Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top leaders attended a grand ceremony
Sunday in Beijing in memory of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Long
March.
Jiajin Mountain, the
first snow-covered mountain crossed by the Red Army during the Long March.
[China.org.cn] [ |
Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Zeng Qinghong, Huang Ju, Wu
Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan attended the official memorial service.
Wu Bangguo, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress, presided over the ceremony.
The ceremony was broadcast live by China National Radio, China Central
Television and China Radio International, as well as Xinhuanet.Com and
People.Com.Cn, the official Websites of Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily.
The Long March was a famous military maneuver carried out by the Workers' and
Peasants' Red Army from 1934 to 1936 led by the CPC to combat the Kuomintang
Regime.
Though many soldiers died on the way, the Red Army finally arrived at Yan'an
in western Shaanxi Province after the 25,000-li (12,500-kilometer) trek, where
the new headquarters of CPC was later established.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of CPC Central Committee, state president and
chairman of Central Military Commission (CMC), delivered a key-note speech at
the ceremony, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, State Council and CMC.
He said the Long March, which opened a bright future for China's revolution
and laid an important foundation for the victory of China's revolution, has been
a "pride" for the Chinese Communists, the Chinese army and the Chinese nation as
a whole.
The aim of the grand ceremony, he said, is to encourage the whole Party, the
army and people of all ethnic groups of China, to advance valiantly along the
socialist road with Chinese characteristics.
In his speech, Hu recalled the history of the "heartquake" Long March,
calling it a rarely-seen expedition in the history of human warfare, referring
to the long time it took, the long route it traveled, the great disparity of
force between the Red Army and enemy troops it witnessed, and the abominable
natural conditions it experienced.
The victory of the Long March shows the outstanding capabilities of the
Chinese Communists in leading the revolutionary war, the undaunted spirit of the
Red Army officers and soldiers who had bravely sacrificed their lives for
national independence and people's emancipation, and the fact that the just
powers of the people's revolutionary war is unbeatable, the top leader said.
He said the Red Army's Long March is a great turning point for the Chinese
Revolution to go from defeat to victory, which ushered in the new dawn and
opened up a bright future for the Party to unite and lead the people to beat the
Japanese Militaristic Aggressors and strive for building a new country being
independent, free, democratic, united and prosperous.