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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) — China held a grand military parade in central Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, reaffirming the country's commitment to peaceful development in a world that remains beset by instability and uncertainty.
Tiananmen Square featured tall installations in the shape of the Great Wall of China, topped with giant numbers reading “1945” and “2025,” symbolizing the courage and solidarity of the Chinese people in resisting foreign invasion.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a keynote speech and toured the parade formations to greet service members.
Standing next to Xi at the Tiananmen podium were Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, as well as more than 20 other foreign leaders, some of whom attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held earlier this week in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
Foreign friends who contributed to the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression or relatives of deceased friends were invited to the event. They came from countries such as Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France and Canada.
PREVENTING THE REPETITION OF HISTORICAL TRAGEDIES
This is the second military parade that China has held since 2015 to commemorate the hard-won victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
At 9:00 a.m., the event began with an 80-gun salute, followed by a ceremonial raising of the national flag and the performance of the national anthem.
Three helicopters flew over Tiananmen Square carrying banners that read, respectively, “Justice Will Prevail,” “Peace Will Prevail,” and “The People Will Prevail.” Soldiers in high spirits and impeccably equipped marched in a tight, powerful formation along Chang’an Avenue, their faces beaming with confidence and pride. Columns of new tanks, artillery pieces, and other military hardware roared across the square.
Xi Jinping delivered a speech before the parade, stressing the importance of the victory 80 years ago, noting that this was China's first complete victory in repelling an external invasion since the beginning of modern history.
Xi Jinping noted that the Chinese people made enormous contributions to saving human civilization and safeguarding world peace by making enormous sacrifices in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, calling on countries to address the root causes of wars and prevent historical tragedies from recurring.
On September 2, 1945, Japan officially surrendered with the signing of the Instrument of Surrender. China declared September 3 as Victory Day.
Xi Jinping attended the military parade in Moscow in May this year to mark the victory in World War II in Europe. China and the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the attacks by militaristic Japan and Nazi Germany, and made a decisive contribution to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.
China was the first country to fight fascist aggression, putting up the longest resistance since 1931. China tied down and attacked more than half of Japan's overseas forces, at a cost of 35 million military and civilian casualties, accounting for about a third of all World War II casualties worldwide.
Yokichi Kobayashi, the son of a Japanese soldier who was captured during the war and defected to the CCP-led army, watched the parade on site.
"I believe that as long as China remains united and stands together, the country will forever be an invincible force," he said.
The ceremony, chaired by Li Qiang on Wednesday, was attended by Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, as well as Vice President Han Zheng.
Heads of international organizations such as UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua and former political leaders including former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also attended the parade.
UNSTOPPABLE REVIVAL
Wednesday's military parade was the first such event since Xi Jinping launched China on a "new march to comprehensively advance China's modernization." The country's authorities have drawn up a roadmap to ensure that China's modernization as a whole is realized by 2035.
In his speech, Xi called on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to provide strategic support for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, become a world-class military force, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
The 70-minute military parade showcased the PLA's transformation from a single-service force to a multi-service force, from a "millet-plus-rifle" (poorly armed force) to a modern armed force. The parade featured more than 10,000 soldiers, more than 100 aircraft and hundreds of ground weapons organized according to the wartime command system.
The new structure of the PLA services and weapons, which was debuted at the event, demonstrated for the first time the results of the large-scale military reform carried out under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
Servicemen from the ground forces, navy, air force, missile force, aerospace force, cyberspace force, information support force and joint logistics forces marched in Tiananmen Square.
The parade showcased modern weapons, including unmanned reconnaissance and counter-drone vehicles, hypersonic missiles, directed energy weapons and electronic jamming systems.
In Wednesday's parade, China for the first time displayed its land-, sea- and air-based strategic forces as a nuclear triad. These weapons, which are considered China's strategic "trump cards" in safeguarding national sovereignty and upholding national dignity, included the Jinglei-1 long-range air-launched missile, the Julang-3 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-61 land-based intercontinental ballistic missile and the new Dongfeng-31 land-based intercontinental ballistic missile.
The event, which was broadcast live, quickly became a top trending topic on Chinese social media, with people sharing photos and videos of the spectacle.
Peking University student and spectator Yang Jieyu said: "The parade demonstrated China's growing strength and strengthened my confidence in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
Scholars believe the bloody struggle that took place more than 80 years ago changed the national mentality, leaving scars and pride that are still visible today, and marked a historical turning point when the Chinese nation moved from decline to renaissance.
"The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be stopped," Xi Jinping said in his speech.
He reaffirmed China's commitment to the path of peaceful development. "Humanity once again faces a choice: peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum games," he said.
After watching the parade, Beijing resident Kong Peng said: “It is now clear who is right and who is wrong, who is truly for peace and who is trying to intimidate others.”
Chinese soldiers serving on UN peacekeeping missions marched through Tiananmen Square, taking part in a Victory Day parade for the first time.
China ranks first among permanent members of the UN Security Council in terms of the number of peacekeepers it sends: the country has sent more than 5,000 peacekeepers and maintains a reserve of 8,000 troops ready for UN missions.
"We have the ability to protect the peace forged by the blood of our ancestors," said Shao Xiaoguang, a parade participant who previously served on a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Seven-year-old Zhang Zijin, who was watching the parade on the square with her parents, said she dreams of joining the military in the future. “I believe that if I work hard, I can make this dream come true,” she said.
“Eighty years ago, we were reborn. Eighty years later, we are thriving with even greater vigor,” said artificial intelligence graduate student Lu Shouye, who attended the event.
“Our country has now reached a stage where we need to take on even greater responsibility,” he added. -0-
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