During the “Golden Week” holiday, there was a tense atmosphere at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Recently, a young couple filmed a video disclosing that they were caught in a stability maintenance incident while taking photos at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. They were surrounded by plainclothes policemen, sparking heated discussions among netizens.
According to a blogger known for covering mainland China events, the incident occurred on the evening of October 2.
The video shows the young couple standing with their backs to the Tiananmen Gate Tower, holding hands raised high, attracting the attention of nearby police officers. The man then made a “V” gesture with his hand and raised his right hand like a high-five, at which moment several scattered police and plainclothes officers swiftly surrounded the couple.
This scene astonished many Chinese netizens, who inquired, “What did you two do to have them all come over?” “What equipment do you have for the police to come charging at you?”
The young couple explained that at that time they were merely asking a plainclothes person to help take a photo, but others mistook their actions as wrongdoing. In reality, it was just a small camera, and the person kindly took a quick photo for them.
When asked if he was scared at the time, the young man admitted, “How could I not panic when I saw people surrounding us on all sides!”
The blogger commented on this, saying, “The most ironic part is that the person who helped them take photos was also a secret police officer. In this blood-soaked square, how many are truly tourists?”
Why would a few simple gestures trigger such a strong reaction from the police? Netizens speculated that many people had deliberately covered the “人” (people) and “共和” (republic) characters on the Tiananmen Gate Tower with their hands and heads when taking photos, turning “Long live the People’s Republic of China” into “Long live the Republic of China.” The gesture made by the husband in the photo, seemingly touched the nerves of the plainclothes officers involved in stability maintenance.
In fact, the experience of this couple is just a microcosm of the overall high-pressure environment in Beijing. According to the official Chinese state media Xinhua, during the “Golden Week” holiday, Beijing upgraded its security and stability levels comprehensively. The Beijing Public Security Bureau alone deployed more than 550 police officers daily, continuously monitoring key train stations, transportation hubs, access points, security checkpoints, passenger gathering areas, transfer areas, and implementing tailored plans and measures to respond quickly and efficiently to any emergencies during peak travel periods.
However, in sharp contrast to the high-pressure security measures, this year’s holiday atmosphere seemed unusually subdued. A local Beijing netizen lamented in a post that in previous years, the traffic in the city area three days before the “Golden Week” holiday was almost universally congested, but this year there were noticeably fewer people out for leisure activities. “I used to struggle through the traffic even when riding a motorcycle for fun! It’s so quiet this year, I can’t believe my eyes! Are fewer people going out to play due to the bad economy?”
The post resonated with netizens: “Everyone is short of money!” “Yes, but there really are fewer people out.” Some even mocked, “Living in a prosperous era as you wished!”