Beijing Imposes Restrictions To Ensure Faultless Military Parade

BEIJING, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- China will be hosting its much-anticipated military parade on Thursday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War 2. To ensure the prestigious event will take place faultlessly, Beijing has geared up its preparations ahead of the massive parade. Despite cranking up the propaganda on China's resistance in WWII via the state-run broadcaster CCTV and state-controlled newspapers, a press centre themed, 'Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War' has been set up to handle the reporting issues on the military parade. Journalists covering the event on Thursday have been asked to gather at a venue located about seven kilometres away from Tiananmen Square at 4.30am to go through the security check before heading to the square, although the 12,000 soldiers will only start marching through the heart of the capital at around 10am. Matchsticks, lighters, umbrellas, water, small flying device for aerial photography and radio transmitters are on the list of prohibited items to carry along. Earlier, local media had listed down around a dozen of "things you should know on Sept 3", which point to the measures taken by the Chinese government to ensure a seamless and successful military parade, which may be an eye-opener for many. Monkeys, falcons and hunting dogs have been trained by the People's Liberation Army since July this year to destroy birds' nests in the trees. The move was to make sure that no birds would fly into the engines of the fighter jets during the parade, state-run online portal China.org.cn reported. To guarantee blue skies and temporary air quality improvement on the day of the parade, 1,927 companies involved in the major polluting industries were ordered to cut their production, while 'odd-even plate number rule' is being imposed from Aug 20 to Sept 3 to limit cars on the roads, Xinhua news agency reported earlier. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges would be shut down for four days from Sept 3 to 6, while on Sept 3, two major airports in Beijing -- Beijing Capital International Airport and the smaller airport, Nanyuan Airport -- would be closed temporarily from 9.30am to 12.30pm, Xinhua said. For the first time, the Chinese government has granted a three-day public holiday from Sept 3 to encourage the public to take part in the commemoration activities nationwide, the state-run news agency reported. Several major roads, subway stations and shopping streets would be closed for the massive parade, while all entertainment TV shows, including reality shows, drama series, talk shows, etc. would be suspended from airing on Sept 3, but would be substituted by TV programmes or documentaries related to the end of World War 2, the Beijing News reported. For tourists, this is not a good time for sightseeing in Beijing. Atractions such as the Forbidden City, National Museum of China, Tiananmen Gate, Zhongshan Park, National Centre for the Performing Arts and Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace would be closed until Sept 3, it said. Hospitals located around Tiananmen Square were also reported to partly or fully suspend their outpatient services on the day of the parade, but their emergency departments would remain on 24-hour operations. It is understood that residents living along the restricted area of Chang'an Avenue have been warned not to open their windows or peep through the windows when the parade takes place. Office buildings along the avenue have also been instructed to close from Sept 2 to Sept 3. Malaysia is sending two military representatives to witness the parade, while the Malaysian prime minister's Special Envoy, Ong Ka Ting will be among 19 high-level government representatives to attend the historic event. --BERNAMA