Opinion | For Hong Kong and Macau, Beijing parade was more than sheer spectacle

The military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression drew global attention. In Hong Kong and Macau, where the ceremony was broadcast live, the emotions and reflections inspired were unique – admiration and pride mingling with questions and contemplation.

Some ask, as decennial parades have become routine, does this “muscle flexing” carry practical significance, given that China’s rise is now an established global consensus?

To address such doubts, one must move beyond a Western-centric lens and examine the parade from the perspectives of national destiny, institutional resilience and the global order – while also situating it within Hong Kong and Macau’s histories and realities.

First, the parade was an expression of national will. Many families in Hong Kong and Macau have direct or ancestral memories of the second world war, from the brutal Battle of Hong Kong to Macau’s role as a wartime refuge – histories linking the two cities to the Chinese nation’s struggle.
Marking history through a state ritual is not to rekindle hatred, but to resist forgetting – to draw strength from collective trauma, to recall that only through war can war be stopped, and to learn the lesson that backwardness invites aggression.

This is no shallow patriotic show but a declaration that the Chinese people, whether in the impoverished past or today’s fragmented world, retain a deep national cohesion. That cohesion is tangible in the orderly, formidable ranks. The parade was a collective display that helped individuals transcend their personal anxieties, creating an emotional release and resonance with the nation’s destiny.

06:07

What did China’s military parade tell us about its capabilities and global standing?

What did China’s military parade tell us about its capabilities and global standing?

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Hong Kong car owners race to higher ground to escape Ragasa’s feared storm surge

Hong Kong car owners race to higher ground to escape Ragasa’s feared storm surge

Hongkongers were rushing to park their cars on higher ground and in covered spaces as Super Typhoon Ragasa was expected to inundate low-lying and coastal areas. Several major indoor car parks had long queues stretching out of their entrances on Tuesday morning, including the Tai Po Mega Mall car park, which accommodates over 1,000 vehicles,

Super Typhoon Ragasa Races Toward Hong Kong, Hundreds of ...

Super Typhoon Ragasa Races Toward Hong Kong, Hundreds of …

Airlines in East Asia canceled hundreds of flights on Tuesday as China’s Pearl River delta and the financial hub of Hong Kong braced for Super Typhoon Ragasa, which authorities have warned could have a “catastrophic” impact on the densely populated region. Why It Matters Meteorologists have warned that Ragasa, the most powerful typhoon to hit

Hong Kong property prices expected to trade sideways with fluctuations in the second half of the year; gold may remain strong until the first quarter of next year.

Hong Kong property prices expected to trade sideways with fluctuations in the second half of the year; gold may remain strong until the first quarter of next year.

Recently, Citi released its global investment outlook for the fourth quarter of 2025, outlining its views on Hong Kong’s property market, the US dollar, gold, and Hong Kong interest rates. According to Zhitong Finance APP, Citi recently released its global investment outlook for Q4 2025. Liao Jiahao, Head of Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation at

Super Typhoon Ragasa: Hongkongers rush home ahead of T8 as shutdown begins

Super Typhoon Ragasa: Hongkongers rush home ahead of T8 as shutdown begins

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing now for 50 per cent off during our two-day flash sale. The Hong Kong Observatory has said it will issue the No 8 warning signal 2.20pm on Tuesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa is expected

Map shows path and arrival time (in Philippine Standard Time) of super typhoon Ragasa

Super Typhoon Ragasa live tracker: Hong Kong cancels 700 flights after powerful storm kills three in Philippines

Hong Kong airport warns of ‘significant disruption’ as Ragasa nears Hong Kong airport said it will “continue operations” but warned passengers to expect “significant disruption” to flight operations from 6pm on Tuesday to Wednesday. In a statement issued on Monday evening, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said: “AAHK and the airport community are fully

Smoke rises from the site of the fire at the Tsing Yi recycling site near Stonecutters Bridge. Photo: Sun Yeung

Firefighters battling fire raging for 7 hours at Hong Kong recycling site

Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a recycling site in Hong Kong’s Tsing Yi for about seven hours since it broke out, two days after another fire erupted near the same spot. The Fire Services Department was alerted at 4.12am on Tuesday that a fire had broken out at a recycling site at the

Smoke rises from the site of the fire at the Tsing Yi recycling site near Stonecutters Bridge. Photo: Sun Yeung

Hong Kong firefighters battle fire at Tsing Yi recycling site

Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a recycling site in Hong Kong’s Tsing Yi for about seven hours since it broke out, two days after another fire erupted near the same spot. The Fire Services Department was alerted at 4.12am on Tuesday that a fire had broken out at a recycling site at the