China News (February 24) reported that on February 23, an explosion was reported at a restaurant 650 meters (0.4 miles) away from the CCP headquarters in the Zhongnanhai district in Beijing possibly causing one death, while six people were injured. Video and pictures from the scene showed that the restaurant had turned into rubble. Doors and windows of nearby residential areas and the windows of roadside vehicles were shattered. The drivers inside the nearby parked cars were injured. The official media reported that the explosion happened during the installation of a gas tank that had been delivered to the restaurant. The restaurant was still on the Chinese New Year shutdown and not open to the public. The official media reports on the explosion included CCTV, Sohu, Sina and The Paper. However, as of February 24, the relevant media reports had been removed from the Internet. The timing of the incident was also sensitive. Beijing will be holding the 2021 two sessions on March 4 and 5. At present, Beijing has entered a high-level security stage. There is tight security screening of pedestrians, vehicles, parcels and mail. There is a visible police force deployed to guard the area surrounding the Zhongnanhai compound.
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