China staged a stunning but old-fashioned display of state power yesterday that combined hundreds of thousands of performers and made-in-China military hardware, all laced with a heavy dose of propaganda.
The parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China repeated the flawless execution of the Olympics opening ceremony last year. But while the games gave a glimpse of a modernising China, this was a hark back to Communist orthodoxies of old.
“Only socialism can save China and only reform and opening up can ensure the development of China, socialism and Marxism,” said President Hu Jintao, who swapped his business suits for the charcoal-grey button-up tunic favoured by Mao Zedong.