This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

With pro-democracy protests raging in Hong Kong, terrorist attacks on the rise in Xinjiang, and crackdowns underway across the country, China’s leadership may be feeling a bit on edge.

So as the ruling Communist party celebrates its National Day holiday on Wednesday – the anniversary of Mao Zedong declaring the People’s Republic of China in 1949 – it has made clear that not even birds are free from scrutiny.

The People’s Daily, a famously staid Communist party mouthpiece, tweeted a picture of a proud-looking dove above the caption: “10,000 pigeons go through anal security check for suspicious objects Tue, ready to be released on National Day on Wed”. It did not explain what the “suspicious objects” might include.

The great pigeon inspection occurred at the Yuetan city sports centre in western Beijing on Tuesday evening, according to a brief report in the official newspaper Legal Evening News. The entire process was videotaped.

People's Daily,China (@PDChina) 10,000 pigeons go through anal security check for suspicious objects Tue, ready to be released on National Day on Wed pic.twitter.com/HitEpLMv8o

“Their wings, tail-feathers, even their anuses must be carefully checked,” an unnamed state security officer told the paper. The birds were then loaded into sealed vehicles and delivered to Tiananmen Square, where authorities inspected them a second time.

At 6am on Wednesday, the birds were finally released, allowing them to “circle above the five-starred red flag overhead”.

Security forces also dispatched helicopters to hover over Beijing’s major highways and tourist spots during the celebration, and oversaw an army of 850,000 “citizen volunteers” to keep watch citywide.