The 20th Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is set to convene tomorrow after a nearly ten-month delay. According to reports, authorities in Beijing have implemented strict control measures, even notifying non-dissident individuals to refrain from entering or exiting Beijing without cause.
The 20th Plenary Session of the CCP will be held from July 15th to the 18th. The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice on the 12th stipulating that from midnight on the 15th until late on the 18th, all units, organizations, and individuals within the administrative region of Beijing are prohibited from engaging in various sports, entertainment, or commercial flight activities using drones and other small aircraft.
A Beijing resident named Mr. Li also informed reporters that the control measures for the upcoming plenary session are extremely stringent. Even a friend from Hebei who is not a dissident received a notice on the 12th instructing them not to enter or exit Beijing without cause.
Mr. Li further revealed that officials have been conducting security checks. “On the morning of the 13th, the Beijing Subway Line 1 section from Wanshoulu to Yuquanlu was temporarily suspended, with stations closed, but it was reopened around 2 p.m.,” he said.
According to a report by Sing Tao Daily, over 370 CCP Central Committee members and alternate members, including the party leadership and high-ranking officials from central government agencies, provinces, municipalities, and the military, will attend the Plenary Session. The meeting typically takes place behind closed doors at the Jingxi Guesthouse.
Mr. Li noted a significant presence of police on the streets. “In the afternoon of the 13th, when passing by the Jingxi Guesthouse, there were special police, plainclothes officers, and public security personnel everywhere, checking documents, controlling pedestrian traffic, and various intercept teams from different regions,” he described.
Li also mentioned witnessing police mobilization in the Fangshan District on the nights of July 10th and 11th, with a large number of officers conducting inspections of the residency status of outsiders and closely monitoring dissenting individuals within the jurisdiction. The village is located near the border with Hebei Province.
Additionally, a petitioner named Yang Caiying from Jintan District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, shared her experience on July 13th. Her 71-year-old mother went to Beijing to seek help from Xi Jinping, but due to the Plenary Session, on July 3rd, local public security personnel intercepted her. Yang said, “After returning, she was directly taken to a detention center, facing criminal detention. The police told us the exact duration of detention is yet to be determined.”
Yang provided a video to reporters showing government personnel monitoring her sister’s home on Binhubei Road in Jintan District, Changzhou City.
She stated, “When my sister returned home, there were over a dozen people monitoring her 24/7, and now they even have walkie-talkies. Due to the Plenary Session, many petitioners are under close surveillance, and we, as petitioners from Jiangsu, are confined at home and unable to move.”
According to Yang, after Li Yao’guang, the director of the Jiangsu Public Security Department, was transferred from Beijing to Jiangsu, there has been severe oppression of petitioners, leading to many individuals being criminally detained or sentenced without valid reasons. “They are going crazy, arresting you without justification,” she added.