2:06am UK, Monday February 21, 2011
Pro-democracy activists in China have been thwarted in their attempt to start Middle East-style protests demanding more rights.
Scores of police turned out in Beijing to prevent pro-democracy protests
Messages calling for a "Jasmine Revolution" - the name given to the Tunisian uprising which toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali - had been circulated on the internet ahead of protests in 13 cities across the country.
But as the time for the protest approached in Beijing, scores of police descended on the designated area in Wanfujing, an upmarket shopping district.
Side streets were lined with security forces, police vehicles, Swat police and at least 100 uniformed personnel, while dozens of plain-clothed officers also looked on, conspicuously wearing identical coats.
In the end there were very few signs of demonstrations beyond sporadic scuffles between police and several individuals.
Members of the public seemed unaware of the planned protest
The messages calling for democracy had been circulated on Boxun.com, a Chinese-language microblog based in the US.
Anonymous battle cries also circulated with the hashtag #cn220, inviting China's disenfranchised to "seek freedom, democracy and political reform to end one-party rule".
Another post instructed protesters to shout slogans such as "We want justice", "long live freedom" and "long live democracy".
Some crowds did gather in Wanfujing, but only through curiosity after seeing a strong police presence.
One taxi driver mused that a foreign dignitary or celebrity must have arrived in town.
After approximately two hours, police began to retreat and China's so-called "Jasmine Revolution" fizzled out without a spark.
The protest had lacked the determination, organisation and popular support which was seen in the Middle East.
Plain clothes officers tackled some protesters
Whereas in Tunisia, unemployment and rising prices were key factors for toppling an unpopular regime, Chinese people largely support the current leadership.
The Communist Party is credited with three decades of uninterrupted economic growth which has lifted millions out of poverty and secured it as the second largest economy in the world.
But despite its successes, China also remains an autocracy, determined to stamp out any challenge to its one-party rule.
During recent turmoil in the Middle East, Chinese authorities restricted media reports and heavily censored any related content online.
Many political dissidents and well-known activists were also detained ahead of the planned demonstrations today, or had their mobile phones blocked.
The call for protest had come at a particularly sensitive time in China - only two weeks ahead of the annual convention of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress.
During the convention, a five-year plan will be decided to determine the country's political and economic course.
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