As it happened: Hong Kong protests

1. Protesters and police were involved in violent clashes in Hong Kong.
2. Tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse the demonstrators.
3. It came hours after Beijing marked 70 years since the Communist Party came to power with extravagant celebrations.
4. Military might was on show with processions of tanks, armoured units, drones and even an unmanned underwater vehicle.
5. China under communism defied expectations with its growth but has a very poor reputation for human rights.

Hotels on lockdown

Andreas Illmer

Singapore

Even before the big day, the military parade has caused no small disruption to residents of central Beijing. To ensure that today would go without a glitch, there obviously have been several large scale dress rehearsals.

And as we were speaking to our colleagues and pundits in Beijing during the past weeks, we kept hearing stories of how shops and restaurants in the centre were being closed on and off, or had cut down their hours. Some subway stations were temporarily shut.

The most bizarre incidents I heard was that near Tiananmen Square, hotel guests were locked down in their hotels for hours around the rehearsal parades. Being unable to get out of their room (or get back into your hotel) left many people, well, somewhat frustrated.

And even pigeons have been banned

According to this notice from Beijing municipal authorities, (in Chinese) the security ban also covers pigeons, which "must be kept in captivity and prohibited from flying" from 15 September until midnight on the 1 October. That'll be frustrating for the hundreds of thousands of pigeon fanciers and racers in Beijing - and indeed arguably for the pigeons.

Here's our story on that from last week, if you want a recap.

Tight security for weeks

Central Beijing always has high security, particularly around Tiananmen Square, the Mao Zedong mausoleum and government buildings including the parliament, called The Great Hall of the People.

But security has been ramped up even more in the weeks ahead of the parade. The flying of drones has been banned across the whole city, as well as any kind of advertising balloons. On top of that, any kind of aircraft needs specific permission from aviation authorities to fly over the city - that includes light aircraft, gliders, airships, hot air balloons and model aeroplanes.

Getty Images

Large areas of central Beijing have been blocked off for security reasons.

Hong Kong could overshadow the big day

Anna Jones

Singapore

The 70th anniversary is a big deal for China and the government has been preparing for years. They want it to go off without a hitch.

But today risks being overshadowed by events in Hong Kong where months of protests - started by plans to introduce an extradition bill - have developed into much broader anger at the Hong Kong government and Beijing. We've already seen some scuffles there this morning.

So, stick with us today. I’m here in Singapore with my colleague Andreas. We'll be bringing you updates on all the events happening in Beijing and Hong Kong and elsewhere along with lots of useful info and accounts from our colleagues across the region.

Reuters

A protester is detained in Hong Kong during early morning events

Growth over human rights

But that has come at a cost. China is a one-party state, which is intolerant of dissent and opposition.

It has a reputation as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers. It exercises intense control over its population - what they learn, how they are entertained and what they can say.

It has no qualms about jailing those who become too vocal or prominent in their criticism of the government, individual rights are secondary to growth and most recently the world has been shocked to learn of the mass detention of Uighur Muslims, among others, in Xinjiang province. China says it is preventing domestic terrorism with these mandatory training camps.

Welcome to a day of live China coverage

Hello - good morning if you're here in Asia - and welcome to our live coverage of China’s big day of celebrations. Today marks 70 years since Mao Zedong - largely known as Chairman Mao - declared the birth of the People’s Republic of China. And China is celebrating in style with a huge parade in Beijing.

The economic and geopolitical rise of China - which defied all expectations - is arguably one of the defining stories of the 20th Century. In a remarkably short time, the Communist Party turned around a country which had only recently emerged from generations of feudal rule and years of civil war to become the second-largest economy in the world and a genuine rival to the US.