Parade lexicon voice future ambition
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The history of "new China" has been reviewed with the concise slogans on Thursday's military parade and mass procession to celebrate the 60th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China (PRC), with the theme of "Chinese characteristics" and "Socialism".
More than 80,000 school children, wearing colorful uniforms, used sheaves of plastic wheat and flowers, and flags to form different characters and patterns at the Tian'anmen Square, China's symbolic heart of politics, as paraders, tanks and floats thundered by.
Among them were classics like "Long Live the People's Republic of China", "Long Live the Communist Party of China (CPC)" and "Long Live the People", and also the themes of different generations of China's collective leadership, such as "Socialism Is Good", "Reform and Opening-up" and "Advance with the Times".
The 20-Chinese character phrase "being loyal to the Party, deeply cherishing the people, serving the country, showing devotion to missions, and upholding the honors", the core values of military personnel advocated by Hu Jintao, emerged sequentially at the square during the military parade.
"The words were also the motives for the armymen of our generation to fight for a life like today's and I'm glad to see these boys are carrying on them," said Zhang Wentao, 80, a guest invited to watch the ceremony in front of the Tian'anmen Rostrum.
The old man survived from the 1937-1945 War of Resistance Against Japanese Agression and Chinese civil war from 1945 to 1949.
The crowds burst into deafening cheers when paraders carried Hu's portrait passed by the Tian'anmen Rostrum along the east-west Chang'an Avenue. The performers at the square form the characters of "Scientific Development" and "Social Harmony".
"Though not out of expectation, the scene is no doubt a sensation at the parade," said Tian Geng, a several-time slogan composer for the national day parade.
"The slogans have been given strong characteristics of each generation of the leadership, reflecting the path of China's development."
The Socialism was established in China, the world's most populated country, as Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the PRC 60 years ago and the nation started exploring the socialism with Chinese characteristics.
So it is no wonder the "Socialism Is Good" appeared at the part of the mass procession highlighting the achievements at Mao era.
"Emancipate the Mind" and "Reform and Opening-up" hailed the accomplishments of Deng Xiaoping who introduced the market-oriented economic reforms to China, while "Cross the Centuries" and "Advance with the Times" was a salute to the fruition of the third generation leadership with Jiang Zemin as the core.
The slogans used at various periods since 1949 show the changing political principles and policies promoted by the central government, said Cai Xia, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
"'Scientific Development' and 'Social Harmony', which have already been household phrases, neatly encapsulate the goals of the nation and the way to achievement them," she said.
Cai noted the Chinese character "harmony" also appeared near the end of the ceremony at the square with "Prosperity and Powerfulness", "Democracy" and "Civilization" to demonstrate the country's ambition.
The CPC pledged to shape a "more harmonious" society in its 16th National Congress in 2002. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee, held in 2004, explicitly called to "put building a harmonious society in a more prominent position". Hu Jintao and other CPC leaders have since underscored the theme on many occasions.
"'Socialism Is Good' might a slogan 60 years ago, and now we can firmly say it have been proved right by the changes of the country over the past six decade," said Cai.
Zhang Qin, a Chinese teacher assistant for the Chapman University, California of the United States, watched the ceremony through the live TV broadcast online.
"Basically, I think the slogans are less political, but more approachable and humanely-concerned,"said the 29-year-old, adding the slogan have given her deepest impression so far is "Hello, Xiao Ping" presented by the college students at the 1984 parade.
"It's not officially approved, but it implied the young people's respect to the state leaders in such a freshly natural way, like talking to a person you know for a long time,"said Zhang.
This time, the emblems of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the image of an ox (2009 is the year of Ox in Chinese zodiac) made the solemn ceremony a little vivid, she said.
"But the 'Social Harmony' impressed me most," said Zhang. "It's neither bombastic nor strongly political. It shows the government's concern of the people. After all, the poor-rich disparity is an urgent social problem to solve."
Wang Xiaoling, a retired teacher from the quake-hit province of Sichuan, however, was moved by the sentence of "All the people are of one mind, Unity of will is an impregnable stronghold".
"It reminded me the scenes that the whole nation united to help the victims from the May 12 earthquake last year and to overcome the difficulties in relief and reconstruction work,"said Wang.
"As long as we carry on this spirit, our future must be brighter," she said.
Ji Lin, vice mayor of Beijing said, the slogans at the square, echoing the parade, could be classified into three categories symbolizing the governing thoughts, the country's achievements and its future.
"They summarized China's successful experiences on its way of exploring socialism, painting the picture of its past, present and future," he said.
