| Conference to Commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War 纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年大会 | |
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| Genre | Military parade |
| Date | 3 September 2015 |
| Locations | Chang'an Avenue,Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China |
| Coordinates | 39°54′26.4″N116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E /39.907333; 116.391083 |
| Next event | 2025 China Victory Day Parade |
| General Secretary of the CCP | Xi Jinping[a] |
| People | Li Keqiang (Premier and host) |
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| 2015 China Victory Day Parade | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 紀念中國人民抗日戰爭暨世界反法西斯戰爭勝利70週年閱兵式 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年阅兵式 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Parade commemorating 70th anniversary of the victories ofAnti-Japanese War of the Chinese people and theWorld Anti-Fascist War | ||||||
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The2015 China Victory Day Parade was amilitary parade held alongChang'an Avenue, Beijing, on 3 September 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary ofVictory over Japan Day of the end of theSecond Sino-Japanese War andWorld War II. The commemoration was the first high-profile military parade held to celebrate an occasion other than theNational Day of the People's Republic of China.
12,000 troops of thePeople's Liberation Army participated in the parade, in addition to over 1,000 troops from 17 countries, and about 850,000 "Citizen Guards" were mobilised to guard the city.Chinese Communist Partygeneral secretaryXi Jinping inspected the troops,Chinese PremierLi Keqiang was themaster of ceremonies and GeneralSong Puxuan was the chief commander of the parade.
The 70th Anniversary of V-day parade marked the first time that China held a military parade other than the National Day, and the first to celebrate the end of World War II.[1] Since thefounding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China held parades primarily on 1 October, the country's national day. The most prominent renditions of the parade were held in 1959, 1984, 1999, and2009, presided over respectively by then leadersMao Zedong,Deng Xiaoping,Jiang Zemin, andHu Jintao. The 70th anniversary parade was also the first major parade sinceXi Jinping took power as theGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (China'stop leader) in 2012. The prevailing theme was to be "peace and victory".[1] Xi Jinping had attended the2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade in May as the guest-of-honour of Russian presidentVladimir Putin, and Putin returned the favour at this parade.[2]
The national leadership placed considerable importance on being able to put the best foot forward and do away with distractions. Bloomberg reported that the central government once again intervened in the stock market to ensure stability ahead of the anniversary; there were traffic curfews and closures of public facilities including seven parks and some hospitals.[3]Line 1, Beijing Subway, which passes underneath Chang'an Avenue, was shut down; 256 bus-lines in Beijing were placed under tight transport restrictions from 2–4 September.[3][4] On the day of the parade, hospitals restricted most of their activities beyond emergencies, the stock markets were closed.[3][5][6] Areas in the city center were placed under martial law, and 850,000 "citizen guards" were deployed to ensure security within the city.[1] The city authorities sent in trained macaques and falcons to make sure the skies over central Beijing were free of birds that wouldput the flypast at risk. The trained macaque monkeys climbed trees and dismantled birds nests in advance of the parade. Hot air balloons and hang gliders were equally barred from the city; those residing along Chang'an Avenue were forbidden from opening their windows during the lock-down period.[7]
Domestic satellite televisions were restricted from playing entertainment programs between 1–5 September.China Central Television ceased the broadcasting of all entertainment programming, only playing patriotic films and TV series about the Chinese resistance against the Japanese during the Second World War.[citation needed] Xi Jinping decreed the creation of two new public holidays targeted at Japan, the first being 3 September –Victory over Japan Day, officially named The 70th anniversary of Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory Commemoration Day.[8] The second one was declared for 13 December, marking the Japanese takeover of Nanjing, China's then capital under the Nationalists and theNanking massacre that followed, which resulted in many Chinese deaths by Japanese military personnel garrisoned in the city.[8] TheCY Leung administration in Hong Kong argued for a holiday to facilitate participation in commemorative events, thus it tabled the "Special Holiday (3 September 2015) Ordinance" – designating the day as a one-off holiday – for debate in theLegislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) in July. The act passed despite strong resistance and more than 90 amendments from one legislator.[9]
To reduce airpollution and ensure blue skies for the parade, half of Beijing's cars were barred from the streets and nearly 10,000 industrial firms in Beijing and in areas near and far – Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and Henan – suspended or cut production starting on 20 August to cut down on emissions.[1][10] The factory shut-downs and road closures gave rise to rare instance of clean air, where PM2.5 measurements were below 50, and the lack of traffic jams, and these were welcomed by residents of the capital.[11] Observers noted that the umbrella, whichbecame iconic in Hong Kong during theprotests in 2014, were nowhere to be seen despite the blazing heat although commonly used as a shield against the sun in China.[12]
Xi Jinping, who holds the posts for theGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (paramount leader) andChairman of the Central Military Commission (supreme commander), was the central figure of the day's events.PremierLi Keqiang was the master of ceremonies for the parade, breaking convention from its two previous renditions of the parade, which were both hosted by theCommunist Party Secretary of Beijing (Jia Qinglin in 1999 andLiu Qi in 2009). GeneralSong Puxuan, Commander of theNorthern Theater Command, greeted Xi in front of Tiananmen at the start of the parade during the inspection segment, declaring the readiness of the troops for the marchpast.
