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| China military parade to commemorate second world war victory – live | China military parade to commemorate second world war victory – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.18am BST02:18 | |
| The overseas dignitaries are now taking part in a mini-parade of their own as they each step up to meet president Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. | |
| UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and his wife Yoo Soon-taek have arrived. | |
| Ban has been forced to defend his attendance at the parade, saying earlier this week: | |
| China’s contribution and sacrifice during the second world war is very much recognised, [and China] is appreciated for all such sufferings, and sympathised [with] by the world’s people. | |
| It is important to look to the past, what kinds of lessons we have been learning, and how we can move ahead to a brighter future based on the lessons learned. That is the main purpose. | |
| Live: @UN chief Ban Ki-moon and his wife arrive for China's #VDay parade http://t.co/qGCyhnnwpi pic.twitter.com/wehNrwYPiS | |
| Kenneth Clarke, a British MP and former chancellor of the exchequer who is here as the “special envoy” of the prime minister, David Cameron, is also here. These images are all being beamed into Tiananmen Square, where my colleague Tom Phillips reports very little recognition for the UK visitor. | |
| Updated at 2.18am BST | |
| 2.10am BST02:10 | |
| My colleague Fergus Ryan reports from Beijing: | |
| Today’s massive parade is a made-for-TV event and nothing has been left to chance. Many businesses and roads have been shut down for the event. For the roads that are still open, around half of the cities’ vehicles are allowed on them. | |
| And the military has even deployed falcons and monkeys to prevent birds from getting in the way of the jets flying overhead. | |
| One of the principal aims of this, the largest military parade in modern Chinese history, is to redress the imbalance China sees in second world war narratives. China’s role in defeating Japan, in particular, has been underplayed, the argument goes. | |
| At a medal ceremony for war veterans on Wednesday, president Xi Jinping used unusually strong language to describe the Japanese invaders, calling them “fiendish”. | |
| “The Japanese militarist invaders were extremely bloody and cruel, who treated the Chinese people with unprecedented brutality, and tried to use massacres and death to get the Chinese people to yield,” Xi said, according to Xinhua news agency. | |
| “In the face of the butchers’ knives of the invaders, the Chinese people used their flesh and blood to build a new Great Wall,” he added. | |
| The anti-Japanese sentiment is precisely why many major leaders, including from from the UK, US, Australia and Japan, have shunned the event. Many western countries are reluctant to buy into Asia’s “history wars”. | |
| Despite the rhetoric, China maintains that the parade is not aimed at today’s Japan, but to remember the past and hope for peace. | |
| In Wednesday’s China Military Online, People’s Liberation army General Liu Yazhou said of Japan: “A nation accustomed to concealing history and rejecting the truth … has no hope.” | |
| But as Beijing-based lawyer William Farris points out in his blog Fei Chang Dao, forum topics online on Baidu for “the Cultural Revolution,” (文革) “The Great Leap Forward,” (大跃进) and “Tiananmen” (天安门) are banned. | |
| Farris quotes a Global Times editorial entitled “Japan Must Face up to Verdict of History” by Sha Zukang, former UN under-secretary-general for Economic and Social Affairs: “A great country and nation has the courage to face up to its history. To forget history is to betray, and to deny a crime is to repeat it. Only by taking history as a mirror can Japan look into the future. Otherwise, its future will be like a tree without roots, which cannot last long.” | |
| 2.01am BST02:01 | |
| Those who believe today’s parade has more to do with China wanting to display its current strength and rather less to do with the events of 1945 might find this interesting: more than 500 pieces of new military equipment are due to be showcased this morning. | |
| China to display over 500 pieces of latest equipment in #VDay parade, 84% shown for 1st time pic.twitter.com/ODtbtgeqIZ | |
| 1.56am BST01:56 | |
| My colleague Luna Lin reports from Beijing: | |
| Foreign dignitaries are arriving at the Forbidden City and they will soon meet president Xi Jinping and his wife. | |
| You can read more about the foreign leaders and dignitaries who are expected to show up – including some perhaps unexpected names – here: | |
| Related: Tony Blair to attend China's second world war Victory Day events – report | |
| 1.48am BST01:48 | 1.48am BST01:48 |
| The Guardian’s Tom Phillips is stationed in Tiananmen Square, along with a horde of journalists. | The Guardian’s Tom Phillips is stationed in Tiananmen Square, along with a horde of journalists. |
| But most Beijing residents will not be given the opportunity to see the parade as it passes through their city. | But most Beijing residents will not be given the opportunity to see the parade as it passes through their city. |
| As Associated Press reports: | As Associated Press reports: |
| Residents who live along the parade route have received notices ordering them to stay off balconies, keep windows shut, invite no guests and – at some buildings – snap no pictures. | Residents who live along the parade route have received notices ordering them to stay off balconies, keep windows shut, invite no guests and – at some buildings – snap no pictures. |
| “I am eager to watch the parade, but I understand it’s impossible for everyone to have the chance to see it,” said a Beijing lawyer who identified himself only by his surname, Yao. “I think watching the live broadcast will be a good alternative.” | “I am eager to watch the parade, but I understand it’s impossible for everyone to have the chance to see it,” said a Beijing lawyer who identified himself only by his surname, Yao. “I think watching the live broadcast will be a good alternative.” |
| The neighborhoods around Tiananmen Square will be under curfew, and Beijing has mobilised 850,000 neighbourhood watchers to report anything even slightly out of the ordinary. | The neighborhoods around Tiananmen Square will be under curfew, and Beijing has mobilised 850,000 neighbourhood watchers to report anything even slightly out of the ordinary. |
