Beijing cleaning its house for Xi Jinping’s showpiece

Beijing is in familiar lock-down as the countdown begins to the national communist party congress on Wednesday.

Three’s a crowd ... riding past a billboard for the Communist Party national congress this week.

No liquids or powders — including infant formula — can be received by post or online orders. No open-air markets can be held. No sports such as badminton in gyms.

No singing in public — “go home”, a soulful teenager was ­instructed by police. No travel permitted by Uighurs or Tibetans. No petitions — thousands of petitioners have been arrested and sent home.

Beijing is in familiar lockdown as the countdown begins to the 19th national five-yearly Communist Party congress, opening in the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday.

The city’s recently appointed party secretary, Cai Qi, a protege of President Xi Jinping, says the congress is “our top priority, every necessary measure will be taken to safeguard it”.

In the spirit, he said, of “not a single drop of water being allowed to leak”, Beijing is “resolutely cracking down on political ­rumours and harmful news”. ­Recently, internet giants Tencent, Baidu and Weibo have been fined heavily for failing to censor online content.

A much-anticipated new film, Youth, by director Feng Xiaogang, had its opening cancelled by the authorities with just a few days’ notice, apparently because it touched on the sensitive topic of the grim 1979 war with Vietnam — for which disabled soldiers frequently complain they have not been adequately compensated.

All police leave in Beijing has naturally been cancelled, with thousands of reinforcements ­deployed to the capital from elsewhere in China.

The main market for building materials has been relocated in Hebei province, since it was perceived to attract too many migrant workers who may not be fully vouched for.

Massive banners along roadsides, on buildings and at subway stations proclaim: “Unite tightly around Xi Jinping as the core of the party, elevate Chinese socialism to fresh heights!”. Major boulevards are festooned with knotted red ribbons to symbolise party unity. But no public event even loosely associated with the congress is being staged, since the party is characteristically anxious about large gatherings of people.

Thus dim echoes are aroused of dynastic days, when as emperors conducted ritual sacrifices around the city, Beijingers were told to avert their gaze and remain silent as the divine presence was carried past. A People’s Liberation Army navy song-and-dance spectacular this week to celebrate the congress was titled Sailing under the eyes of the Leader — using a term for Xi, Lingxiu, not heard since the days of Mao Zedong.

Xi is the focus of TV series being run at prime time, with replays on video screens at train stations, airports and other public venues. A common theme is of foreign deference: “African friends will not forget what Xi said … American friends will not … European, Asian friends.”

The series claims that “President Xi has travelled a million miles to spread his concept of common destiny with people all over the world”.

The Danish Cultural Centre has entered fully into the spirit of the occasion, with a new exhibition titled A Modern Royal Household containing half a million Lego pieces to create a model of the ­Forbidden City, the ancient ­imperial palace at the heart of ­Beijing.

State-owned funds have intervened in the stock markets this week to prevent volatility in the run-up to the congress — Xi ­appears to view the share collapse two years ago as the darkest event of his first five years in office.

Steel mills and other heavy ­industries have been ordered to wind back output in order to ­ensure blue skies during the congress rather than the more common Beijing smog.

Flights in and out of Beijing may be expected to suffer from ­delays even longer than usual, as extra precautions are taken. China’s air travel is already among the most frequently delayed in the world, with traffic controlled by the PLA air force whose priority is not commercial flights.

The ripples from the congress have reached every corner of the country. For instance, the “golden week” holiday last week following National Day was suddenly scrapped for public servants, state enterprise workers, teachers, students and many others in the vast Xinjiang region in the northwest so they could “prepare” for the great event in Beijing.

A hotel in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, has just been fined $3000 for accommodating a Uighur guest. Members of this ethnic group — mostly Muslim — and Tibetans are viewed as potential troublemakers so are barred from travel at this “sensitive” time.

All 89 million party members, not just the 2273 delegates participating in the congress, are being required to devote considerable time to studying the works of Xi in these days before the event. And universities throughout China are holding mandatory ideology ­classes for students.