Beijing’s west to be closed to traffic for Jiang service
Sections of the Chinese capital will be closed to traffic for a day and a half from today as part of preparations for an official memorial service for late leader Jiang Zemin tomorrow.
Beijing’s police bureau said on Saturday night that from 6.30am today roads in much of the city’s west would be off-limits to public buses, trains, cars and pedestrians, with only designated vehicles and personnel allowed to use the routes.
The restrictions will remain in place until after the memorial tomorrow.
Western Beijing is home to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, where many late state leaders are cremated and their remains interred.
The service for Jiang is expected to start at 10am tomorrow, to be attended by serving and retired leaders, and to be broadcast live by state media.
All securities trading on the mainland will be suspended for three minutes during the memorial, as will trading in bonds, foreign exchange and gold, according to authorities.
Jiang, who had leukaemia, died of multiple organ failure on Wednesday in Shanghai at the age of 96.
His casket was moved from Shanghai to Beijing on Thursday in preparation for the memorial.
As one of the country’s most influential leaders, Jiang elevated China’s global standing and led the country’s economic integration with the rest of the world, overseeing key moments including China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.
He is the first top Chinese leader to die in the internet era and his death comes a quarter of a century after that of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
The memorial for Jiang is expected to follow much the same format as Deng’s in 1997. Deng’s body was cremated a day before the official memorial service at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and the service was attended by current and retired top leaders.
Jiang’s death is being marked in real life and in cyberspace.
Flags at key officials buildings and embassies have been lowered to half-mast and will remain so until after the memorial. The homepages of almost all mainland-based websites including news, university, shopping and social media platforms have switched to black and white.