*Beijing: *
President Xi Jinping declared Tuesday that “no force” can shake the Chinesenation as he oversaw a massive military celebration of 70 years ofCommunist Party rule, shadowed by a day of protest in seething Hong Kongthat threatened to steal the spotlight.
Standing on the Tiananmen Rostrum where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed thePeople’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Xi extolled the “Chinesedream” of national rejuvenation — his grand vision of restoring thecountry to perceived past glory.
“There is no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation,” Xisaid, wearing a “Mao suit” as he stood alongside party leaders in TiananmenSquare.
“No force that can stop the Chinese people and the Chinese nation forgingahead,” the country’s most powerful leader since Mao said before riding inan open-roof car to review troops.
Around 15,000 soldiers, tanks and high-tech weapons were ready to file pastTiananmen Square for an event celebrating China’s journey from a countrybroken by war and poverty to being the world’s second-largest economy.
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A symbolic 70-gun salute was fired at the square and the red national flagwas raised to begin festivities held under tight security, with roadclosures and even a ban on flying kites.
New weapons — including a hypersonic drone and an intercontinentalballistic missile whose range encompasses the United States — are expectedto make their public debut among hundreds of pieces of military equipmentand aircraft, according to Paris-based analysts.Advertisement
But behind the festivities, a clutch of challenges tests Xi’s ability tomaintain economic and political stability.
“The party hopes that this occasion will add to its legitimacy and rallysupport at a time of internal and external challenges,” Adam Ni, Chinaresearcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, told AFP. -APP/AFP
