Is There a Coup Happening in China Right Now?

The internet is buzzing on Tuesday morning, full to the brim with rumors that there is a coup happening in China. The

, it became apparent on Monday evening and Tuesday morning that a large number of military police started appearing all across Beijing. Apparently, the people behind the action are Hu Jintao, head of the CCP; Wen Jiabao, the premier; Zhou Yongkang, who controls the People's Republic of China police forces; and Bo Xilai, the man dismissed as head of the Chongqing City Communist Party on March 15, ironically by Wen Jiabao, following a scandal involving Bo's former police chief. Li Delin, on the editorial board of Securities Market Weekly and resident of the Dongcheng District of Beijing, said on his microblog that, “There are numerous army vehicles, Changan Street is continuously being controlled. There are many plainclothes police in every intersection, and some intersections even had iron fences set up.” Still, a heavy military police presence does not immediately spell out “coup”. However, rumors persist that both sides, with Hu and Wen on one side and Jiang Zemin and Zhou Yongkang on the other, are mobilizing armed forces. There are reports that Yongkang's forces had taken control of CCTV and the Xinhau News Agency, though the regular army under Jintau and Jiabao have taken the news outlets back. Benzinga will publish more news as it becomes clear available.