Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BEIJING2811
2009-09-30 11:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

PARANOIA ON PARADE: CHINA'S LEADERS TAKE NO

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL PROP CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7880
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2811/01 2731140
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 301140Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6306
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 002811 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PROP CH
SUBJECT: PARANOIA ON PARADE: CHINA'S LEADERS TAKE NO
CHANCES AS THEY PREPARE TO CELEBRATE 60TH NATIONAL DAY

REF: A. BEIJING 2692

B. 08 BEIJING 3057

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor
Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 002811

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PROP CH
SUBJECT: PARANOIA ON PARADE: CHINA'S LEADERS TAKE NO
CHANCES AS THEY PREPARE TO CELEBRATE 60TH NATIONAL DAY

REF: A. BEIJING 2692

B. 08 BEIJING 3057

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor
Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and Introduction: In a security
clampdown reminiscent of the lead-up to the August
8, 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony, authorities
in Beijing are setting up checkpoints, locking down
dissidents, and tightening Internet censorship in
the run-up to the October 1 national day. According
to the official Xinhua News Agency, China's State
Council met September 28 and called for greater
efforts to maintain public order and social
stability during the national day holiday (which
will run October 1-8). Department heads in
municipal and state agencies have been told that
they will be held personally responsible for
security incidents. Neighborhood security
organizations have received instructions to
"control" key groups, including Falun Gong
practitioners, petitioners, students, migrants, and
persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Industry
and Information, meanwhile, conducted a major
Internet security drill September 17 that involved
all of China's major Internet service providers.
Several journalists complained about tight media and
Internet restrictions, but most believed press
freedoms would improve in the weeks following the
holiday. End Summary.

Security Much Tighter than 50th Anniversary in '99
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Just as overbearing security sapped
enthusiasm of many Beijingers for the Olympic Games
last year (ref B),similar precautions -- along with
a healthy dose of traffic controls during numerous
parade rehearsals -- have tested the patience of
many in the capital and, several contacts tell us,
fueled the impression that the festivities are more
for the enjoyment of the CCP elite than average
Chinese. Most of our interlocutors said that
security at this year's event was much tighter than
it was during the 50th national day in 1999.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency,
China's State Council met September 28 and called

for greater efforts to maintain public order and
social stability during the national day holiday
(which will run October 1-8). Preparations for the
October 1 parade have included draconian
restrictions on tenants of buildings along the
parade route. Residents of the Qijiayuan Diplomatic
Compound, which overlooks Jianguomen Wai Avenue, a
parade staging area, received a notice September 11
from the building management stating that residents
were forbidden from venturing out onto their
balconies or even opening their windows during the
parade. Hotels are forbidden from renting rooms
facing the parade route October 1. Three Japanese
journalists were beaten by security forces September
18 after they allegedly attempted to film a parade
rehearsal from a hotel balcony. Auto mechanic Li
Xuan (protect),encapsulating a reaction we heard
from many, told PolOff September 11 that the tight
security and tense atmosphere had "spoiled the mood"
during what should be a time of celebration for
China.

Need to Control "Key People"
--------------


3. (C) Using Google "deep search" techniques, PolOff
downloaded an internal document, posted on a Beijing
government web server, containing security
directives to officials of the Anzhen Street Area (a
community a few blocks north of the Embassy). The
document provides a snapshot of municipal security
directive implementation at a neighborhood level.
The document describes local measures that will be
taken to ensure social stability during the 60th
anniversary celebrations. Groups of concern
targeted for "control" include Falun Gong
practitioners, petitioners, students, migrants, and
persons with disabilities. The document notes that
the "610 Office" (an agency often cited as having
specific responsibility for combating Falun Gong)
had been assigned a number of responsibilities in
the neighborhood, including combating cults and

BEIJING 00002811 002 OF 004


identifying "key people" to control. The language
of the document is militaristic and divides the task
of anniversary preparations into "pre-war" (i.e.,
June 10 to August 31) and "war time" (September 1-
October 10) duties. The "pre-war" duties primarily
involve addressing the grievances of petitioners,
monitoring key groups including migrant workers and
recent graduates, and cracking down on Falun Gong.
The "war time" efforts are described as "controlling
key trouble makers" and "getting rid of
petitioners." The experiences of several contacts
who work with petitioners track with the measures
described in this memorandum. Liu Anjun (protect),
a human rights activist who assists petitioners in
Beijing, complained to PolOff that he had been under
house arrest since September 10 and PSB officers had
prevented him from meeting with foreign journalists.
Chen Shuhua (protect),a petitioner from Hebei
province, likewise told PolOff local authorities had
put her under house arrest to prevent her from
traveling to Beijing.