AtopTiananmen, Xi Jinping wore aMao suit, as was customary for leaders inspecting troops at military parades; his wifePeng Liyuan wore a red dress.[13] The remaining political figures wore business suits. Xi delivered the keynote address at the parade with an unexpected announcement of a plan to cut 300,000 personnel from the Chinese military.[14] The other members of theCCP Politburo Standing Committee,Zhang Dejiang,Yu Zhengsheng,Liu Yunshan,Wang Qishan, andZhang Gaoli, watched the parade on top of Tiananmen Gate.
Former paramount leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao; former PremiersLi Peng,Zhu Rongji andWen Jiabao; and other former senior leadersLi Ruihuan,Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin,Li Lanqing,Song Ping,Zeng Qinghong,Wu Guanzheng,Li Changchun,Luo Gan, andHe Guoqiang, also attended the parade at Tiananmen. This meant that all former members of the Standing Committee who were in good standing with the party and alive at the time of the parade attended the event; they sat in strictprotocol sequence to the right of the members of the incumbent Politburo Standing Committee.[15]
Hong Kong Special Administration Region chief executiveLeung Chun-ying also led a 300-person group at the parade, and Macau Chief ExecutiveFernando Chui also attended.[16]
Legislative chairmanAbdelkader Bensalah of Algeria.[17]
Vice PresidentAmado Boudou of Argentina.[18]
Minister for Veterans' AffairsMichael Ronaldson of Australia.[19]
PresidentAlexander Lukashenko of Belarus.[20]
Chairman of the PresidencyDragan Čović of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[21]
Minister of DefenceJaques Wagner of Brazil
KingNorodom Sihamoni of Cambodia.[17]
First Vice PresidentMiguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba.[22]
PresidentMiloš Zeman of the Czech Republic.[23]
PresidentJoseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[24]
Member of the Politburo PresidiumChoe Ryong-hae of North Korea.[17]
PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.[17]
Prime MinisterHailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia.[25]
PresidentJioji Konrote of Fiji
Foreign MinisterLaurent Fabius of France.[26]
Chief ExecutiveLeung Chun-ying of Hong Kong
Minister of Foreign AffairsPéter Szijjártó of Hungary.[19]
Parliament SpeakerAli Larijani of Iran
Foreign MinisterPaolo Gentiloni of Italy.[27]
PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.[17]
PresidentAlmazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan.[17]
President and General SecretaryChoummaly Sayasone of Laos.[17]
Chief ExecutiveFernando Chui of Macau
PresidentTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of Mongolia.[28]
PresidentFilip Vujanovic of Montenegro
PresidentThein Sein of Myanmar.[17]
Minister of StateHerman Tjeenk Willink of the Netherlands.[29]
PresidentMamnoon Hussain of Pakistan.[17]
Marshal of the Sejm (speaker)Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska of Poland.[18]
PresidentMahmoud Abbas of Palestine
Governor GeneralMichael Ogio of Papua New Guinea.[30]
PresidentVladimir Putin of Russia.[31]
PresidentPark Geun-hye of South Korea.[17]
PresidentTomislav Nikolić of Serbia.[32]
PresidentJacob Zuma of South Africa.[17]
PresidentOmar al-Bashir of Sudan.[17]
Deputy Chair of JuntaPrawit Wongsuwan of Thailand.[17]
PresidentEmomali Rahmon of Tajikistan.[17]
PresidentTaur Matan Ruak of East Timor.[33]
PresidentIslam Karimov of Uzbekistan.[17]
AmbassadorMax Baucus of the United States.[26]
Prime MinisterSato Kilman of Vanuatu.[34]
PresidentNicolás Maduro of Venezuela.[17]
PresidentTrương Tấn Sang of Vietnam.[17]The following countries sent their former leaders to the parade :
Former ChancellorGerhard Schröder of Germany.[17]
Former Prime MinisterTony Blair of the United Kingdom.[17]
Former Prime MinisterTomiichi Murayama of Japan. He ultimately skipped the parade due to health concerns.[17][35]
