China displays military might

BEIJING, Oct 1 (Reuters) — Missiles, tanks and low-flying fighters joined roller-bladers and fashion models as Communist China marked its 50th anniversary with a display of power and pageantry involving half a million people in the Tiananmen Square today.

From the balcony of the gate of heavenly peace, where Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the people’s republic on October 1, 1949, President Jiang Zemin hailed "earth-shaking changes to the erstwhile poor and weak old China’’.

The military display highlighted newly-developed missiles, rockets and aerial tankers to signal China’s emergence as a global power with a long reach — and to deliver a sharp warning to rival Taiwan.

Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui has infuriated Beijing by declaring the island will only deal with China as a political equal. China regards the island as a renegade province.

Mr Jiang declared China would eventually win back control of Taiwan — to Chinese leaders the last unfinished business of Mao’s revolution.

Tiananmen, the symbolic heart of Chinese Communism, became a sea of colour as 500,000 civilians — carefully vetted for their party allegiance — surrounded gaily decorated floats.

The first wave depicted early advances in industry and agriculture in the Maoist era with revolutionary scenes, giant sheafs of wheat and a rocket taking off in a cloud of cardboard smoke.

Next came the period of economic growth since Deng Xiaoping introduced capitalist-style reforms in 1979. A float representing the first special economic zone of Shenzhen, site of China’s first stock market, carried a statue of a charging bull.

The third stage painted a picture of a rich and technologically advanced future with television screens. There was a model of manned spaceship.