By Li Muzi
Iran’s nationwide uprising against authoritarian rule has reportedly heightened vigilance within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In recent weeks, public security special police units across China have intensified riot-control drills, with multiple localities staging exercises in public spaces aimed at suppressing civilian protests. Online videos widely shared on social media claim that a drill conducted by special police in Chongzhou, Sichuan Province, included a scenario involving gunfire directed at “protesting civilians,” drawing widespread attention.
Sichuan Chongzhou drill reportedly includes live fire at ‘protesters’
According to social media posts, the CCP’s public security special police recently carried out riot-control simulations. During a drill on Jan. 9 in Chongzhou, Sichuan Province, netizens noted that one exercise scenario appeared to include “opening fire on resisting civilians.” Some online commenters described the scene as simulating on-the-spot lethal force. Others drew parallels to the bloody events of June 4, 1989, writing that history could soon repeat itself and claiming the CCP was “once again preparing to point its guns at the people.”
Subtitles visible in the circulated video read: “Thunderous Strike: Armed Police Mobile Unit Riot-Control Operation Unfolds.” The footage shows heavily armed special police advancing in formation behind shields toward a group labeled as “protesters.” Officers are seen throwing smoke grenades as they move forward. At one point, the formation opens slightly, and a prepared officer raises his firearm and fires. A person within the “protest crowd” is seen falling, after which other officers rush in to detain the remaining individuals.
In response, some netizens commented that such drills were intended as intimidation. “This kind of exercise is meant to threaten ordinary people,” one wrote. “They’re filming this to tell you not to throw stones—guns will be used.” Others posted harsher reactions, calling the drill a message that lethal force could be applied at any time, or saying that riot drills had replaced military exercises as a way to intimidate the public.
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Additional comments went further, describing the scenario as “not suppression but slaughter,” and asserting that as long as the CCP remains in power, ordinary people will not escape hardship. Some posts openly called for the overthrow of the CCP, statements that are typically censored on mainland platforms.
Drills reported in Chengdu, Xi’an, and Tongcheng, Hubei
According to a report by Jimun News, on the evening of Jan. 10, the Tongcheng County Public Security Bureau in Xianning, Hubei Province, held an event inside Zhongxing Tianjie shopping mall. Police and auxiliary officers from counterterrorism and patrol units conducted skill demonstrations, with non-lethal equipment such as riot shields, helmets, and handcuff models displayed in neat rows. Officers demonstrated baton techniques, shield formations, and close-combat moves in what the report described as a series of “hardcore” drills.
Online posts from Jan. 11 also claimed that large numbers of riot police conducted encirclement, dispersal, and street-control drills outside a shopping mall in Chengdu, Sichuan. In Xi’an’s Yanta District, police were reportedly seen carrying transparent riot shields, capture poles, assault rifles, and deploying police dogs during similar exercises.
Not only police—security guards also drill for crowd control
Circulating videos also show that private security teams have begun conducting riot-control drills. One clip reportedly filmed in Yinchuan’s Petroleum City area shows a local security brigade practicing anti-riot procedures. A commenter remarked that while military exercises are aimed outward, nearly all other drills appear directed at the domestic population.
In a contrasting incident, another video showed an elderly street vendor selling candied hawthorns in Beijing on Jan. 5 being knocked to the ground by local security personnel, who then seized his goods and bicycle. The footage was reportedly subjected to heavy censorship on mainland social media platforms.
Reports of nationwide recruitment of elderly ‘volunteer police’
Beyond drills, social media users claim the CCP has begun recruiting large numbers of “elderly volunteer police” across the country, offering monthly pay of 3,000 yuan (~USD $420). The alleged purpose is to monitor dissidents and individuals or groups perceived as harboring anti-CCP sentiment.
Online descriptions characterize these volunteer recruits as older in age, highly curious, energetic, attracted to authority, inclined to report others, politically loyal, and strongly supportive of the Party-state. Reports claim that volunteer police brigades have been established in places including Hegang and Tongjiang in Heilongjiang Province, and Anguo in Hebei Province.
Shanghai-based entrepreneur Hu Liren wrote on X on Jan. 4 that the reported arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had pushed Xi Jinping into what he described as a period of extreme fear. Hu claimed that messages circulating in Beijing indicated Xi had further strengthened his personal security system, with unusually frequent military movements observed at bases around the capital, and that underground shelter systems near Beijing may have been activated.
X users responding to Hu’s post commented that the authorities appeared to be “on edge.” Others wrote that the CCP relies on fraud to seize power and violence to maintain stability, calling it “the real enemy of the country.” Some posts suggested that following events in Iran and Venezuela, China could face similar unrest, with one commenter writing, “The next Iran.”
