Beijing authorities have been on tenterhooks since the death last week of former premier and president of China, Zhao Ziyang. According to human rights activists in Beijing, there is fear that Zhao’s death will incite large-scale anti-government protests. Authorities are aware that the past 50 years of reactionary rule have resulted in countless injustices and blood debts to the nation, and there is a very real fear that people will seek revenge. However, the restraints of traditional moral values have prevented any rash actions over the past few days.

Brutal Measures to “Maintain Stability” after Zhao Ziyang’s Death

China’s national flag continues to fly at full-mast on Tiananmen Square. The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast – the usual symbol of respect and mourning for the death of an important government official – has been ignored.

Since last Friday, groups of policemen have been sent to arrest people who came to pay their respects to Zhao Ziyang. Authorities have also increased their on-the-spot monitoring of well-known democracy advocates both inside and outside China, restricting their freedom. Many activists, including Hua Huiqi, Qi Zhiyong, Ni Yulan, Guan Zengli and Liu Huanwen haven’t been allowed to leave their homes for several days, not even to buy food.

Well-known Beijing patriot Liu Huanwen was detained at home for several days by police. When he attempted to step outside to go out for a walk, he was forcefully detained by surveillance police – an assault that left him with two broken ribs. His family called an ambulance, but the police refused to let him get into the ambulance so that he could get hospital-treatment at that time.

A 50-year old resident from Tuzhou City, Anhui Province went to pay his respects to Zhao Ziyang. He was hit by a car and left dead on the side of the road. Eye witnesses claimed that the “hit-and-run” seemed to be an intentional murder, rather than a mere accident. The man wore a white flower, which clearly identified him as a mourner.

Wang Shiyuan from Fangcheng, Henan Province went to Beijing to file an appeal for his grievance with the Central Government and was beaten unconsciousness by policemen at the Supreme Court reception station. One of his eyeballs was dislodged and hung from the eye socket.

The south station of Beijing and the area near the “Appellant Village” where petitioners from all over the country gather, were surrounded by police, with far more police cars than normal. Some of the security officers were in army uniform, and had been recruited specifically to assist with the arrests.

The central government reportedly gave orders that the most important consideration at the present time was ensuring stability. As one insider reported, “We have been told that it’s more important right now to stabilize any incidents, rather than worry about someone dying. If someone dies, compensation will take care of it, so it’s not something we should be concerned about. We have been told to be more responsible, report more frequently, and increase our ability to quickly react to incidents.” According to this person, the central government had requested that particular attention be paid to five groups of people: troublemakers; teachers and students; citizens displaced due to construction projects; political activists; and people mixed in with the appealers and against the government.