'Full body search' for 10,000 pigeons in Tiananmen Square
Birds were checked for 'suspicious items' before being released during National Day celebration
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 02 October, 2014, 3:29am
UPDATED : Thursday, 02 October, 2014, 3:29am
Andrea Chen [email protected]
A police officer checks one of the pigeons before they were released to mark the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic. Photo: Imaginechina
Tight security was imposed in Tiananmen Square yesterday with even pigeons taking part in a National Day flag-raising ceremony undergoing two rounds of checks, including the avian equivalent of a full body search.
A member of staff at the city's pigeon association said 10,000 of the birds were checked overnight to ensure they were not carrying "suspicious items" before they were taken to the square, The Beijing News and The Mirror reported.
"We needed to closely examine their wings, tails and even anuses," the newspapers quoted the staff member as saying.
The birds were then checked again early yesterday morning at the square.
Four armed police holding torches examined their cages and around the wheels and engines of each truck carrying the pigeons and then ensured they were kept well away from tourists.
The birds were then released into the air as the national flag reached the top of the flagpole at dawn yesterday, marking the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic.
Security has been stepped up around the country at the start of the National Day "golden week" holiday after a spate of violent attacks in recent months that the government has blamed on separatist militants from Xinjiang .
Three people were executed in August after they were convicted of masterminding an attack in Tiananmen Square last October. A car ploughed into tourists near the entrance to the former imperial palace, the Forbidden City, and burst into flames. Two tourists and three people in the car were killed.
More security scanning equipment was set up around the square yesterday to check tourists flocking to the area. Police officers on patrol were also issued with portable fire extinguishers.
State media said 110,000 visitors were in the square to watch the flag-raising ceremony.
About 1.25 million people, including 850,000 volunteers, are helping to patrol the streets or monitor security conditions in the capital.
Security was also tightened at mainland tourist attractions.
Traffic police in Zhangjiajie , a scenic area in Hunan province , had been ordered not to take any leave during the holiday week, the local government said.
The country's railway network was expected to handle more than 11 million passengers yesterday, the news website People.com.cn reported.
Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin experienced massive traffic jams yesterday as crowds entered and left the cities.
At toll booths on the Beijing-Shanghai expressway, drivers reported moving only 100 metres in two hours, while the capital's traffic police reported congestion on virtually all the city's ring roads.
More than 427 million people travelled over the National Day holidays last year.
Additional reporting by Angela Meng
