On National Day, October 1, China celebrated its national anniversary. Security check points on Tiananmen Square were extremely tight. To prevent appellants 1 from protesting, Beijing police parked over one-hundred police vehicles around the square to quickly remove them.
The use of checkpoints at Tiananmen Square is limited to important political events and holidays that might attract large numbers of people.
According to one appellant, whoever was found in possession of appealing materials would be detained and immediately taken away in a police vehicle parked nearby.
“The police request that everyone open their bags for checking and any bottle will be smelled by a police dog. The atmosphere is very tense as if to prevent a bombing. The tourists are all surprised and many appellants are wandering outside the Square.” said the appellant, who wished to remain anonymous.
Another appellant told Epoch Times journalist, “The regime mobilized a large amount of manpower and resources. Police are guarding the Square everywhere, and there are many plainclothes.”
Mass Arrests at Night
According to appellants, the Beijing regime started a large scale arrest on September 28. A large number of appellants were arrested everyday, many of them were sent to the Appellant Escorting Center in Majialou, and some were sent to detention facilities operated inside of the various provincial office buildings in Beijing.
That night, over 500 appellants were arrested at locations outside of the Appellants’ Village.
About 1:30 a.m. on September 29, about 600 appellants were arrested at the Appellant’s Village. An eyewitness said police used seven big buses to transport detainees.
Besides local Beijing police, provincial office security forces in Beijing also mobilized their manpower to arrest appellants.
One appellant said, “This year is much more tight than past years, I estimate over 1,000 people have been arrested before Oct 1.”
(1)The Chinese constitution guarantees the right to appeal to the national government, assembly and free speech.
