CHINA: President Hu Jintao and other top political leaders present flowers at heroes' monument at Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing to mark the 62th National Day

Record ID: 872917

  • Title: CHINA: President Hu Jintao and other top political leaders present flowers at heroes' monument at Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing to mark the 62th National Day
  • Date: 2nd October 2011
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (OCTOBER 1, 2011) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 45-YEAR-OLD VISITOR WANG XINGLU SAYING: "Decades ago, we used coupons, for example food coupons, to exchange for goods. Now we can buy whatever we want. People have motorbikes and cars, which we can't imagine in the past." PEOPLE WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 27-YEAR-OLD BEIJING-BASED STUDENT LIU YUN SAYING: "A small group of members of Chinese Communist Party are corrupt. They don't value the general public as they have already separated from the people class. Also we have concerns over food safety, medical insurance, and public transportation. The high-speed train accident is tragic."
  • Embargoed: 17th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China, China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAGROWN839GNWMWJORH5LOKS9Y
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  • Story Text: Chinese President Hu Jintao and top political leaders presented flowers at the Monument to the People's Heroes in central Beijing's Tian'anmen square on Saturday (October 1), marking the 62th anniversary of the founding of the country, state media reported.
    Joined by 3,600 representatives from all walks of life, members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China paid their respect to those who died for revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people for independence during the 19th and 20th century.
    Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pictures showed the leaders standing in a silent tribute after singing national anthem.
    With uniformed soldiers laying down flower baskets at the bottom of the monument, Hu, followed by Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice President Xi Jinping who is seen as China's future leader, walked around the 37.94-meter-high landmark.
    Many people gathered around Tian'anmen square to feel the festive atmosphere in the capital.
    Forty-five-year-old visitor Wang Xinglu said life has greatly improved as China became the world's fastest growing economy.
    "Decades ago, we used coupons, for example food coupons, to exchange for goods. Now we can buy whatever we want. People have motorbikes and cars, which we can't imagine in the past," he said.
    However, some citizens, like Beijing-based postgraduate student Liu Yun, shared concerns over social problems that have emerged under the highly centralized top-down ruling of Chinese Communist Party.
    "A small group of members of Chinese Communist Party are corrupt. They don't value the general public as they have already separated from the people class. Also we have concerns over food safety, medical insurance, and public transportation. The high-speed train accident is tragic," the 22-year-old said.
    The celebration for Chinese National Day will last from October 1 to October 7.
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