged minorities. These dissatisfied peoples are racially diverse, seen as less valuable racial minorities by the Chinese; and are becoming militaristic in opposition to the Chinese government whom they feel oppressed and occupied them as foreigners. China is NOT a unified block of happy little comrades marching in lock step. There is an old Chinese proverb stating that in order for rulers to survive, and their people to prosper, the rulers must have a mandate from heaven: Occupation by tank, artillery, and military dictatorship is NOT a mandate from heaven.
No, i think we have had a new adversary. They live in Pakistan, but we can't go there and kill them. Im pretty sure the "terror-boogey man" is public enemy 1. I hope China implodes the PLA is a criminal enterprise.
US corporations are partly to blame. Just go right ahead and open back up in China, ur profits will be huge. So now the chinese people know theres something better. It won't happen for awhile, maybe never. CEO's of big business get over like fat rats while the people work in those conditions. Maybe a UNION would be a good thing here. 4 sure. I bet the leaders wouldn't make it 6 weeks. Here and gone..
I've lived 10 years in China and 10 years in the West. I've seen and heard snide remarks about each other from both sides of the spectrum. The bottom of the line is that there are many different ways to do things and the West is plain intolerant of anything that doesn't conform to their definitions (which is ironic given the fact that the West preaches tolerance for other ways of life).
One of the common criticisms of the Chinese regime is the lack of freedom in the press. Well, just how well has freedom of the press worked here? The highest rated prime time TV network features morons like Glenn Beck and Gretchen Carlson who spouts nonsense, hate speech, and just about every other dirty trick in the book to play on people's fears and ignorance for ratings. As a result, you have "Informed Americans" who thinks their own president is a socialist/muslim/terrorist who is out to destroy the American way of life as you know it.
The other big thing is the lack of democracy. How well has democracy worked here? Politicians are constantly attacking each other to take the spotlight off their own disgrace. It's never about "what I can do to improve this country" and it is always about "my opposition is a filthy communist/socialist/insert political slang here who is out to ruin your lives". Politicians are kissing babies on air while stealing their lollipop when the cameras aren't looking. They manipulate facts to suit their own needs. They will say one thing during their campaign while doing something completely opposite once in power. The worst part of it all is that actual decent politicians who have a sight for the future have their hands completely tied by short-sighted ignorant citizens who refuse to pay a few extra tax dollars now to create a better future for their children. Not to mention any progress made in the past is always in danger of being reversed by the current government. Oh and before I forget, you guys voted George W. Bush into power. TWICE.
Of course the biggest issue surrounding China is the abuse in human rights. Where do I start? For one, the FBI are tapping your phones and monitoring your Internet activities. Hell, forget the cyberspace. Just a few months ago there was an article regarding a student from the middle east who found a GPS tracker attached to his car and the FBI came knocking on his door a few days later asking for it back. The airport security has a scanner that fully exposes every part of your body, and detains anyone who even LOOK middle-eastern. Oh and please don't get me started on Guantanamo Bay. For a country that keeps ranting about human rights abuse you sure do barbaric things for the sake of "national security".
Moral of the story? Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean it doesn't sucks as much as yours. And no, that is not a double negative. Learn to tolerate the Chinese way of life just as you would tolerate all other ways of life like the gays/jews/muslims/blacks. Oh what's that? You don't?
The many comments left here seem to indicate the failure of a great number of people to understand the simple fact that China is still "red," or communist. Its leaders are not like ours, always "mulling..." While our elected leaders in DC caucus, they, the comrades in Beijing act. And when they act, progress gets made.
And, must I remind everyone that China is one h-u-g-e country? Its ethnic minorities defy numbering. Its people in the hinterland are mostly uneducated. And being of all colors and creeds, they cannot but be led by the vested authorities in Beijing.
Let me use this analogy of a heavy carriage that is pulled by a team of horses. To keep it on track, and not risk a runaway and a catastrophic crash, nothing less than one who is able to manage the reins, and wield the whip should be allowed on the driver's seat.
So, for China to continue successfully on it drive towards a more stable, united, and productive country, its leadership has to exert total control over every area of life of its billions.
