China is preparing to mark 60 years of communist rule, with a lavish military parade in Beijing and celebrations across the country for Thursday’s anniversary.
Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, after a bitter civil war fought over more than 20 years. One of the key episodes of the war was the so-called Long March, when Mao led his forces on a strategic military retreat through harsh terrain to evade the nationalist Kuomintang army.
In the first of this series examining communist China at 60, Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan travels to China’s southeastern province of Jiangxi, where the Long March began. Segment 1 (3:27 min) China’s Long March
Segment 2: China’s Challenge to Unite its Ethnic Groups
Segment 3: The Rise of China’s Economy
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on Oct 26th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
It could be a technical glitch at my end, but segment 2 and 3 seem to point to segment 1?
on Oct 26th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Thanks for letting me know, Chaun… I had everything crossed up on this post. Just fixed it though…
on Oct 26th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Thanks, David. Economic tyranny aside, I think China has indeed made a great leap forward in the last 60 years. Much as we the outsides hate to admit it sometimes, I think this progress has been possible – at least partially – because of the the Communist rule. What Moa had done, fundamentally, is not too dissimilar to what the war lords and emperors tried to do, ie unify China through aggression and repression, thousand of years ago.
on Oct 27th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Yes, I cannot agree more. It makes me think what a fascinating time in history that we can witness and sometimes even demand changes of governments and how they can be run.