Huge festivities combine modern power with Communist kitsch
(NEWSER) - A massive procession of tanks, troops, and nuclear missile launchers paraded through Beijing today, 60 years after Mao Zedong stood in Tiananmen Square and proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China. The rigorously choreographed procession combined old-school Communist imagery—including tens of thousands of children flipping colored cards to create slogans like "Loyalty to the party"—with modern touches like a model of the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium and a float promoting environmentalism. Only 30,000 spectators were allowed to attend; Beijingers were told to watch on TV instead. More»
