This Sunday (16), a Hebei netizen spotted an aerial formation of at least 29 helicopters in the air over Baoding, consisting of the word “100”. Another netizen photographed a formation of 15 J-20 stealth fighter jets conducting a flight drill over Tianjin. Although officials stressed that there will be no military parade for the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party this year, the alternative parade was described as a “performance event”.
July 1 this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. On Monday (17), several videos of PLA helicopter gunships and fighter jets flying in formation were circulated on the Internet in China. One of the videos shows at least 29 helicopter gunships in a “100” formation over Baoding, Hebei province, on May 16, with three more trailing behind. In another video, two groups of People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jets flew in formation, five fighters in each group. Another filmmaker in Tianjin said that on Sunday the 16th, the Chinese Air Force’s fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter jet flew in a five-plane formation. The filmmaker said at least 15 J-20 stealth fighters in three formations were flying for the exercise.
Tianjin scholar Su Qiang said in an interview with the station Tuesday (18) that the military has always been an important tool for the Chinese Communist Party to safeguard its core interests, and that it has been called “the strong pillar of the dictatorship of the proletariat” and must be firmly controlled at all times.
“The army is an instrument of political struggle. The Chinese Communist Party attaches great importance to the army, as they say, power comes from the barrel of a gun. In the CCP’s mind, the army has always been a tool to fight, to seize and keep power, to guarantee his dominance.”
Although the Chinese government has indicated that it will not hold a military parade on July 1 this year, the latest video is apparently part of the parade.
Sources say the Air Force will hold an air show to celebrate the party’s anniversary. In this regard, scholar Su Qiang believes that the display of various types of warplanes, or mainly for the domestic people to see.
“He is now showing the helicopters to show his powerful image. The purpose is to deter the people. It is also to give a confidence to those who support him. On the other hand, it is also a demonstration of his toughness.”
According to Beijing-based Dovetail News, the helicopters appearing over Hebei include the straight-19 helicopter gunship, the straight-10 helicopter gunship and the J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter, in preparation for the Communist Party’s centennial celebrations.
Former PLA officer: Temporary arrangements for military parade
Yao Cheng, a former lieutenant colonel staff officer of the Chinese naval command now living in the United States, said in an interview with this station that the scale of the parade looks like an impromptu arrangement.
“It takes a while to prepare if you do a drill. There should be two cases, one is Xi Jinping to show that the troops below to cater to him, is their troops alone to Xi Jinping to show their loyalty. If they want to have a parade, they must make a lot of propaganda beforehand. This is the behavior of the air force in the central war zone.”
A picture uploaded to the Internet by a netizen shows a Chinese Air Force pilot with an armband reading “Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the party.” Since Xi Jinping came to power, he has led the 2015 Victory Day parade, the 2017 PLA Founding Day parade in Zhu Rihe, the 2018 South China Sea parade, the 2019 Qingdao parade and the 2019 National Day parade.
On March 23, the Chinese central government announced that on July 1, a conference will be held in the name of the “Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and General Secretary Xi Jinping will make an announcement on the future policy.
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