FormerPresidentJoseph Estrada of the Philippines. Estrada attended the parade, not as a representative of his country but as part of his duties asMayor of Manila. Estrada cited the fact thatManila and Beijing weresister cities as his reason for attending the event.[36]
Former Captain RegentGianfranco Terenzi of San Marino.[37]
Former Deputy Prime MinisterWong Kan Seng of Singapore
Former Vice President and PremierLien Chan of the Republic of China (Taiwan)[38] Former PresidentJosé Ramos-Horta of East TimorLeaders of the following international organizations were in attendance:
Director-GeneralIrina Bokova of theUNESCO
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon of the United Nations.[17]
PresidentPeter Maurer of theInternational Committee of the Red CrossIn addition, many embassies around Beijing also sent their defense attaches and military generals to attend the parade.
Taiwan'sMainland Affairs Council, PresidentMa Ying-jeou and hisKuomintang objected to the event and what they see as the CCP usurping credit for leading the Chinese defense against Japan during World War II.[39][40] However, former Chairman of the KuomintangLien Chan also attended the parade, ostensibly in his personal capacity, sparking controversy at home.[39][40] WhilstTsai Ing-wen, leader of the Taiwanese opposition, criticized Lien for failing to represent the views of the majority of Taiwanese, observers noted that Lien had considerable business interests on the mainland he sought to protect, likewise the Kuomintang also had interests on the mainland.[41][42][43] Hong Kong commentator Frank Ching added that Lien Chan's presence at the ceremony undermined the KMT, as China appeared to erase the role of the Nationalists in defending China.[44]
Other pundits said that the main object of the parade was to rewrite history and elevate the CCP's position in ending the war.[6][9][44]
Kyodo News Agency cited a US department of State spokesman that United States objected the President of Sudan Bashir to attend the parade in the news conference held on 31 August 2015. He stated that China should consider about the international society's worry as a UN security council member with inviting or assisting someone who is wanted under the document of warrant signed by ICC.[45]
Some 12,000 troops marched along Chang'an Avenue up to Tiananmen for inspection by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the two living former leadersJiang Zemin andHu Jintao.[11] There were 10 squads: 9 from thePeople's Liberation Army and 1 from thePeople's Armed Police). Each squad had 350 soldiers excluding the color guards, and were led by two major generals or lieutenant generals in active service. In total, 56 generals participated in the event. The military vehicle contingent were led by two Air Force lieutenant generals, a vice admiral and a lieutenant general of thePeople's Liberation Army Rocket Force:Tian Zhong, deputy commander of thePLA Navy,Chen Dong, deputy commander of thePLA Air Force,Wu Guohua, deputy commander of thePLA Rocket Force.Zheng Qunliang another deputy commander of the Air Force, commanded the squadron of jet fighters in the air. This was the first time in PRC's history that military parade contingents were led by officers ranked as high as lieutenant general.[46]
Surviving soldiers from the Second World War joined the parade for the first time. They had fought under various commands, including theNew Fourth Army, theNational Revolutionary Army, and theEighth Route Army, with most over 90 years old then. Some of the passed soldiers' widows marched in place of their husbands.[47] Besides Chinese soldiers, some surviving airmen ofUnited States Air Force who had fought alongside Chinese forces also joined the veterans column. The veterans rode in open-top buses at the start of the parade and were escorted by the People's Armed Police Motorcycle Escort Squadron.
