Witnessing the “September 18th” Anti-Japanese Parade in Beijing (Photos)

Witnessing the “September 18th” Anti-Japanese Parade in Beijing (Photos) On September 18, all motor vehicles on Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing were prohibited from traveling in both directions. On the road where there is usually constant traffic...

On September 18, all motor vehicles were prohibited on Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing. On the way, a large number of Chinese people held another real demonstration in the past few days outside the Japanese Embassy in China. Although China's Constitution grants Chinese citizens "freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, procession, and demonstration," real demonstrations are extremely rare in China.

On Tuesday, protesters held slogans and walked along Liangmaqiao Road towards the Japanese Embassy

"Diaoyu Islands are ours", "Little Japan, get out", "Down with Japanese imperialism", "Boycott Japanese goods", the protesters chanted slogans and passed in front of the Japanese Embassy from west to east. The door of the Japanese embassy is tightly closed, and the public security and armed police outside the door are heavily guarded. There are still traces of eggs and ink bottles thrown by protesters in the past few days on the walls of the embassy.

People held placards, banners and cartoons with "Protect Diaoyu" and anti-Japanese content, and waved national flags of all sizes, Chairman Mao's portrait and the Chinese Communist Party flag. Whenever a group of marchers marched in front of the embassy, ​​eggs and drink bottles would fly from the crowd into the embassy wall from time to time. Then there would be a burst of cheers and whistles, and people would applaud and shout "Well done!"

The Japanese flag was conspicuously hung on the flagpole in the Japanese embassy, ​​and people passing by shouted "lower the flag." The sun was blazing at noon, and the two young men in the crowd who took the lead in shouting slogans had their faces flushed. They cooperated tacitly and walked on both sides of the team. When one voice became hoarse, he would nod to the other and work alternately. They led slogans such as "Get out, little Japan," "Declare war," and "Down with Japanese imperialism," which received enthusiastic responses from the crowd.

An old man who claimed to be a veteran of the 38th Army almost completed the entire journey with the help of people around him. He held the national flag and said loudly in the crowd: "You can't fight Japan half way. If you want to fight, knock it down!" As soon as he finished speaking, cheers and laughter broke out. People in the front row of the team asked the old man to stand in the middle of the first row of the team. Many people ask people around them to take photos of themselves while marching.

There were private enterprise employees, self-employed people, and migrant workers in the parade. There are fashionably dressed young girls, gray-haired old couples, and fathers with children. There were many students in the crowd, but most of them were dispersed. There was no demonstration organized by students from any school at the scene.

Eight mainland staff members of Hong Kong's "World Chinese Newspaper" participated in the protest. They made their own placards: "Even if we only have a meal of clenbuterol, we will send troops to destroy Japan", "Even if we are being represented every day, we will recover the Diaoyu Islands", "Even if there is no one to take care of our elderly care, we will occupy Mount Fuji", "Be rational and patriotic, swear not to be patriotic thieves" and so on.

A couple of petitioners also participated, with the woman walking on crutches with the help of the man. They have been in Beijing for more than two months, and today is their fourth day to participate in demonstrations. They also chanted slogans vigorously and said that demonstrations were another way for them to express their emotions.

Several young people wearing T-shirts with patriotic words about protecting the Diaoyu Islands said that the clothing and demonstration slogans were printed and distributed by the company. Many marchers received a special sweat towel, and people distributed free mineral water along the way. A middle-aged man with a red stripe on his head that read "Defend the Diaoyu Islands" pulled two bamboo baskets of apples on an electric bicycle and distributed them to demonstrators outside the roadside isolation zone.

As the team marched, there were people in civilian clothes holding loudspeakers marked with the word "Police", instructing the team to move forward or stop, how to hold up banners and wave flags. At the end of the parade, near the Maqiao Antique Market in Zaoliang, there were patriotic signature banners with the flags of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and four places printed on them. People flocked to the banners to sign their names.

Although the parade was very emotional, it appeared to be orderly under the organization and maintenance of a large number of public security officers. There were few signs of violence, except for water bottles that occasionally flew towards the embassy. A large number of police cars were parked on the north-south Chaoyang Park Road and Maizidian Street. There was one police officer about 10 meters along the parade route, and one officer 3-5 meters away from the Japanese Embassy. A helicopter hovered over the crowd from time to time.

The police's appeal was repeatedly played on the loudspeaker: "Japan has violated our country's sovereignty, and it is legitimate for everyone to express their wishes. We feel the same as everyone else. The government has made it clear that it will not sit back and let its territorial sovereignty be violated. We must support and support the government, express patriotic enthusiasm in a legal, rational and orderly manner, and abide by the law." Please comply with laws and regulations, do not take excessive actions, and do not affect social order. Please cooperate with our work, follow the instructions of the police, do not stay at the scene after expressing your wishes, pay attention to safety, and leave in an orderly manner. Thank you. "

The team marched along the designated route under the guidance of the police. When the marchers marched a hundred meters, a police officer asked them to stop marching and wait until the front group had gone some distance before letting them go. The closer we get to the gate of the Japanese embassy, ​​the more police are deployed. A man holding a loudspeaker shouted to the crowd: "Those carrying Chairman Mao's portrait come to the front! Put the slogan on your chest and move closer together! Let Chairman Mao lead us forward!" Three men holding Chairman Mao's portrait quickly ran to the front row of the line.

The gate of the embassy is even more heavily guarded. On the innermost side are three layers of armed policemen holding shields, standing behind a temporary separation fence that is as high as one person. Outside is a human wall composed of public security and special police officers. There are almost no physical collisions between people and the armed police. From time to time, onlookers wanted to join the parade, or demonstrators wanted to leave midway, and the police immediately asked them to find an entrance and exit along the designated route.

The south gate of the Japanese Embassy faces the north gate of the China-Japan Youth Exchange Center across Liangmaqiao Road. The China-Japan Youth Exchange Center complex (including the 21st Century Hotel, Century Theater, etc.) was jointly initiated and built in 1984 by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Hu Yaobang, then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It was originally intended to promote friendly exchanges between Chinese and Japanese youths.

On this day, the place was full of vehicles with various public security, armed police and government license plates. A large number of public security and armed police were on standby in the hospital. Monitors on several professional vehicles at the entrance closely watched the protests on Liangmaqiao Road. Two cleaning workers in the hospital complained that there were more cigarette butts than usual in the past two days.