Hu says ‘China standing tall’

Vows closer Taiwan ties:

CHINA: President Hu Jintao said at massive National Day celebrations in Beijing on Thursday that China was “standing tall” in the East and pledged to pursue closer ties with Taiwan.

Hu spoke from Tiananmen Gate in the heart of the capital before a huge crowd of tens of thousands of spectators as China marked 60 years of communist rule with a military parade featuring new weaponry and a spectacular pageant.

The burst of patriotism was the culmination of months of government propaganda led by the state media and was meant to stir national pride, while underlining that none of it could have happened without the Communist Party.

“Today a socialist China that faces the future is standing tall and firm in the East,” said Hu, wearing a dark, high-collared suit in the style of Mao Zedong, who 60 years ago declared the founding of the People’s Republic.

“The development and progress of new China over the past 60 years fully proved that only socialism can save China and only reform and opening up can ensure the development of China, socialism and Marxism,” he said.

The Chinese president also implied that the country’s ruling party intended to maintain its firm hold on power, punctuating his speech with the cry, “Long live the great Communist Party”. Beijing, Thursday, AFP