1. President Xi Jinping
yesterday said he would cut
military personnel by 300,000 –
twicethesizeoftheBritisharmed
forces – by 2017, shortly before
presidingoveranunprecedented
parade laden with symbolism
and messages.
The parade to commemorate
China’s victory against Japanese
aggression in the second world
war was groundbreaking in
many ways.
It was the first parade China
had held for a war anniversary
and the first with foreign partici-
pation.ItwasalsothefirsttimeXi
had reviewed troops as head of
stateanddeliveredaspeechatop
the Tiananmen Rostrum.
Thescaleoftheeventdwarfed
all those before it. Some 12,000
soldiers, 50 generals, 500 pieces
of military hardware and nearly
200aircraftwentbeforetheTian-
anmen Square audience, which
included a comprehensive list of
current and retired top leaders.
Dressed in the slate-grey,
high-buttoned Chinese suit
named after Kuomintang found-
er Sun Yat-sen and favoured by
Communist founder Mao Ze-
dong , a stern-looking Xi
inspected the troops in his pur-
pose-made Red Flag limousine.
Fiftygeneralsthenled50Chinese
formations down Changan Ave-
nue, followed by phalanxes from
17 countries.
It was a grand gesture that
served as a statement of intent to
audiences in China and abroad.
To Chinese people, the pa-
rade symbolised the dramatic
transformation of the country
from the brink of oblivion to a
potential world superpower in
the span of a lifetime. The cen-
tury-old dream of “rich country,
strong army” was shown finally
to be within grasp.
“[The war] was the first major
victory by China and [it] marked
theendofaneraofforeignimpe-
rialism,” said Wang Yukai, a pro-
fessorattheNationalAcademyof
Governance in Beijing.
The Communist Party, which
played second fiddle to the Kuo-
mintang in the war, nevertheless
seesitselfasthetrueforcebehind
China’s renaissance. Its legiti-
macyrestsonhowithasreturned
an ancient civilisation that suf-
fered 100 years of humiliation at
the hands of foreign powers to
the forefront of the world stage.
The parade also served as a
morale-booster to the People’s
Liberation Army, whose leader-
ship has grown complacent
and corrupt.
Xi’s announcement of the
troop reduction was part of a
larger reform to rejuvenate the
army and put it on a par with the
best of the West, as the South
China Morning Post first report-
ed on Wednesday.
“It shows a new image of the
military and eases concerns that
the PLA has been shaken by the
anti-corruption campaign,”
Wang said.
To the international commu-
nity,Xiusedtheoccasiontohigh-
light China’s contribution to the
victory of the Allied Powers.
At a cost of 20 million lives,
80 million refugees and wide-
spread destruction of its cities
and industries, China bogged
downalargepartoftheJapanese
Imperial army for eight years.
Its troops fought side by side
with American and British sol-
diers in the jungles of Myanmar.
“With huge national sacrifice,
the Chinese people held ground
in the main theatre in the East of
the World Anti-Fascist War, thus
making a major contribution to
its victory,” Xi said.
“In the interests of peace, we
need to foster a keen sense of a
global community of a shared
future,” the president said.
As23headsofstate,including
RussianPresidentVladimirPutin
andSouthKoreanPresidentPark
Geun-hye, looked on, Xi pledged
thatChinawould“neverseekhe-
gemony or expansion”.
“All countries should jointly
uphold the international order
and system underpinned by the
purposes and principles of the
UN Charter,” Xi added.
Beijing-based commentator
Wu Ge said the timing of the
troop reduction announcement
was to soften the parade’s im-
pact. “It is a tactful move to ease
international concerns about the
rise of China’s military.”
> FULL COVERAGE A4-8
> JAPAN HOLIDAY A10
> HARRY’S VIEW, EDITORIAL A14
................................................
Staff Reporters
As world witnesses China’s might, Xi announces cut of 300,000 troops, pledges peaceful intent
BEIJING’S MILITARY PARADE
Xi inspects troops in his purpose-made limousine, while (top) tanks pass Tiananmen Gate. Photos: Xinhua
[Cutting troop
levels] is a tactful
move to ease
international
concerns about
the rise of
China’s military
WU GE, COMMENTATOR
AWEANDPEACE
> SP ORT BACK
That will do
Gritty Hong
Kong stun ‘Big
Brother’ China
with a draw
Song sung blue
Indie musos say
more support
needed for live
scene as two
venues close
> LIFE
Lost faith
A former
Malaysian official
wants HK police
to investigate the
1MDB scandal
> NEWS A3
Shot to die for
Deaths and
injuries while
taking selfies
sparks education
campaigns
> WORLD A12
Friday, September 4, 2015 / See live updates at www.scmp.comPUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME 71 / NO 245
SUBSCRIPTION COPY
ONLY – NOT FOR SALE
Second-generation rich snub family business
Only one in five of the mainland’s second-generation rich is keen to
take over the family business, a study says, highlighting the
succession challenge that a pillar of the private economy faces. Most
preferred to start their own business, while the remainder said they
would seek traditional career paths. > CHINA A9
Chinese navy in waters off Alaska
Five Chinese navy ships are sailing in international waters in the
Bering Sea off Alaska, the Pentagon said, a move that came as United
States President Barack Obama toured the state. A Pentagon
spokesman said it was the first time the US had seen Chinese navy
ships in the Bering Sea. > WORLD A11
Rise in number of medical staff with HIV
Fresh concern has arisen over whether doctors with HIV should be
allowed to operate on patients after official figures indicated a rise in
the number of medical staff with the virus. Department of Health
records show that in the first seven months of this year there were six
reports of medical staff with HIV, the same number recorded in the
whole of 2014. > CITY C1
Little impact from efforts to prop up market
Beijing’s relentless efforts to prop up the stock market have hardly
moved the benchmark indexes as the problem lies in the economy
rather than the markets, analysts say. Fresh policies, orders and
guidance have been released almost daily, including monetary
easing, allowing pension funds to trade more stocks and slapping
penalties on trading platforms. > BUSINESS B1
DIGEST
TheEuropeanUnion’stopenvoy
in Hong Kong has called for the
citytoresumeitselectoralreform
process as soon as possible and
expects lively debate on the issue
in the run-up to the 2017 chief
executive election
Vincent Piket, head of the
European Union office to Hong
Kong and Macau, said he
believed electing the city’s leader
and the Legislative Council by
universal suffrage would help
create a government strong
enough to tackle thorny issues in
the years ahead.
Citing the EU’s experience in
tackling the problem of “social
exclusion” of immigrants from
mainstream society, Piket said
there was a need for the Hong
Kong government to address
growing socioeconomic griev-
ances in the city.
In a wide-ranging interview
with the South China Morning
Post,Piketsaidfailuretomeetthe
original target of achieving uni-
versal suffrage in 2017 did not
mean “the ambition and objec-
tive” was “no longer there”.
“I would be surprised if the
topic [of how to attain universal
suffrage]doesnotcomeupinthe
campaignforthe2017chiefexec-
utive election,” he said. “I would
think the public and business
sectordowanttoknowwhatcan-
didatesstandforintheeconomic
andsocialspheresandalsointhe
political sphere, particularly on
electoral reform.
“I think after the 2016 Legco
election, or even before that, the
question will be debated in a
quite lively manner.”
Chief Executive Leung Chun-
ying said after Legco rejected a
................................................
Gary Cheung and Stuart Lau
Put political reform back
on track, EU envoy says
THE DIPLOMATS: PART EIGHT
> CONTINUED ON A3
> NOT ‘CLASSICAL EXPATS’ C2