A 1,000 piece band was present to provide musical accompaniment to the parade. The bands were organized as follows:[48][49][50]
Thecolor guard consisted of 207 men and women from thePLA Honor Guard Battalion, who escorted thenational military colours. This marked the first occasion of female service personnel forming part of thehonor guard during a national parade. Their first public presentation occurred during the state visit of the President of Turkmenistan to Beijing in May 2015, using the Type 56 ceremonial rifle.
The CCP's hero squads consisted of detachments that traced their lineage to units that participated in the war against Japan, which included the "Five Heroes of Langya Mountain" (狼牙山五壮士), "Battle of Pingxingguan Hero Squad",[52] and the "Hundred Regiments Offensive Hero Squad". Representative detachments from eachChinese military region participated in the parade, led by soldiers carrying standards used by the predecessor units.
These represented the following CCP formations during the war against Japan:
A detachment of thePeople's Armed Police also participated in the parade, the unit having previously been part of the PLA. The unit's lineage, through the114th Division of the38th Army, can also be traced to regiments that fought during the war.
Groups from 17 countries were sent to take part in the military parade.[53] Marching in alphabetical order these were:
Afghanistan – 3-man team from the Color Guard of theAfghan National Army Belarus – 76-man team from theHonor Guard Battalion of the Minsk Garrison Cambodia – 7-man team from the Color Guard of theRoyal Cambodian Army Cuba – 76-man team from theCeremonial Unit of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Egypt – 73-man team from theEgyptian Republican Guard[54] Fiji – 7-man team from the Presidential Guard Kazakhstan – 76-man team from theHonor Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan – 76-man team from theKyrgyz National Guard Laos – 7-man team from the Color Guard of theLao People's Army
Mexico – 77-person team of cadets of the service academies of theMexican Armed Forces Mongolia – 74-man team of personnel of theMinistry of Defence of Mongolia[55] Pakistan – 79-man team from the Pakistani Tri-Service Honour Guard Serbia – 75-man team from theSerbian Guards Unit Tajikistan – 76-man team from the Honor Guard Company of theMinistry of Defense of Tajikistan Vanuatu – 7-man team from the Color Guard from theVanuatu Mobile Forces Venezuela – 9-man team from the Color Guard from theMilitary Academy of the Bolivarian Army Russia – 76-man team from the 1st Honor Guard Company,154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment,Western Military District
A group of the latest model of China's Type 99 main battle tank.[56] The A marks the last iteration of the Type 99 as the tank is near finalization.
On parade where the infantry fighting vehicle (ZBD-05A) and fire support variants (ZTD-05) of thePeople's Liberation Army Marine CorpsZBD2000 vehicle, with an ability to plane when waterborne these are the fastest amphibious armoured fighting vehicles in the world.
The ZBD-04A infantry fighting vehicle, a troop carrying counterpart to the Type 99 MBT was paraded.
The ZBD-03 IFV is a light airmobile infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and the most mobile IFV of China's People's Liberation Army, was displayed for the first time in the parade.[57] Anti-tank missile and Light Assault Vehicles variants.[58] came afterward.
Self-propelledRed Arrow 10anti-tank guided missile vehicles with anti-helicopter-warfare, fire and forget and man-in-the-loop capabilities were also paraded.
A group of PLZ-05A (1×155MM Howitzer) and PGZ-07 (2×35×228MM Oerlikon KDA guns) self-propelled guns, often nicknamed the "God of War" considering that they are the biggest guns in the Chinese military.[59][60]
DF-21D, the world's firstAnti-Ship Ballistic Missile, was on display in the parade. They came immediately after theDF-15 andDF-16 missiles.[61]
TheDF-41, reportedly China's newest ICBM, was not shown in the parade.
The squad included 1KJ-2000 and 8J-10.[62] They were first displayed in 2009 China's National Day Parade.
China's newest early warning plane, the KJ-500, was displayed for the first time in this parade.[63]
TheH-6K was debuted as well.[64]
5×Shenyang J-15, a carrier-based fighter jet, was also debuted in this parade.[65]
China's most advanced fighter jet, the J-20, was not shown in the parade.
8×WZ-10 (7) and 12×WZ-19 (0) helicopters formed the number "70" in the sky at 10:20 to mark the 70 years since the Victory over the Japanese.[66]
 Military parades of thePeople's Republic of China | |
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| National Day Parades | |
| Other | |