"Looking for Uighurs..."
--------------


4. (C) The July 5 riots in Xinjiang, according to
Wang Chong (protect),an editor for the news
magazine China Weekly, had greatly heightened
official anxieties about the national day
celebration. "The nervousness feeds on itself,"
Wang said, and authorities' desire to "minimize all
uncertainties" had led Beijing public security
officials to sweep the streets clean of pickpockets
and prostitutes, even though this had little or no
direct bearing on the safety of the parade itself.
On September 24, China Reform Forum Vice Chairman
Xue Fukang told PolOff that state and municipal
department directors had been notified by the
central government that they would be held
personally responsible for any incidents or lapses
in security that marred national day celebrations.


5. (C) Because of recent years' unrest in Xinjiang
and Tibet, Uighurs, and to a lesser extent Tibetans,
are subject to close scrutiny by security forces.
Starting in mid-September, authorities have
implemented checkpoints along highways leading into
Beijing. On September 13 PolOff experienced a six-
hour delay while returning by car to Beijing from
surrounding Hebei province. Police at a checkpoint
were thoroughly searching every vehicle, causing
traffic to backup for miles. While waiting at the
checkpoint, several truck drivers told PolOff that
authorities were "looking for Uighurs." Dai Lin
(protect),the abbot of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery
in Chengde, Hebei province, said he had changed out
of his monks robes in order to pass a similar
checkpoint leading into Beijing September 21. Dai
Lin told PolOff that someone dressed as a monk would
not be allowed anywhere near Tiananmen Square until
after October 1.

...And Disgruntled Loners
--------------


6. (C) Hong Dayong (protect),a Renmin University
sociologist, said Party leaders viewed discontented
individuals, rather than large organized
demonstrations, as the greatest threat to the
national day festivities. Party leaders were taking
such drastic security steps because there was
concern disgruntled individuals or small groups
would use October 1 as an "advertising opportunity"
and seek to disrupt the parade to draw attention to
their grievance. Zhou Qing'an (protect),a
communications professor at Tsinghua University,
agreed, saying that while Uighur terrorists remained
a concern, security officials were most worried
about violent acts by deranged individuals. Such
fears, Zhou said, were heightened by a September 17
incident near Tiananmen Square in which a drunken
man from Jilin province stabbed two people to death
in a reportedly random act of violence.

We're Going to Party Like It's 1949
--------------


7. (C) Contacts offered mixed views on the October 1
parade itself, with most decrying the huge expense
and militarism of the display. Fan Jinyu (protect),

BEIJING 00002811 003 OF 004


the Beijing bureau chief of the Nanfang Ribao media
group and a longtime CCP member, said that the
public was divided in its attitudes about the 60th
national day. One third of Chinese, Fan said, were
excited by the hoopla, one third did not care, and
the final third (including Fan himself) were
critical of the Party and saw its record over the
last 60 years as mixed, at best. Several contacts
noted a clear divide between popular and
intellectual opinions. Many ordinary Chinese,
according to Zhong Weizhi (protect),chief editor of
the Economic Observer, felt very patriotic and were
proud of China's economic model, especially given
China's success in weathering the financial crisis.
The tanks and missiles in the parade, Zhong told
PolOff September 9, reminded the public of China's
growing international power and clout. Chinese
intellectuals, however, viewed the 60th anniversary
celebration as distasteful. "Only China and North
Korea do these kinds of displays," Zhong remarked.
The China Reform Forum's Xue Fukang noted that the
primary reason a military parade would be the
centerpiece of this year's national day celebrations
was that the practice of holding a parade every ten
years played a critical historical role in party
continuity. A decision to downplay or forgo the
military aspects of this anniversary would cause
questions over the direction and legitimacy of the
Party, Xue said.

