The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) did the first flag-raising ceremony of 2018 on Monday at Tiananmen Square, Beijing at 7:36 am.
This is the first time the PLA has overseen the mission of guarding China's national flag and conducting the gun salute. The ceremony used to be carried out by the armed police but will be carried out by the PLA from now on.
At 7:32 am, bugles were sounded on the Tiananmen Rostrum. Beneath it, 96 soldiers guarding a giant five-star red flag began marching toward the square.
More than 90,000 visitors braved the cold winter morning, gathered at Tiananmen Square and waited for hours just to be part of the ceremony. Together they saw the national flag be hoisted in the heart of Beijing on the first day of 2018.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities have charged a man with burning an American flag in the nation’s capital during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July.
Michael Snow Jr., 24, of Durham, North Carolina, is charged with destruction of federal property over the burning of the flag that was pulled down at Columbus Circle — in front of Union Station — by demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
Authorities say video shows Snow shouting a “I need a better lighter!" after initially failing to ignite the flag. Someone then handed him a bottle of lighter fluid, which he used to douse the flag before he and another person set it on fire, authorities say.
“Stealing a federal flag and burning it is not speech, it’s destruction of federal property,” said Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
There was no lawyer listed in the court docket for Snow, and a message seeking comment was left at a number listed for him in public records.
Thousands of protesters converged on Washington in July to condemn Netanyahu during his address to Congress, in which the prime minister pledged in a scathing speech to achieve “total victory” against Hamas.
Outside Union Station, protesters spray painted graffiti on a monument to Christopher Columbus and hoisted Palestinian flags in place of the American flags that were removed.
A group of protesters had a permit to demonstrate in front of Union Station, but the U.S. Park Police said it revoked the permit after it couldn’t reach protest organizers that afternoon.
The National Park Service estimated that it cost more than $11,000 to clean up and fix damage at the site.
FILE - American flags fly at Union Station, March 8, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
