By Dingding Chen
There are both internal and external benefits of the military parade, despite some international concerns.
China’s highly anticipated military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japanese surrender in World War II was successfully held on September 3 in Beijing, with a perfectly blue and clear sky as its background. The event was a rousing success because it achieved precisely what the Chinese government wanted it to achieve from its own perspective. This is true even though international observers and some countries might have certain concerns. The major achievements for the Chinese government include the following:
First and foremost, the successful military parade, once again, shows that Xi Jinping is the undisputed leader in China. He firmly controls China’s powerful military, despite some recent speculations that his position has been weakened by a struggling stock market and slowing economy. Other former state leaders also appeared alongside Xi, including Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, but the message is very clear that Xi is in firm control today. This is particularly important because Xi will push for some serious organizational reforms within the PLA in the near future, thus making the PLA a truly modern military that is capable of defending China’s national interests.
Second, another important internal achievement is the overwhelmingly positive attitudes displayed toward the military parade by ordinary Chinese people. While some might interpret this strong support as evidence of an increasingly assertive Chinese nationalism, a better interpretation is that most Chinese people have found lost national pride and dignity in the military parade. They now feel that China is no longer a weak country like it was 100 years ago. China can proudly claim to be one of the major powers in the world. The days of “national humiliation” are long gone and China finally is gaining back the glory it once enjoyed hundreds of years ago. The military parade, from this perspective, is a moment of national triumph for ordinary Chinese.
Read the full story at The Diplomat