Grumbling 'volunteers' roped into Beijing crackdown
- Published: 10 Nov 2012 at 21.47
- Online news: World
The Chinese Communist Party's paranoia is on full display for its congress in Beijing in a security squeeze extending from police swarming Tiananmen Square to elderly sentinels watching street corners.
A policeman (centre) keeps watch over Chinese tourists as they walk in Tiananmen Square. The Chinese Communist Party's paranoia is on full display for its congress in Beijing in a security squeeze extending from police swarming Tiananmen Square to elderly sentinels watching street corners.
The capital has 1.4 million "public order volunteers" -- retirees, street cleaners, firemen and low-paid private security guards -- on the lookout for anything that could upset the sensitive gathering, even in the quietest residential neighbourhoods.
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