Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
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Zhuhai police, at the end of the world’s longest sea bridge, use body armour and tear gas in preparation for Macau’s 20th anniversary celebration
Hong Kong is just an hour’s drive away from Macau using the bridge
More than 1,000 police officers took part in the anti-terror drill in Zhuhai. Photo: Toutiao
Armed police in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai held a massive anti-terror drill at its end of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on Friday morning as part of its preparations for the 20th anniversary of the handover of Macau, when President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the city.
More than 1,000 police officers and 80 vehicles were involved in the exercise, amid
Photos circulated online showed officers in body armour, helmets and shields firing tear gas as they confronted a group of people carrying sticks and wearing black shirts and yellow helmets – attire associated with the protesters in Hong Kong, 60km (37 miles) away from Macau.
The drill was held three weeks before the 20th anniversary of Macau’s return to Chinese administration under the “one country, two systems” policy on December 20.
Police trucks and riot officers during Friday’s exercise at the Zhuhai end of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Photo: Toutiao
Security is expected to be tightened when Xi visits the city, in response to the violent clashes in Hong Kong over the past six months, which Beijing has repeatedly blamed on radical protesters.
The former Portuguese colony is connected to Hong Kong and its neighbouring city of Zhuhai, Guangdong province, by the world’s longest sea crossing bridge. It takes about an hour to drive from Hong Kong to Macau via the bridge.
Guo Yonghang, Zhuhai party chief, urged the local police to stay loyal to the party. “[Police] should be loyal and fulfil duty and mission to create a peaceful and stable political and social environment for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Macau’s reunification to the motherland,” he said.
Macau was returned to China two years after Hong Kong and celebrations of its success under one country, two systems could be overshadowed by its neighbour’s anti-government protests which stemmed from opposition to proposed extradition legislation and have escalated into violence on the streets and in university campuses.
In August, two months after more than 2 million people in Hong Kong took to the streets to protest the now-suspended extradition bill, police in Shenzhen held at least three drills featuring anti-riot exercises involving tear gas, armoured vehicles and water cannon.
Cheng Qiang was just 12 when a magnitude 8 tremor destroyed his village, but he never forgot the heroism of the soldiers sent to help and swore one day to join their ranks
Now a squad leader, on October 1 he will also be part of the National Day celebrations in Tiananmen Square
Cheng Qiang was just 12 when his home in Sichuan was hit by a massive earthquake and airborne troops were sent to help. Photo: People.cn
A young man who survived the devastating Sichuan earthquake and vowed to one day join the ranks of the soldiers who spent months rescuing people from the rubble will on Tuesday lead his very own squad of airborne troops in Tiananmen Square as part of the celebrations for the country’s 70th anniversary.
Now 23, Cheng Qiang was just 12 when on May 12, 2008 he and a group of friends played truant from school to go swimming in a local river, Xinhua reported on Thursday.
When the boys had finished their fun they returned to their village in the township of Luoshui to find their school and many other buildings had been razed to the ground. The death toll from the magnitude 8 quake would eventually rise to 87,000, with 370,000 people injured.
Cheng says he is ready to “continue the glory of the airborne troops” at Tuesday’s parade. Photo: Thepaper.cn
In the days and weeks that followed the devastation, tens of thousands of people from around China and the world descended on towns and villages across Sichuan to help with the rescue effort.
But the ones who impressed Cheng the most were the soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the word “Airborne” printed on the helmets.
“Sometimes they had to remove the debris with their bare hands which were already covered in blood,” he said.
“But they just carried on and eventually pulled dozens of people out of the rubble. I knew then that I wanted to be one of them.”
Cheng said that after the quake having the troops in his village made him feel safe. Photo: People.cn
Having the troops in his village made Cheng feel safe, he said, and he spent his days following them around and doing what he could to help.
Three months later, when the soldiers had completed their work and were preparing to pull out, Cheng said he was determined to show his new heroes just how grateful he was to them.
