Apparently, 200 dead in race riots and a weird spate of syringe attacks will do that. Still, it's not everyday you read a politburo member quoted about "grave challenges in maintaining stability." Even more remarkable, that quote appears in yesterday's People's Daily Online.
The next event to watch is the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of China, coming up in a couple of weeks on 1 October. The Economist writes about "a security operation as stifling as that mounted for last year’s Olympic Games."
*****
This photo was taken in Tiananmen Square on the afternoon of 30 June, 1997. That night at midnight, Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule. The flag held by the woman in the photo commemorated the event, and was ubiquitous that day in Beijing.
That night, there was a huge celebration in Tiananmen Square for "invited guests." We weren't invited, so we watched the fireworks from our hotel just down the Avenue of Heavenly Peace from Tiananmen Square.
The hotel, the Beijing Grand Hotel, put on a party on its roof. You couldn't see CNN many places in Beijing in 1997, but that night they had champagne and big screen TVs following CNN's countdown to the handover. It was a brilliant summer night in Beijing, just right for fireworks and a party, while Jiang Zemin and Prince Charles endured an utter, drenching downpour for the official ceremony in Hong Kong.
(Photo from the China Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.)

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