The Engleson Files

Once again the Chinese have outdone themselves when it comes to putting on a show. October 1st, 2009 was the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (or the Communist era) and in true Chinese fashion they put on a show that left your head shaking in disbelief; simply put it was awe inspiring. Lasting some 3 hours long, Beijing was the scene of a stunning old-school communist parade that deployed the entire Chinese military arsenal (that took 1.5 hours) and then finished off with spectacular floats and marching bands all highlighting the different aspects of Chinese society. My guess is that 300-400 thousand people were involved with this production and I am almost certain every single one of the 1.4 billion citizens were glued to the television set watching it. This parade reminded me of the military precision and strength of the German’s during World War II (at least from the images I have seen from that time) and had that vivid communist feel of the old Soviet parades during the Cold War. To say that I was moved by this parade would be a complete understatement. At times I was frightened, impressed, intimidated, entertained, mesmerized and, strangely, even a little bit proud. Being here live and watching it in real time was a very surreal experience because it is such a contrast to what I grew up with in Canada. When you look at the rows of people every single one of them was the same height and all moved in complete unison - the smallest of details were done to a tee. I just can’t believe how perfect everything was about the parade and after all the dust has settled, the Chinese made a hell of a statement to their citizens and the rest of the world about who they are as a country and what they are capable of. Give this thing a watch!