Happy Birthday China!.docVIP

Happy Birthday China! 　　On October 1, 2009, the People’s Republic of China spent its 60th birthday throwing a party of unmatched size and extravagance. China Today pays homage to this historic landmark with a 60-year retrospective on both the public festivities and behind-the-scene stories, with musings on the global repercussions of the progress China celebrates this year. 　　 　　China On Parade 　　A Feast for 1.3 Billion People 　　 　　On October 1, 2009, the world’s biggest birthday party was held in Tian’anmen Square in central Beijing ?C200,000 people gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The rest of the public watched the live broadcast on TV or online, sharing the pride and confidence of a nation rejuvenating itself on its great journey of opening-up and reform. 　　 The centerpiece of the gala was the military parade, the biggest in China so far.Fourteen phalanxes passed Tian’amen Gate on foot, consisting of more than 8,000 servicemen and women; and 30 formations of the latest in military technology rolled on after them. They were formally reviewed by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission. 　　 There have been 14 military parades in Tian’anmen Square in the history of the People’s Republic of China, each marking China’s progress in national defense and military modernization. At the ceremony of the founding of the PRC 60 years ago, almost all the weaponry on display had been seized from enemy forces during the war, and an airforce was not yet established. The nascent navy was represented by a mere dozen “rusty buckets,” also war trophies. Last month’s dazzling military hardware and an exuberance of ammunition revealed world-class domestic capability and featured independently developed technologies. Chinese leaders have reiterated on many occasions that the build-up of its strength in national defense is