PLA guarding national flag
Armed police post and responsibilities replaced in step towards reforms
Beijing: Dozens of members from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Guards of Honour raised the national flag at Tiananmen Square in central Beijing yesterday morning.
This move has meant that the PLA has replaced the armed police force to guard the national flag and fire salute cannons, as ordered by the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Saturday.
Previously, national flags were raised, lowered and guarded by armed police officers at key sites such as government complexes, public squares and memorials.
The armed police was also responsible for firing cannons at important occasions such as welcome ceremonies for State guests.
Around 7.31am, a group of 96 honour guards, headed by a flag holder and two escort guards, marched out from the central gate of the Tiananmen Rostrum and walked past two columns of their peers standing across the Chang’an avenue.
They then reached the restricted zone around the flag post and stood in formation.
At 7.36am, an honour guard raised the national flag, which was accompanied by the national anthem played by a PLA band.
Before the end of 1977, a national flag would be raised at Tiananmen Square only on important dates including the New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year’s Day, Labour Day and National Day, and the task had been undertaken by a worker from the former Beijing Electricity Bureau from 1951 to 1977, according to PLA Daily .
From the end of 1977, soldiers from the PLA Beijing Garrison started to raise and lower the national flag at the square on a daily basis until December 1982, when the mission was transferred to the newly established armed police.
In addition to the ceremonial changes, yesterday also marked a significant step in an ongoing reform of the armed police – the paramilitary force was placed under the unified control of the CPC Central Committee and Central Military Commission.
Under the new command chain, armed police units take orders directly from the force’s headquarters, which, likewise, will follow directives from the Central Military Commission.
The armed police has been included in the Central Military Commission system and no longer takes orders from the State Council. —