From ABC (australia)
Chemists ensure no rain on China's parade
Updated Thu Oct 1, 2009 10:24pm AEST

China's air force deployed a "magic-like" range of chemicals and technology to clear Beijing's smoggy air for a grand parade marking the 60th anniversary of Communist China, state media said.

Chemists and officials worked for weeks on the country's most ambitious ever attempt at weather modification, with air force technicians fanning out across the region to help teams operate complex equipment, the official Xinhua agency said.

The evening before the parade chemicals were fired into the hazy skies and a light rain washed the city clean.

Surrounding provinces had already been loading clouds with silver iodide and dry ice, to try and force rain to fall before it reached Beijing, the report added.

"Only a handful of countries in the world could organise such large-scale, magic-like weather modification," said Cui Lianqing, a senior air force meteorologist who said the parade operation was the largest in China's history.

Contingency plans allowed for the teams to use one kind of chemicals to bring down rain in the parade area, and another to hold it off, he told Xinhua.

China has been researching cloud seeding and other weather manipulation techniques since the 1950s, but in the past has met with mixed success.

The opening to last year's flagship Olympic Games fell on a day when skies looked hazy despite a raft of anti-pollution and weather manipulation measures.

And a deluge in 2005 forced a hasty last-minute venue change for an outdoor ceremony featuring top Chinese leaders, even after organisers had been promised China could guarantee dry weather.

Mr Cui said this year's plans dwarfed those for the Olympics, but despite their success he said there was still room for further improvements.

"The technology we have mastered so far could only allow us to modify the weather to a limited extent," he told Xinhua.

"There are many uncertainties up in the sky."

Meanwhile, under clear skies, vast lines of tanks, soldiers and missile launchers were paraded through Beijing as part of the military parade.

President Hu Jintao drove along the capital's main avenue reviewing the troops and military hardware.

Mr Hu gave a speech from on top of the Tiananmen Gate - the same spot where the people's republic was ushered in.

"Sixty years ago the Chinese people, after 100 years of hard fight, achieved the success of the Chinese Revolution," he said.

"Chairman Mao Zedong declared here the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"Since then the Chinese people have stood up. With 5,000 years of civilisation the nation has entered a new era of development and progress."



From Crikey
China bullies its way to a perfect national day
by Crikey intern Melanie Mahony On October 1,

China stopped to watch in awe as its country celebrated 60 years of communism with the spectacular National Day Parade.

While 100,000 marchers, aircraft fly-overs, giant floats, fireworks and nuclear missiles are bound to make any parade a hit, Crikey has done some digging and found how much effort really goes into such an event.

Event planners, PR firms, government spinners and corporate communicators take note: here’s the Chinese government’s top 10 tips on how to pull together a major media event free of any negative coverage:


1. Cancel or reschedule all flights to and from airport: From 9:30am on the day of the parade, the Beijing Capital Airport was closed for three hours, affecting thousands of potential passengers on almost 200 flights.

2. Issue security passes to all residents in the immediate and surrounding areas: Back in August, some 10,000 residents living near Tiananmen Square were issued with the security passes needed to enter and leave their local area during the lead-up to, and duration of, the festivities.

3. Imprison all residents along parade route: Those living on the parade route who declined official requests to move out of their homes during the anniversary parade were issued with the following notice:

No visitors from 4pm Sep 30, to 12pm Oct 1. Windows shut and no going out on balconies from 7am to noon on parade day.

4. Manually modify the weather to ensure clear skies: In the days leading up to the event, the air force of China’s People’s Liberation Army sprayed “environmentally friendly” rain-inducing chemicals on the dark clouds looming over Beijing. The result:

5. Attack foreign media with a computer virus: According to Reuters, a virus infected email from “an economics editor named Pam Bouron” requesting help organising interviews in Beijing, was sent to various news organisations in the lead-up to the event. “There is definitely a pattern of virus attacks in the run-up to important dates on the Chinese political calendar,” says Nicholas Bequelin, of Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong.

6. Ban the flying of pigeons: Because grounding planes wasn’t enough, China also banned the flying of pigeons, kites and balloons during the parade.

7. Relocate, detain and re-educate petitioners: In the weeks leading up to the celebrations, plain clothes police reportedly began relocating petitioners in Beijing back to their home towns. According to one petitioner, the police “will take you away and beat you up, and send you to re-education classes. Yesterday there were 2000 petitioners at the Bureau of Letters and Visits, and they were all sent away.” Watch the report here.

8. Build a “security moat”: Before the event, several municipalities, provinces and an autonomous region around Beijing joined  to form a “security moat” aimed at keeping the city safe during the anniversary festivities. The “moat” includes security check-points on all roads leading into the nation’s capital.

9. Eradicate all mosquitoes, rats, flies and cockroaches: In an effort to eliminate pests, four “night-time extermination sweeps” were conducted around Tiananmen Square and banners were hung asking locals to “Eradicate the four pests, stress hygiene. Cleanly, cleanly welcome National Day!”

According to disease prevention and control official Zeng Xiaofan, “Rats could eat electric cables and mosquitoes could bite and annoy people gathering in the [Tiananmen] square on October 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary.”

10. Tell your countrymen (and women) not to attend: According to a spokesperson at the parade press office, the general public were not permitted to attend the event. Instead, citizens were advised to watch the parade at home on television. Even those living on the parade route were advised to watch their televisions rather than look out the window.