Silence Within the System · Full chronicle and history

On September 15, a video circulating from Beijing at night showed multiple barricades set up around Tiananmen Square, with plainclothes and uniformed guards, police cars, armed police, and fire trucks on the scene. Online reports indicated that Chang'an Avenue was temporarily under traffic control, with restricted access for personnel in some areas. While relevant footage and information about the controls spread online, there has been no further official explanation regarding the specific cause, duration, or handling of the situation.

Liu Xiang posted that he received a 494,000 yuan buyout fee on September 1 and officially bid farewell to the system, and will donate the entire amount of over 980,000 yuan in salary earned over the 11 years since his retirement to the China Charity Federation for disaster relief in Tibet.