Taking a Page from Pyongyang
--------------


8. (C) Many contacts echoed Zhong's unfavorable
parallels between the October 1 parade and North
Korea's Stalinist state celebrations. Mou Guangfeng
(protect),a Director General at the Ministry of
Environmental Protection (whose Japanese-educated
father was severely persecuted in the 1960s and 70s)
told PolOff September 6 that the 60th anniversary
celebration made him uncomfortable, especially the
expense and the inclusion of so many school children
in the parade. Mou said his aversion stemmed partly
from his experience spending endless hours as a
child rehearsing and marching in such displays "and
it is difficult to see kids today subject to the
same treatment." "Only China and North Korea do
such things," Mou said, "because in a democratic
country such lavish expenditures would never be
approved by elected lawmakers...There are many, many
ways this money could be better spent." Zhou
Qing'an, of Tsinghua University, said the 60th
parade was "more North Korea-like" than the 50th
national day celebration in 1999. Zhou, who marched
in the 50th national day parade when he was a
Tsinghua student, said this parade was much larger
and more regimented. Unlike in 1999, Zhou said,
when Tsinghua students were merely told to wave and
act festive, this year the Tsinghua students were
being told by parade organizers to make specific
motions and shout pre-approved slogans. Zhou
claimed the parade was bigger than originally
planned, with Party leaders making a last-minute
decision to add more student groups. According to
Zhou, President Hu Jintao and Vice President Xi
Jinping themselves were behind this effort to expand
the parade.


9. (C) Hong Dayong, of Renmin University, told
PolOff September 21 that intellectual hand-wringing
over the 60th celebration should not be taken too
seriously. Many intellectuals were critical of the
expense and extravagance of the October 1 parade,
but they had made the same arguments against the
50th national day parade. In the end, Hong argued,
the CCP simply did not care what intellectuals
thought. "The Party cares about mass opinion, not
elite or intellectual opinion," Hong said. Scholars
might scoff at the parade, Hong said, but for most
Chinese the 60th anniversary was an important
milestone. Chinese had a strong sense of national
pride, and for them the 60th national day was a time
to reflect on China's accomplishments, especially in
the post-Mao reform era.

Harmonizing the Media
--------------


10. (C) Several journalists lamented the tight media
controls in place, though most expected the

BEIJING 00002811 004 OF 004


atmosphere to improve after October 1. Wang Chong,
the China Weekly editor, told PolOff September 15
that, while he had expected the CCP Propaganda
Department to keep a tight grip on the media around
the 60th anniversary, the atmosphere was much worse
than expected. China Weekly, a news magazine
launched in May and published by the Communist Party
Youth League, encountered serious problems after
publishing several articles that angered Party
leaders (including an article about the son of
Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai, which broke a
taboo on reporting about the children of senior
leaders). China Weekly was attempting to write an
article about Beijing lawyers who lost their
licenses after taking on politically sensitive cases
(ref A),but editors killed the story knowing it
would anger Party censors. Wang Chong said even his
own personal blog had been "harmonized" (bei hexie,
a play on the CCP's "harmonious society" slogan that
has become a euphemism for censorship) when an
executive at his blog-hosting service asked him in
early September to take down an article critical of
China's education system. (Note: Authorities have
ratcheted up Internet censorship as October 1 nears.
For example, the government ordered the Tibetan
culture website www.tibetcul.com to shut down its
blog and chat pages until October 12, according to a
notice posted on the site.)


11. (C) Wang and other media contacts commented that
in the current environment, even Caijing magazine,
known as China's most daring print publication, had
been largely muzzled. Cheng Mingxia (protect),
international page editor at the Economic Observer,
bemoaned Caijing's recent timidity, saying that "it
was now just a financial news service." Huang Shan
(protect),international editor of Caijing magazine,
downplayed such changes. While Huang admitted
Caijing had been impacted by the pre-October 1
tightening of media controls, he said this was
"normal" for the period leading up to sensitive
events. Caijing had weathered such periods before,
and, he predicted, the atmosphere would improve
after the National Day holiday passed.
HUNTSMAN