Big Party Plans

Yesterday the government announced what we already know -- China will have a massive celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1 in Tiananmen Square.

President Hu Jintao will give a keynote address, followed by a military parade highlighting China's military achievements and a mass pageant featuring 200,000 participants and 60 floats going down Chang'an Avenue. The theme? "Motherland and I Marching Together".

In the evening of October 1 there will be a gala event at Tiananmen, where Xinhua describes there will be "colourful performances" and a fireworks display with all senior Chinese government officials present.

It all sounds like your typical festive fare, but wait -- there's more.

In the last two weeks of September, a musical called "Road to Revival" will be staged at the Great Hall of the People. With a cast of 3,200, the show will depict the past 169 years of history. That means it starts in the year 1840 when foreign powers were occupying China and the Opium War.

"We will try our best to create a festive environment at an economical cost," said a government spokesman, alluding to earlier reports that due to the global financial crisis, this year's celebrations would follow a budget. "Preparations are going on smoothly," he added.

However, many are complaining about how security measures have severly restricted people's lives.

Subways still continue to have baggage screening even though those monitoring the X-ray machines hardly even look at the screens and are usually asleep in front of the computer.

Police are stepping up security measures to be as stringent as last year during the Olympics. In that case, no one will even be allowed near Tiananmen Square.

One person on Twitter remarked, "The National Day Celebrations are being celebrated as if everyone were attempting to overthrow the government."

Who will actually be there to witness the grand event?

Sounds like security checks on that day will be so bad that most people would rather stay home and watch the events unfold on TV than try to prove they're not a terrorist.