Inside China Today

Tiananmen Mother Says Beijing In A State of Readiness for War

SOH recently interviewed Ms Zhang Xianling, the mother of a Tiananmen massacre victim, on the unprecedented security and clean up measures in Beijing ahead of the Olympics.

Ms Zhang said the amount of traffic in Beijing has markedly reduced since the implementation of traffic reduction control where cars with odd and even number plates are only allowed into the city on alternating days. With tight security checks on out-of-towners, and workplaces on a break, there are very few people on the streets. Ms Zhang explained how public security and special police vehicles are now featured very prominently in Beijing, with one vehicle station every few hundred meters.

Ms Zhang says security is tight in Beijing and that each district is separately controlled. Residents need to carry personal ID to be able to enter and exit from their district and all guests need to be registered. She says registration extends to villagers and vehicles, and since July 20 there have been signs prohibiting cars with out-of-town number plates from entering Beijing until September 29.

Ms Zhang describes the atmosphere in Beijing as one of readiness for war, and says people certainly don’t believe it’s going to be a harmonious Olympics. She says the security measures have made everyone tense. There are constant security checks, especially if you appear like an out-of-towner, even students are being questioned about whether they have appropriate ID on them.

Ms Zhang says she has been opposed to the Beijing Olympics from the start, and tells that even those who had previously supported the Games are now saying that it’s causing too much disturbance for the residents. She says local residents are complaining that the Olympics are becoming too inconvenient, and a lot of goods are unable to enter into the city, driving up grocery prices.

Ms Zhang’s son Wang Nan was massacred during the student protest in Tiananmen Square on June 4 1989. She and other mothers of student victims formed the organisation “Tiananmen Mothers” seeking vindication for participants of the civil movement in 1989. The organisation and its members have suffered constant interference from the Chinese Communist regime.

The above news is brought to you by Bao Ming, Zho Yi and hosted by Wilma Reynolds for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network.

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