China has set a frugal tone for its once-for-a-decade dress parade on Oct. 1 amid an economic downturn, promising that the military could strike a balance between morale-boosting spectacle and financial prudence.
Colonel Cai Huailie with the headquarters of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) confirmed a rumor that the parade showcasing China's latest military achievement will be conducted in an economical way.
"Chinese military forces have a tradition of fulfilling large causes by spending less money," Senior Colonel Chen Zhou, an expert with the PLA's Military Science Academy, said in an online communication with netizens on eve of China's Spring Festival.
"We could see that the parade on National Day would be solemn and cost-effective," said Chen who has participated in drafting China's national defense white paper six times.
A number of netizens also questioned whether China would shrink its defense spending since the financial crisis has already cut the budgets of numerous enterprises and directly impacts the country's export-oriented companies.
Colonel Wen Bing, a researcher with the academy, said although China has raised it defense spending thanks to annual growing revenue, it has never gone beyond endurable economy.
Wen also revealed that the defense budget has been made according to China's laws and it will be submitted for approval to the annual session of National People's Congress, the top legislature, in March.
The third of its kind since China adopted the reform and opening-up policy three decades ago, the dress parade of the Chinese armed forces under the command of President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Hu Jintao will display home-grown on-duty weapon systems of all the services.
In the last two parades, in 1984 and 1999, late leader Deng Xiaoping and former President Jiang Zemin reviewed troops representing millions of service people.
Such parades were frequent before 1984, with 11 parades in the 11 years after the PRC was founded on Oct. 1, 1949. It was suspended after 1959 until 1984 when Deng decided to resume the pageantry to rouse the nation on the track toward a liberalized economy.
The last parade on Oct. 1, 1999 involved more than 11,000 military staff, 400 combat vehicles and 132 aircraft. The servicemen trained for the synchronized marches and hailing slogans for about 10 months.
It is reported that the total cost of that parade will be kept at less than 300 million yuan (44.1 million U.S. dollars) and overseas rumors said it could be as many as 16 billion yuan.
The PLA's Navy has made impressive progress since its foundation in 1949. It has just sent three warships to the Gulf of Aden for an escort mission against piracy.
Although the Defense Ministry has not confirmed whether the dress parade will include a naval performance in China's waters, Colonel Cai said that there will be new weapons and equipment that have not been unveiled to the public since 1999.
Before the official announcement of the parade, an online debate on www.huanqiu.com about whether the government should hold a magnificent parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China had shown that more than 85 percent of the netizens voted yes. But it has not yet muted voices suggesting the authorities reconsider the parade.
"China has many fields that need capital investment after the major earthquake in Wenchuan. The government should use the taxpayers' money in more important and practical undertakings rather than parade," a netizen named "tomato boy" said.
"Military parades are an outcome of the cold war. Our weapons are modern and powerful, but we are not in any cold war," a netizen "a common man" said.
But those who overwhelmingly support the parade agree that the parade will bring encouragement to overcome difficulties amid economic downturn.
Dong Hongda, a senior online poster on www.xinhua.org, has worked out proposals on how to make the parade more cost-effective.
First, the government should control the parade in a proper scale by cutting the number of marching soldiers to a number that represents the quality of the PLA's elite.
Second, take out the female militia procession, since they are garish and dispensable part for the parade.
Third, reduce the duration of the training for the parade, since a large proportion of the parade expense will be spent in selecting the soldiers and training them, Dong said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2009)