As the villagers gathered at the roadside to bid farewell to the men who had become their saviours, the young boy held up a handwritten sign. It said simply: “I want to be an airborne soldier when I grow up.”
The moment was captured on camera by a press photographer, and the image soon became a symbol of the gratitude felt by the people who had seen their lives and communities shattered but knew they had not been forsaken.
Cheng said he felt dizzy when he first jumped out of a plane. Photo: People.cn
Five years after the troops rolled out, Cheng was preparing to go to college when he heard the PLA was recruiting and that there were places available with the airborne division.
The teenager did not need a second invitation, and after securing a place on a training course and successfully completing it he joined the ranks of his heroes in 2013.
Not that everything was plain sailing, however.
“When I first jumped out of a plane I felt very dizzy and didn’t really know what was going on,” he said.
Thankfully Cheng managed to overcome his vertigo and went on to become a squad leader.
Tens of thousands of troops will take part in China’s National Day parade on October 1. Photo: Thepaper.cn
When the preparations were being made for next week’s anniversary celebrations in Beijing, Cheng said he and his squad were chosen to take part.
He said that during the rehearsals for the grand parade, he was repeatedly reprimanded by his trainer for not keeping his knees close enough together, for lifting his feet too high and for letting his gun slip off shoulder.
But he was determined to get it right, and after weeks of hard work and 11 years on from the tragedy that devastated his world, he said he was now ready to put his best foot forward.
“The nightmare of earthquake has long gone,” he said. “I am here to continue the glory of the airborne troops. I am ready for inspection.”
Security forces shown tackling ‘demonstrators’ wearing black shirts
‘Anti-mob’ tactics prepare forces for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic
Shenzhen police broadcast live footage of a security exercise involving 12,000 officers rehearsing anti-riot drills. Photo: Weibo
More than 12,000 police officers assembled in Shenzhen in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Tuesday for a drill that included anti-riot measures similar to those seen on the streets of Hong Kong.
The drill was part of security preparations for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, Shenzhen police said on the force’s Weibo newsfeed.
“A drill will be held to increase troop morale, practise and prepare for the security of celebrations, [and] maintain national political security and social stability,” police said.
China mobilises 190,000 police officers to prepare for 70th anniversary celebrations
In live videos of the police drills shown on the Yizhibo network, officers in body armour, helmets and shields confronted groups of people in black shirts and red or yellow construction safety helmets – similar to those worn by Hong Kong protesters – who were holding flags, banners, batons and wooden boards.
Global Times
✔@globaltimesnews
Shenzhen #police drill attracted unusual attention as it features scenarios that resemble the ongoing riots in #HongKong. #香港http://bit.ly/2YobnJc (Video: Shenzhen News Radio)
One of the banners read “return my hard-earned money” – a slogan often used by migrant workers in protest against unpaid salaries.
“The practice is complete with mature anti-mob tactics. The police forces can present an anti-mob formation, which is flexible, suitable for different situations, with accurate aim and effective control,” a narrator said during the live broadcast.
As the drill escalated and more “rioters” were deployed, police fired tear gas and smoke covered the training ground.
A few minutes later, the rioters fired home-made gas bombs then set bogies alight and drove them at the police lines. The officers changed formations and pressed the rioters, making arrests. Police handlers and their dogs were also on the scene.
A blazing bogie is driven towards police lines during Shenzhen police’s anti-riot exercise. Photo: Weibo
Other drills included anti-smuggling and search-and-rescue exercises involving personnel from the People’s Liberation Army.
The drill was presented as preparation for the 70th anniversary celebrations but it came amid continued violence in the streets of Hong Kong and two incidents of the Chinese national flag being thrown into Victoria Harbour.
Hong Kong has been engulfed in two months of turmoil stemming from opposition to the now-suspended extradition bill.
Police handlers and their dogs were deployed against people dressed like Hong Kong demonstrators. Photo: Weibo
“Is this hinting at Hong Kong?” a commenter on the Shenzhen police Weibo thread asked.
