At around 6 p.m. on April 11, the west gate of the People’s Liberation Army Political Headquarters became crowded, as approximately a thousand Liberation Army veterans arrived for an appeal. Police officers and cars quickly moved in to surround the group.

The west gate of the Liberation Army Headquarters is located on Xiaohongluochang Street in Xicheng District, Beijing. There were police cars all over the area; some parked on the streets and caused traffic to slow down; others blocked the roads leading to the west gate to stop civilians and reporters from going there.

Bystanders at the scene and local residents said that a large group of veterans from the People’s Liberation Army were appealing in front of the west gate. The veterans had been gathering there since the morning.

The demonstrators could not be seen from the streets on the other side of the roadblocks. The witnesses, however, claimed the demonstrators were wearing their army uniforms which included several female veterans also appealing.

After 7 p.m. (Beijing time), the police still surrounded the demonstrators and isolated them from view of passers-by. The police officers were able to come and go, but the demonstrators couldn’t move around freely. Without being fully prepared, it is doubtful that the demonstrators may continue the appeal for long. Particularly, when it is known that the police customarily surround and isolate demonstrators until they become exhausted, and then move in to dispel or arrest them.

The demonstration took place in front of an important institute of the Chinese army, and was adjacent to Zhongnanhai and Tiananmen Square. The special roles of the appealers drew serious attention from the authorities and the police. The Epoch Times reporter will continue to follow this story as while the purpose of the demonstration is meant to be pension increases, quite possibly there are other simultaneous and deeper underlying reasons taking place.