CHINA yesterday announced plans for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Foreign militaries are invited to participate in a parade Sept. 3 in downtown Beijing.

    CPC chief Xi Jinping will speak at the event, Wang Shiming, deputy head of the CPC Central Committee publicity department, told a press conference.

    The parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the victory of World’s Anti-Fascist War, will feature some of the country’s latest weaponry passing by Tian’anmen Square.

    Xi will also present medals to representatives of war veterans and the families of deceased military officers, Wang said.

    It will be the first time China has held a parade to commemorate the victory of the eight-year anti-Japanese war, said Major General Qu Rui of the parade steering group.

    Active units of heroic and model Chinese troops will march in the parade, said Qu, deputy chief of operations with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general staff headquarters.

    Troops to be reviewed will come from seven military area commands. Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force, Armed Police and units under the direct command of the PLA general headquarters and departments will all take part.

    “It’s the first time we have invited foreign troops to participate,” Qu said.

    Japan signed the formal surrender Sept. 2, 1945 and China celebrated its victory the following day. After the war, Kuomintang (KMT) forces led by Chiang Kai-shek were defeated in a civil war by the CPC and fled to Taiwan in 1949.

    Some KMT veterans will take part in the parade, Qu said, adding that KMT troops played an important role in the war.

    Qu said representatives of veterans, civilians who supported the army during the war and members of the families of the fallen will also take part in the parade.

    Equipment and armaments on display will be mainly domestic and in active service, many of which will be shown in public for the first time, Qu said.

    Apart from the military parade, an array of other activities will commemorate the anniversary, including seminars on the war and a national memorial ceremony for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre killed at the hands of Japanese invaders.

    (Xinhua)