“We are doing drills today, and they can enter into real practice in Hong Kong in the future. We can send thousands of anti-mob squads over and strike hard at the radical traitors, those Hong Kong independence supporters,” another user said.
Since protests escalated in Hong Kong, Beijing has reiterated its “unflagging support” for embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration to take lawful action to restore order, and warned that the city was entering “a most dangerous phase” with violence on the streets.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Wearing helmets is mandatory for motorbike riders
Wearing helmets is mandatory for motorbike riders in India. But political interference has made it difficult for police to enforce the law in the western city of Pune, writes independent journalist Omkar Khandekar.
From the sidelines of the noisy Ganeshkhind road in Pune, police constable Sunil Tathe looks at the oncoming traffic with disappointment.
“Up to 70% motorcyclists in the city wore helmets until recently. But ever since we received orders to stop the helmet-enforcement drive, I barely see half of them wearing it,” he says.
Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra state (where Pune is located), told the city police to send notices of fine to offenders’ homes instead of stopping them on the road. He gave the order after Pune’s legislators accused the police of harassing people because of the helmet-enforcement drive.
Police across India struggle to enforce the law as riders often don’t wear a helmet. The problem is more severe in smaller towns.
That’s why police in Pune launched the drive to stop and fine offenders on the spot. They believe that sending notices is not as effective.
“You can only penalise someone if their number plate is visible in the CCTV,” said Tathe. “I’ve often come across people who hide or rub off a digit on the number plate. When asked, they say an errant child did it.”
Some took to the streets and held rallies, chanting slogans such as “helmet hatao, Punekar bachao” (get rid of helmets, save Pune’s residents). One “anti-helmet group” even went to a crematorium and staged a mock funeral of helmets.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Pune’s police are struggling to enforce a law that mandates helmets
Vivek Velankar, who heads the “anti-helmet compulsion action committee”, says that their battle has been going on for nearly two decades. Bikers in Pune, he adds, have to ride carefully anyway, considering how congested the city is.
“Wearing helmets, in fact, makes bikers feel a degree of safety,” he says. “That makes them even more reckless.”
One political party organised a motorbike rally where all riders wore the traditional Pune headgear made of cloth, instead of helmets.
And in April, just before the parliamentary elections, advocate Ramesh Dharmavat, a candidate from the fledgling People’s Union Party, contested on the sole issue of banning helmets. He received 547 votes.
Media caption Traffic cop Ranjeet Singh uses dance moves to manage traffic
Anil Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of Pune traffic police, says most people argue against wearing helmets, which frustrates officers who are enforcing the law.
“There just doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation for such arguments. But here (Pune), they also get political patronage,” he says.
The drive had begun on 1 January and police had fined more than 100,000 people for riding without helmets in the first three months. Even as a section of the city’s population resisted, says Mr Deshmukh, the compliance was around 80% in some areas.
The police also launched a scheme to reward citizens who had no traffic violations on their record. They were given discount coupons to be redeemed at restaurants or shops.
But this changed once police started implementing the chief minister’s order.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Some people refuse to comply with the law
They don’t have the manpower or necessary technology, such as a synchronised signalling system or cameras that automatically recognise number plates.
Nishad Kulkarni, an architect and long-time city resident, says the resistance largely stems from Pune’s history.
“In the 1980s and early 1990s, Pune used to be a city of cyclists. You would frequently use cycles to commute. But that changed in the late 1990s. As the manufacturing and IT boom started, several infrastructure projects and skyscrapers came up. Soon, everyone was driving cars or riding motorbikes before knowing how to behave on roads,” he says.
Many of the city’s residents, according to him, prioritise convenience over safety. “Whenever I’ve seen cops stop these people, they think they know better.
It takes one to know one. “There are 30 people in my own family. I don’t think any one of us wears a helmet,” he says.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 