| City roads will be closed, public bus service suspended and many subway stops sealed, while cordon tape will keep members of the public away from the parade. Authorities also are shutting down office buildings, shops, restaurants and even hospitals along the route for at least 24 hours. Some buildings are staying shut for three days. | City roads will be closed, public bus service suspended and many subway stops sealed, while cordon tape will keep members of the public away from the parade. Authorities also are shutting down office buildings, shops, restaurants and even hospitals along the route for at least 24 hours. Some buildings are staying shut for three days. |
| The first ever live blog from Tiananmen Square? http://t.co/vOxsPJSxaP pic.twitter.com/fGzoju2FnD | The first ever live blog from Tiananmen Square? http://t.co/vOxsPJSxaP pic.twitter.com/fGzoju2FnD |
| 1.41am BST01:41 | 1.41am BST01:41 |
| China has been working very hard to quash negative views about today’s commemorations but there are, of course, many who say the parade serves as propaganda for the regime. | China has been working very hard to quash negative views about today’s commemorations but there are, of course, many who say the parade serves as propaganda for the regime. |
| Luna Lin, in the Guardian’s Beijing bureau, has been talking to Zhang Lifan, a Chinese historian known for his outspoken criticism of the government. His reading of the parade is typically blunt. | Luna Lin, in the Guardian’s Beijing bureau, has been talking to Zhang Lifan, a Chinese historian known for his outspoken criticism of the government. His reading of the parade is typically blunt. |
| “The parade is to serve political needs,” Zhang says. “Xi Jinping needs to consolidate his power and to take control of the army after ousting senior military figures” in his anti-corruption drive. | “The parade is to serve political needs,” Zhang says. “Xi Jinping needs to consolidate his power and to take control of the army after ousting senior military figures” in his anti-corruption drive. |
| Zhang believes China’s president “wants to establish the image of being the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The parade is a good way of demonstrating his power and further strengthening his control of the army.”“He also wants to fan nationalistic sentiment among the public … which is a common practice among authoritarian states.” | Zhang believes China’s president “wants to establish the image of being the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The parade is a good way of demonstrating his power and further strengthening his control of the army.”“He also wants to fan nationalistic sentiment among the public … which is a common practice among authoritarian states.” |
| The parade is partly designed to flex “China’s muscles” on the international stage, Zhang adds. “But the most important of the parade is to consolidate Xi’s political status and leadership.” | The parade is partly designed to flex “China’s muscles” on the international stage, Zhang adds. “But the most important of the parade is to consolidate Xi’s political status and leadership.” |
| 1.36am BST01:36 | 1.36am BST01:36 |
| Parade schedule | Parade schedule |
| Last-minute rehearsals have been going on since dawn in Tiananmen Square, overseen by journalists who were instructed to be in position several hours before the commemorations begin. | Last-minute rehearsals have been going on since dawn in Tiananmen Square, overseen by journalists who were instructed to be in position several hours before the commemorations begin. |
| Xi is likely to talk about world peace, China’s sacrifices during the second world war and what he calls ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’. His message will be simple: I’m in charge. | Xi is likely to talk about world peace, China’s sacrifices during the second world war and what he calls ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’. His message will be simple: I’m in charge. |
| 1.16am BST01:16 | 1.16am BST01:16 |
| Summary | Summary |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| China will today host a huge military parade in central Beijing to mark 70 years since victory over Japan in the second world war. | China will today host a huge military parade in central Beijing to mark 70 years since victory over Japan in the second world war. |
| Troops and missiles will be paraded through Tiananmen Square. Some 12,000 soldiers will take part – most Chinese, but accompanied by contingents from Russia and other nations. | Troops and missiles will be paraded through Tiananmen Square. Some 12,000 soldiers will take part – most Chinese, but accompanied by contingents from Russia and other nations. |
| In attendance will be Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin and leaders of several other nations, including South Korean president Park Geun-hye, Pakistan’s president Mamnoon Hussain and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court. | In attendance will be Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin and leaders of several other nations, including South Korean president Park Geun-hye, Pakistan’s president Mamnoon Hussain and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court. |
| Former British prime minister Tony Blair is also expected to show up, along with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. | |
| Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will not attend. | Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will not attend. |
| I’ll be live blogging the parade, taking in the preparations, the precautions and the protests. | I’ll be live blogging the parade, taking in the preparations, the precautions and the protests. |
| My colleague Tom Phillips is in Tiananmen Square and you can follow his updates via this live blog and on Twitter @tomphillipsin. | My colleague Tom Phillips is in Tiananmen Square and you can follow his updates via this live blog and on Twitter @tomphillipsin. |
| I’ll also post key updates on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. | I’ll also post key updates on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. |
| Do chat with me there or post your comments below. | Do chat with me there or post your comments below. |
| Updated at 2.14am BST |