No security presence seen in Beijing amid coup rumors: reports
Sputnik says there are no signs confirming the coup plot in China, with everything going as normal in the Chinese capital.
There was no notable or visible police presence in Beijing on Saturday, a Sputnik reporter said amid reports and rumors on social media suggesting that a coup plot was taking place in China.
Unconfirmed media reports suggested that the People's Liberation Army was plotting a coup in Beijing aimed at toppling the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the Golden Week of public holidays that comes ahead of China's National Day on October 1.
China's National Day is celebrated to commemorate the formal proclamation establishing the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
The Sputnik correspondent underlined that there were no signs of tensions in the Chinese capital, with people going about their daily lives without disruptions.
According to the Russian agency, travel is still possible from Beijing, with airplane and train tickets still being available for purchase, though at a slight mark-up due to the holiday week approaching. No internet or social media blackouts have been reported either.
The reports come days after Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the Chinese armed forces, urging for the better use of successful experience in the reform of national defense and the armed forces and striving for new horizons for strengthening the armed forces through reform.
According to Xi, the CPC Central Committee and the CMC have remarkably implemented the strategy of strengthening the armed forces through reform since the Party's 18th National Congress.
Xi also urged high-ranking representatives of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), the People’s Armed Police Force, and military academics to mobilize efforts into implementing reform tasks and manage future reforms to provide strong impetus for achieving the goal set for the centenary of the People's Liberation Army.