Scenes of the “Two Sessions”: Guarding Against the People Outside the Great Hall, Guarding Against Their Own People Inside

On March 4, Xijin Ping attended the opening ceremony of The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Video screenshot

[People News] If you walk the streets of Beijing in March, what you will absolutely feel is not any kind of “breath of spring,” but rather an almost “neurotic” sense of suffocation. With the opening of the Two Sessions, inside and outside the Great Hall of the People are simply “two different worlds.” Let us take a look at these “various scenes of life at the Two Sessions.”

First, let us look at Beijing “outside” the Great Hall. According to a Ming Pao reporter’s description, the walk from Chang’an Avenue to the Great Hall, a distance of only 1.5 kilometers, actually takes more than 40 minutes. Why? Because there are checkpoints everywhere.

How strict has security screening been at this year’s Two Sessions? You may have heard of checking personal bags, but have you heard of “removing phone cases”? That’s right: now, to enter the area around Tiananmen Square, visitors must remove their phone cases so they can be checked for any “prohibited items” hidden inside.
Moreover, your notebook will be flipped through page by page to see whether you have written any slogans; even the box of painkillers you carry with you may be opened, and security personnel will carefully question you about whether you are carrying any “sleeping pills.” This level of extreme vigilance has been described by netizens as “neurotic” security.

Among these “various scenes,” the strangest sight of all is undoubtedly the “bridge watchers.” Since the “Sitong Bridge incident,” every pedestrian overpass in Beijing is now staffed with security guards on 24-hour watch, known as “bridge guards.” These people work in teams of two, wearing uniforms and staring at every passerby. To recruit them, Beijing is offering the high daily pay of 280 to 360 yuan, even requiring that they be young people “with no criminal record,” and that they know how to use smartphones to report in at any time.

Some netizens joked that this is truly “a great innovation with Chinese Communist Party characteristics”: taxpayers’ money is being spent like this on “protecting His Majesty” and guarding against “new Sitong Bridge warriors” hanging banners.

Next, let us push open the heavy doors of the Great Hall and look at the scenes of life “inside.” Inside the venue, the red carpet is still bright, but the monitoring by men in black is even tighter than in previous years.

The committee members and delegates claim to have been chosen by the people, yet the applause in support of Communist Party policies is extremely enthusiastic.

This year, the empty seats on the presidium also appeared especially glaring. What has sparked the most speculation at this year’s Two Sessions is those “disappeared big shots,” those figures who once wielded immense power and are now collectively absent.

Let us focus our attention on Xi Jinping’s table. While everyone else has only one cup on their table, the two cups on his table look especially conspicuous. These two cups have not appeared for the first time.

About six years ago, the National People’s Congress venue already deployed guards specifically assigned to watch Xi Jinping’s teacup, and one male staff member was specially responsible for pouring tea for Xi Jinping. By the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress in 2021, the arrangement of two teacups in front of Xi Jinping appeared for the first time. It seems that the position of “bridge guard” is not strange enough; the “cup guard” is the true pinnacle.

At the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress in 2024, the Associated Press captured a very bizarre image: Xi Jinping lifted his cup and took a sip, and at that very instant, all his facial features twisted into a knot—his eyes shut, his lips pressed together, and his expression looked extremely painful.
This photo instantly exploded across the internet. Everyone was guessing: what exactly was in that cup? Some said the water was too hot, some said he had an inflamed throat, but more netizens speculated whether it was “bitter Chinese medicine” brewed to treat an illness. It seems that not only is the Communist Party terminally ill, but Xi Jinping is seriously ill as well!

This is what the scenes of life at the Two Sessions look like in 2026: security guards on the bridges, phone cases being taken apart, disappeared high officials, clapping delegates, and the two cups on Xi Jinping’s table. There is a clear difference between inside and outside the Great Hall: outside, they are guarding against ordinary people; inside, they are guarding against their own people. What this reflects is an internal “power vacuum” and external “extreme stability maintenance.” Especially after ally Khamenei was beheaded, Xi Jinping’s sense of security has been shattered even further.
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