WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-PREPS China's military gears up for upcoming parade marking end of WWII

Record ID: 143010

  • Title: WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-PREPS China's military gears up for upcoming parade marking end of WWII
  • Date: 22nd August 2015
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (AUGUST 22, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AIR FORCE RIFLE BRIGADE SOLDIERS MARCHING FOOT SOLDIER CHIEF TRAINER LIU SHIXU, SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FOOT SOLDIER CHIEF TRAINER LIU SHIXU, SAYING: "The (military parade) will feature first troops from the army, the navy, and the air force in the lead, followed by national flag force, then finally by
  • Embargoed: 6th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAADHMS69YXYS65PSBQDHDID9CB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: People's Liberation Army foot soldiers held training marches on Saturday (August 22) in preparation for China's upcoming September 3 military parade commemorating 70 years since the end of the Second World War.
    All elite foot soldiers expected to participate in the upcoming parade have been training at the Yang Fang base on the outskirts of Beijing since June of this year, military officials said.
    Li Shixu, the chief trainer for the foot soldiers participating in the parade, said that elite soldiers from the army, navy, and air force will be marching.
    "The (military parade) will feature first troops from the army, the navy, and the air force in the lead, followed by national flag force, then finally by 10 units of our brigade troops. This hero brigade fought during the anti-Japanese War under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, but now the ones serving in the army represent the (new) generation of those hero brigades, and will carry on (those soldiers') good qualities and traditions," said Liu.
    The parade on September 3 will involve about 12,000 Chinese troops and 200 aircraft, Qi Rui, deputy director of the government office organising the parade, told reporters in Beijing on Friday.
    Troops from at least 10 countries including Russia and Kazakhstan will join an unprecedented military parade in Beijing next month to commemorate China's victory over Japan during World War Two, Chinese officials said.
    China is inviting foreign troops to participate in a military parade for the first time. It will also be a milestone for President Xi Jinping, who took over as Communist Party leader and military chief in late 2012.
    Foreign troops have already arrived in Beijing to train, Xinhua said, although they were not showcased on Saturday morning's training session.
    Zhang Hongjie, a flag soldier from the elite honour guard, said that the biggest pressure for him and his fellow colleagues comes from knowing how they will represent those who participated in the war.
    "The only pressure that we feel comes from trying to show our spirit and actions in a more precise way on the day of the military parade. After all, this is a day of commemoration for the anti-Japanese war, and our modern troops will show our spirit on this sort of special day. How can we (display) our emotions like those who fought during the war, like the countless numbers of revolutionary idealists? Those kind of feelings, which we will reflect with our bodies, is something we must display during our participation in this military parade," said Zhang.
    The parade will also feature several thousand of China's elite female rifle brigades.
    "The hardest thing for us female soldiers to overcome, well, one of them is this rifle. Because we're the rifle brigade, and when comparing the male and female soldiers, the physical strength of us female soldiers might be a little weaker than that of the male soldiers. Another one might be, well, because we're behind the male soldiers, and their shoulders are broader, so when we're squared up and marching together, we might (seem) a bit weaker, but by now we have already overcome these difficulties," said Zhao Ying, a female rifle brigade soldier from the air force.
    The parade is part of a series of high-level events organised to mark Japan's defeat 70 years ago. It is unclear whether Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would attend any of the events, and Chinese officials have not said whether or not he was extended a formal invitation.
    Officials at the government briefing on the parade on Friday declined to give a complete list of participating countries in the parade. State media previously reported that Mongolia would also send troops.
    Out of the weaponry and equipment that will be showcased during the parade, over 84 percent have never been seen by the public, Xinhua added, quoting senior military officials.
    In preparation for the parade, popular Beijing tourist spots including Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City will be closed.
    The city has recruited 850,000 residents to patrol key locations like shopping centres and markets for "potential dangers", the state-owned Global Times reported.
    Beijing has placed limits of public transport, schools and industrial production. The city has also restricted the number of privately-owned vehicles allowed on the road.
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