Over 1,000 protesters stand before Chinese defence ministry
BEIJING — More than 1,000 protesters walked and chanted in front of China’s defence ministry Tuesday, the latest apparent demonstration by soldiers as the world’s largest standing military modernizes and downsizes.
The protesters stood for several hours in front of the Bayi building in central Beijing, home of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence. Many wore green fatigues bearing the hammer-and-sickle logo of China’s ruling Communist Party.
The purpose of their demonstration was unclear. Protesters approached by The Associated Press declined to be interviewed, and censors blocked searches on social media about retired soldiers or the Chinese defence ministry.
Hundreds of police and plainclothes security officers surrounded the protesters, hemming them in with buses and police vehicles.