Occupy Beijing

Launched in mid-September in the U.S., a campaign of 'Occupy Wall Street' swiftly spreads all over the world.So far, nearly 900 cities in Japan, Germany, Korea,Taiwan and Hong Kong, among other regions, have responded. 

Even mainland China got involved in low profile. Chinese netizens launched on Facebook an activity of 'Occupy Beijing,' but the words immediately became sensitive words online. With the global wave of 'Occupy,' Chinese netizenscalled on to 'Occupy Beijing' on Facebook,making the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)authorities nervous.This comes amid the period of the Sixth Plenary Sessionof 17th CCP Central Committee.At Beijing's Financial Street, its own Wall Street,police presence noticeably increased.

The term 'Occupy Beijing' has been blocked on Sina microblog and Baidu Post Bar. In the latter, even 'Occupy Wall Street' cannot be searched. Back to the earlier photos published on Wyzxsx.com, a left-wing website, shows that on October 6, hundreds of citizens in Zhengzhou, Henan province, gathered holding white cloth strips to support the Wall Street revolution in the U.S. Many elderly locals attended the assembly, their arms tied with red cloth strips, which had "Supporting the Wall Street Revolution"written on them. Leaflets were distributed at the site. Radio France Internationale reported of CCP official media, such as Xinhua News Agency, publishing many reports about the 'Occupy Wall Street' campaign in the U.S. But in mainland major media there is almost no coverage of the mass assembly in Zhengzhou.On Baidu, China's renowned portal website, one cannot find posts in responseto the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement. Is it possible for the global wave of 'Occupy' to spread to mainland China? What is the future of the movement? Liu Qing, a renowned U.S.-based rights activist, and ex-president of 'Human Rights in China, 'thinks that the 'Occupy' campaign in a democratic country is fundamentally different from that in an authoritarian state. Liu Qing (Ex-President, 'Human Rights in China') :"This dissatisfaction is completely different from that of the Chinese civilians. You clearly hear the Chinese speak out "CCP is fascist," and "dictatorship."They are negating the current regime, a complete rejection of CCP as an institution. But in the U.S., civilians are not negating the institution, but asking for a solution to the concrete problems.So they have fundamentally different nature."Liu analyzed that in democratic countries in Europe and America, although the masses initiate all kinds of protests to express their dissatisfaction with the government, they can have these problems resolved, through constitutional means, in the Parliamentor by the highest judicial authorities. Liu Qing: "Democracy is like a pendulum. It keep swinging until reaches a reasonable solution for the civilians, including their rights. But what an authoritarian state does is to control, suppress and persecute civilians."Chinese constitutional scholar Chen Miao, told Voice of Germany that although the CCP authorities' propaganda seemingly commented on these movements in a quipped way, it in fact should have much inner tension. It can't be ruled out that the CCP regime, along with other authoritarian states, are readily prepared for tough response. As to the 'Occupy Beijing,' movement,it will probably go through several twists and turns.

NTD reporters Chang Chun, Lin Huixin and Zhou Tian