CCP Using Massive WW2 Parade to Propel False Historical Narrative, Analysts Say
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has held two large rehearsals for a massive military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, ending World War II.
Analysts say the CCP is using the parade to push false claims that it led the fighting against Japan’s invasion on China during the war rather than the Republic of China (ROC) government, which at the time ruled China.
The large parade, which includes some weaponry that hasn’t been seen before, not only aims at showing off regime’s military strength for intimidation but also at continuing its rewriting of World War II history, analysts say.
Approximately 40,000 people participated in the parade’s second round of rehearsals from Aug. 16 to Aug. 17, following a first round on Aug. 9. The official parade will involve 12,000 Chinese soldiers and is expected to feature a variety of new land and water-based weapons systems, including anti-ship missiles, drones, new tanks, weapons with hypersonic capabilities, and early-warning aircraft to protect China’s aircraft carriers, according to state media.
The parade will “mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War,” China’s state media Xinhua reported. The last parade was held in September 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender.
New Weapon Resembles Russian Tech
The parade will also show hundreds of aircraft including fighter jets, bombers, and precision-strike weapons capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound, the regime’s officials said at a press briefing earlier last week.
Videos of the rehearsal running through Chang’an Avenue in Beijing posted by Chinese state media and by Chinese citizens on social media show new tanks and trucks fitted with new devices.
Among them, an oversized AJX002 underwater drone resembling Russia’s “Doomsday” Poseidon nuclear torpedo caught the attention of international observers.
Shen Ming-shih, director of the Division of National Security Research at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the Epoch Times that theAJX002—estimated to be up to 65 feet long with a five-foot diameter—could have very large tonnage.
By Alex Wu
