China celebrates 60th anniversary of People's Republic (Roundup)

Oct 1, 2009, 7:52 GMT

   Beijing - President Hu Jintao on Thursday urged China's 1.3 billion people to unite behind the ruling Communist Party to build a 'rich, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and modernized socialist nation.'

   Hu made his call in a speech to some 200,000 people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and millions who watched live television broadcasts of celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

   The 200,000 soldiers, civilians, top Communist Party members and invited guests watched China's first major military parade for 10 years, including mobile launchers for nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

   Hu reviewed the troops and military hardware from an open-top Red Flag limousine, greeting soldiers with alternate shouts of 'Hello, comrades!' and 'Hard work, comrades!'

   He returned to the Tiananmen Rostrum to make his prepared speech, paying tribute to the 'great achievements' of Mao Zedong, who proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949, and later leaders Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

   Hu said the Communist Party would continue 'unswervingly' with its economic development on the 'road of socialism with Chinese characteristics,' promoting further economic reforms, 'scientific development' and 'social harmony.'

   'The development and progress of New China over the past 60 years fully proved that only socialism can save China and only reform and opening up can ensure the development of China, socialism and Marxism,' he said.

   He said the Chinese people were 'full of confidence' in the future and that people from all ethnic groups 'cannot be prouder of the development and progress of our great motherland.'

   'Today, a socialist China geared to modernization, the world and the future has stood rock-firm in the east of the world,' Hu said.

   'Long live the People's Republic of China! Long live the Chinese Communist Party! Long live the great people of China!' Hu said at the close of his short speech.

   In the military parade, the People's Liberation Army showed dozens of its latest weapons systems including missiles, drones, attack helicopters and early-warning aircraft.

   About 180,000 civilians and soldiers later performed a show with the three key themes of 'ideology, achievements and future prospects.'

   'Ideology' was represented by three mass formations bearing huge portraits and ideological slogans associated with Hu and former party leaders Mao, Deng and Jiang.

   Many of the 60 floats in the civilian parade were designed to highlight China's achievements in such fields as science, industry, trade, agriculture, education and its use of the controversial 'one- child' family-planning policy to limit its population to 1.3 billion people.

   The scores of people riding on the floats included national heroes such as Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang, Olympic diver Guo Jingjing, astronauts Yang Liwei and Zhai Zhigang, and the 'father of hybrid rice' Yuan Longping.

   The party leaders and guests were scheduled to return to Tiananmen Square in the evening for a firework spectacle organized and designed by famous artist Cai Guoqiang, who directed the fireworks for the opening and closing ceremonies of last year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

   Some 60,000 people are to take part in evening performances, which include a 'light cube' formed by 4,000 performers.

   Beijing mounted an unprecedented security operation for the celebration, mobilizing about 800,000 volunteers to assist hundreds of thousands of security guards, uniformed and plain-clothes police, paramilitary units, anti-terrorist forces and the local People's Militia.