China Celebrates 60 Years

The People’s Republic of China marked its 60th anniversary today with a parade through the heart of Beijing aimed at showcasing the country’s rising power and shoring up the Communist Party’s prestige at home. About 200,000 people took part in the celebration, including President Hu Jintao.The celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was immense, powerful and flawless, down to the crystalline skies that, just a day earlier, had been laden with smog.The People’s Liberation Army displayed 52 types of new weapons, including unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft with advance-warning radar. Five thousand soldiers marched through the square. About 80,000 children in Tiananmen Square spelled out the Chinese characters for “national celebration” with red and gold placards to begin the celebration. In all that, it was a fitting analogy for how China’s Communist Party leaders wanted their citizens and the world to regard them — and, perhaps, how they might be feeling themselves these days.