Monday, September 21, 2009

Major Security Crackdown in China for National Day

China's Leaders are leaving nothing to chance, China is undertaking a massive security clampdown for a celebration next month to mark the founding of the Communist state.

The festivities at Tiananmen Square on October 1 will commemorate the 60th anniversary of National Day. President Hu Jintao is expected to deliver a speech, and a military parade and fireworks are also planned.

As part of its security measures, the government is building a security "wall" around Beijing, the state media reported.

The government will deploy 220,000 security guards and 300,000 community volunteers for the ceremony, the Xinhua news agency said.

Adjoining provinces and municipalities will conduct security checks on roads leading to China's capital city to ward off potential threats.

Chinese residents traveling to Beijing, will be required to register their names. Every bus bound into the capital also has to be registered.

Thousands of police officers will stand guard at railway stations and the government will not only ground air traffic flights during the parade, but kite-flying will also not be permitted.

The Chinese will enjoy eight days off, from October 1 to October 8, both for the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As early as March, police began a nationwide crackdown on March that will continue until October 1. By the end of August, authorities had confiscated close to 53,000 guns and 2 million bullets, Xinhua said.

The security measures are intended to ward off a 'spillover' or escalation of the disturbances that have shaken the western city of Urumqi. Long-simmering resentment between the indigenous minority of resident Uyghurs and the dominant majority of incoming Han Chinese, erupted into riots and left more than 200 people dead in July this year.

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