On October 1st, the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 70th anniversary with the largest military parade and celebration in its history. The main avenue of Beijing gathered a massive crowd as China showcased its military might and new technology to its people and the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping, the guest of honor, attended tributes for fallen soldiers of the Chinese Civil War. Premier Li Keqiang, Master of Celebrations, supervised the day-long performances and proceedings of over 15,000 soldiers and military vehicles down the streets..
The Chinese Civil War, spanning from 1927-1949, exiled the former Nationalist government to Taiwan and placed the Chinese Communist Party, headed by Mao Zedong, in control. The People’s Republic of China celebrates the anniversary of the party’s inauguration as National Day, which on this anniversary, took place as a historic show of nationalistic pride. This year’s celebrations were also deemed significant as it was the year the CCP surpassed the longevity of the other most significant Communist state in history, the USSR (1922-1991), which remained in power for 69 years.
During the parade, the Chinese military showcased a range of all-new ballistic missiles as well as stealth drones and long-range warheads. In previous celebrations, Chinese military showcases remained low-key, but the Party declared the latest parade as a paradigm shift for the country, the beginning of a new age of transparency and unabashed confidence. The pompous ceremony served to send a clear message to the world: In the new decade, China will be empowered and ready to assert its position on the world stage as a military superpower.
Online, Chinese citizens have proclaimed their love for their country on social media like Sina Weibo, a Chinese site closely monitored for “anti-party sentiment” by the CCP’s censorship bureaus. In the wake of the parade, this control has been exerted to its full force. State television boasts the overboiling nationalistic feelings of the people in China as having re-energized a patriotic generation of youth.
Although juxtaposed by an escalating trade war with the United States and a weakening domestic economy, the State drove home its message to the people in a passionate address from Sec. Xi, proclaiming, “China’s tomorrow will be even more prosperous.” Tiananmen Square became a center of reverence and nationalistic fervor for the Party, which was declared as the governing body of China in the square by Chairman Mao on October 1st, 1949. Since it was to be the focal point of the celebrations, China brushed aside its darker history in the square, alongside dissent. Bold imagery of Party leaders paid no heed to the memory of the violently quelled 1989 protests, of which many modern Chinese have no recollection of.
However, in Hong Kong, somewhat removed from the cloying censorship of the State, citizens possess a clear recollection of June 4th, 1989, which is remembered citywide in a memorial on its anniversary. During the National Day celebrations that have taken place since 1997, there have been frequent protests by young Hong Kongers occurring in parallel. The juxtaposition between the two was made more dramatic this year by the magnitude of the nationalistic celebrations and the simultaneous unrest which erupted into violence. On the evening of the 1st, an 18-year old protester brandishing a metal pole was shot by a police officer in the city. While clashes between protesters and police have been ongoing for months, this incident marks the first injury by live ammunition. The young man survived and underwent stabilizing surgery in a hospital overnight. In the wake of the shooting, which was recorded by a nearby smartphone, tensions in the city have escalated to a fever pitch while Hong Kong police gear up to maintain order and quell the protests in a delicate moment of importance to the Chinese. However, China remains unafraid to celebrate its own might, even while foreign powers closely examine its policy in the crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. China has made their new policy clear to the world. In doing so, they will no longer shy away from the spotlight which has inevitably pivoted in their direction.
