Parade – China Focus

Please Do not Misunderstand Beijing’s Parade

Beijing’s parade was considered as military muscle show for many international observers. The military display in parade remarkably surprised some of them. One comment in Australian Financial Review describes it as “overt militarism”. Even the Associated Press’ report on parade gave much inks on China’s might, but less concern on President Xi’ troop cut announcement. For a rising power, it is not easy to keep restraint not only in language but also in action. When we look at the Western great powers history since the 16th century, power struggles have been the norm. Military might expansion is considered as the most important objective and instrument for hegemony status. Paul Kennedy, a Yale historian, once concluded in his ‘The Rise and Fall of Great Powers’, that overstretch is the poison for powers. The Chinese old saying, “a warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually perish” has the same logic. In this sense, the troop cut is an important evidence for “the new type of major country relations” proposed by President Xi. We do not want to repeat the great historical tragedy. September’s parade is the first time for the Chinese to commemorate their contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War in the Second World War. Thus, it is not to oppose contemporary Japan, but its militarism in the Second World […]

Does China’s Tiananmen Parade Intimidate Other Countries?

On September 3rd, China held a military parade in Tiananmen Square in order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. It became the focus of the world’s media coverage. Major US media organizations, like The New York Times, Fox News, Associated Press, covered the event. However, according to a statistic analysis of Wang Guan, a researcher at Harmony Think Tank, the narratives of the reports came to the same astonishing conclusion: China is “showing its might”, “showing off rising power” or “flexing military muscle”. “The parade panders to a prickly strain of nationalism …Chinese public constantly reminded by state propaganda of China’s past humiliations at the hands of foreign powers, especially Japan…such sentiments heighten fears abroad about China’s intended uses of its newfound power, frustrating Beijing’s attempts to market itself as a responsible member of international society committed to the common good,” reads an article by the Associated Press. China is disappointed by the reaction of the international media. In China’s eyes, the V-Day military parade “unleashed an anti-war signal, which can reinforce people’s faith in peace and stability” (Global Times). At the ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China would stick to a peaceful rise with no intention to become a hegemonic power or expansionist, and would never impose the misery it went through upon […]

China & The World Sep 7, 2015