The colorful military parade held on October 1, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, was a show of strength by a nation that has rarely been more confident, analysts say
Parade stopped the nation
The country celebrated 60 years of Communist rule last Thursday with a spectacular parade to display the nation’s growing military and economic migh and national pride.
While leaders and privileged guests attended the official celebration in Beijing, people around the country stopped to watch the event on television and celebrate the milestone with friends and families.
Standing atop Tian’anmen Gate – the spot from which Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of New China in 1949 – President Hu Jintao told the watching nation that the Chinese people were “full of confidence” aboutfuture.
“Today, a socialist China geared toward modernization, the world and the future stands rock-firm in the East,” he saidBefore his speech, Hu, dressed in a gray high-collared Mao suit, rode in a made-in-China Red Flag limousine to review more than 8,000 troops.
Watching the live broadcast of the ceremony, Beijing resident Guo Jiantang, 79, reflected on how his life has changed in the past 60 years. The former landlord said that despite his family’s suffering in the early days of Communist rule, the country would not be as good as it is today without the party.Guo said he watched the 1984 National Day parade on a seven-inch black-and-white TV and the 1999 parade on a 21-inch color TV. This year, he watched in high-definition on a 42-inch plasma TV.
