The Vancouver Sun ran a story which said that China will begin a five-month security crackdown in preparation for the nation’s 60th anniversary celebration on October1.
It quoted public security vice-minister Zhang Xinfeng, the goal is to provide ‘a harmonious environment’ for the nationwide celebrations.
It reported that the official Xinhua news agency said Zhang underlined that ‘the campaign will highlight the eradication and prevention of crimes to maintain social order.’
The newspaper said it is a move reminiscent of the ramped-up security ahead of last summer’s Beijing Olympic Games in which hundreds of ‘dissidents’ were detained and such tight visa restrictions enforced that hotels in Beijing, which expected to reap windfall profits from increased tourism, found they had rooms going begging.
China Digital Times also reports the Beijing government has been focusing on its 60th anniversary plans for many months, it is likely not coincidental that the escalated security measures are being put in place one month before the 10th anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations, a date China is definitely not celebrating.
Opposing this is the fact that it has flatly been denied by the government that anyone will be banned, that there will be any special regulations and that the story is, in fact, a beat-up from beginning to end.
In truth, it may be a misinterpretation of an official handout. It does happen.