China's glorification of communism

China celebrated 60 years of communist rule today with its biggest -ever display of military hardware and a march past of 100,000 troops.

Long lines of tanks, soldiers and missile launchers were paraded through Beijing under the gaze of President Hu Jintao, who watched from a rostrum at Tiananmen Square.

He addressed the crowds from the exact spot at the top of the Tinanmen gate where Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic on 1 October,1949. Hu's black, Mao-style tunic was interpreted by analysts as a symbol of his iron control of the military.

Security was tight as police blocked off a wide area around the centre of the capital for the anniversary, which China embraced as a symbol of its rise to world power status.

Armed police patrolled major junctions, with snipers spotted on buildings along the parade route. Roads were blocked off and the international airport closed.

Residents were told to stay away and watch the two-hour event on television as Mr Hu reviewed the thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks, shouting "hello, comrades", while riding in an open-top limousine. More than 100 helicopters and Chinese fighter jets flew over the city in formation.

After the armaments, 60 floats celebrating last year's Beijing Olympics, China's manned space programme and other symbols of progress rolled by as thousands of students displayed coloured cards to make pictures of lucky symbols and spell out political slogans. The events were meant to underscore what Mr Hu called the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation".

In a speech from the Tiananmen gate that referred to his Communist Party predecessors and China's success, Mr Hu said: "We have triumphed over all sorts of difficulties and setbacks and risks to gain the great achievements evident to the world. Today, a socialist China geared toward modernisation, the world and the future towers majestically in the East."

There was some unease at the display of military muscle. Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California, said: "For more than 15 years they have been denouncing those who call China's rise a threat. Now they put on this display of military hardware."