As the world’s most important political beauty contest reaches a climax, a few extra security measures have been put in place to ensure there are no problems & that the wrong image is not projected either internally or overseas.
Taxi drivers have been instructed recently by their companies to remove handles from rear windows. A driver surnamed Xu said a text message from his company also advised him to keep the windows closed when his taxi passes by Tiananmen Square.
Citizens with complaints have also been the subject of “advice” to taxi drivers, “We were asked not to take petitioners to government buildings, but we should take them straight to the police office instead,” said a driver, surnamed Han, adding he was told to avoid taking passengers with bags for “safety” reasons.
More than 1.5 million additional security, police & “advisory” staff have been temporarily assigned to the capital.
Censors are trawling though web sites to remove subversive content, this appears, for the moment, to have reduced broadband connection speeds to around the same as for dial-up services.
Beijing police have banned residents from flying remote control model aircraft or launching balloons during the period of the congress, & following plenary session.
Windows of buses heading toward “political centers” must be closed to prevent the “throwing of leaflets & other issues”, according to the influential Caixin magazine, although what an “issue” is in this context is not clear.
Authorities have for the next month banned the words “death”, “die” or “down” from songs on television. Music composer Gao Xiaosong wrote on his blog the words were deemed “unlucky”.
The Beijing Homing Pigeon Association said in an online notice that two annual races, originally scheduled for the period of the congress, would be postponed until December. It did not say why.
I feel safer already.
ThursdayAgain 
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