Numbered among its billions, there are many who we cannot consider knowledgeable or even understanding of how the country operates. The electronic media is still quite new, and not available to many. Much of what the population knows comes from sources, all of which are heavily biased, be they good, bad, or indifferent. Therefore, many, even those who are in their "ivory towers" - the supposedly educated ones will come away with ideas of "freedom" or "democracy" which are totally different from what we understand it to be. What we define as due process and dialogue, democacy can be turned into something demonic and dangerous, for people who are overly zealous for change, could very easily be manipulated by extremist elements to cause the kind of disorder that is now sweeping much of the Middle East. Hear the cries of "democracy" there? They seem to be out for blood! Do they not show an utter lack in their understanding of what the word means?
An aside. There is a recent newsclip regarding how heavy-handed it is in the way Bejing is dealing with these unfortunate (read foolish) drug mules from the Philippines. I say, it has no choice. It is acting thusly to protect is citizenry from what it knows to be evil. If you have an issue with that, let me remind you of the many thousands who have been shot and killed recently across our southern borders. Innocent or guilty, they all died because there is such a hug market here for the illegal substance - here! How sad that the millions of druggies in our midst are the cause of all the bloodletting! Do our leaders even care?
Again, democracy in action... Go figure.
AN ALARM TO ENTIRE WORLD PEOPLE AND NATIONS:
All Communist Chinese are all world serious criminals, terrorists, saboteurs, thieves, liars, corruptors,crime-makers! Therefore,doing business with Communist China which definitely is a commitment to a WORLD MOST SERIOUS CRIME!
PROHIBIT DOING BUSINESS WITH A CRIMINAL AS COMMUNIST CHINA WHICH CAN BE SEEN AS A WELL THOUGHT DECISION TO PREVENT CRIME WORLDWIDE INDEED! (BellaPerfecta).
It is the time for all world people and nations to pull out of China and prohibit China to do business full with Chinese crimes to world people and their nations and societies in all corners of this planet earth! (BellaPerfecta)
@TiredNdisgusted
You should Google "Robert Helvey Hong Kong 1989" and see why US Defense Intelligence Agency officer Col. Robert Helvey was in Hong Kong meeting with TAM student leaders prior to the protest.
Also, look up Chinese dissident groups NED director Carl Gershman has in his pocket.
What Do You Really Want from Us?
When we were the Sick Man of Asia, we were called The Yellow Peril.
When we are billed to be the next Superpower, we are called The Threat.
When we closed our doors, you smuggled drugs to open markets.
When we embrace Free Trade, You blame us for taking away your jobs.
When we were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your fair share.
When we tried to put the broken pieces back together again, Free Tibet you screamed, It Was an Invasion!
When tried Communism, you hated us for being Communist.
When we embrace Capitalism, you hate us for being Capitalist.
When we have a billion people, you said we were destroying the planet.
When we tried limiting our numbers, you said we abused human rights.
When we were poor, you thought we were dogs.
When we loan you cash, you blame us for your national debts.
When we build our industries, you call us Polluters.
When we sell you goods, you blame us for global warming.
When we buy oil, you call it exploitation and genocide.
When you go to war for oil, you call it liberation.
When we were lost in chaos and rampage, you demanded rules of law.
When we uphold law and order against violence, you call it violating human rights.
When we were silent, you said you wanted us to have free speech.
When we are silent no more, you say we are brainwashed-xenophobes.
“Why do you hate us so much﹖”we asked.
“No,” you answered, “we don't hate you.”
We don't hate you either, But, do you understand us?
“Of course we do, ”you said, “We have AFP, CNN and BBC's ······”
What do you really want from us?
Think hard first, then answer ······ Because you only get so many chances.
Enough is Enough, Enough Hypocrisy for This One World.
We want One World, One Dream, and Peace on Earth.
This Big Blue Earth is Big Enough for all of Us.
James, well said! I cannot think of enough praise for your post. James they live in a fantasy world believing they are better than everyone else. As a result, no matter what anyone else does it is wrong and criticised. BRAVO once again.
Thank you. That was well said, and the truth, I wish the western media outlets would publish as much truth as your statement does.