Ritan Park, officially designated for protests, sees no banners or demonstrators
With the games gathering momentum in the Chinese capital, the country’s restive border regions have been rocked by ethnic unrest. A series of bombings and attacks on the Chinese police there are seen as expressions of long-stocked resentment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. But the capital’s officially designated protests zones have remained markedly complaint free.
On a Monday morning one of the demonstration zones — Ritan Park near the city’s eastern embassy district — was a perfect picture of harmony and peace. Adorned with red lanterns and flower arrangements, the park which once served as an imperial worship place to the Sun, provided sanctuary to elderly couples resting on wooden benches and young mothers pushing strollers under the trees. Next to a pond covered with pink lotuses a group of women was practicing their singing while tai chi practitioners were moving in slow and graceful motion.
Seemingly nothing suggested that this park – one of Beijing’s finest — has been approved by the authorities as a place for dissent. According to the announced rules, demonstrators have to register with the authorities well in advance and await approval before proceeding with planned protests. Asked if they knew of the ancient park’s new role as a place of free speech, several people shrugged and said they haven’t heard of it.
A woman extended as a free gift a sticker with a red heart crossed with the words, “Go China!” and sternly admonished me not to look for the negative side of life in China. But another elderly lady who gave her name as Sun was blunt: “Who would dare do anything to rattle the government these days? Only a madman!”
