News Survey

The Chinese Communist Party's September 3rd military parade is imminent, and invited heads of state from authoritarian nations like Russia and North Korea have been arriving in Beijing. However, according to sources on the mainland, the CCP has been listing several key risks to guard against during the parade since August, including the potential for intellectual and public opinion campaigns by foreign powers like the United States and the West, even targeting pro-democracy protesters. Beneath the surface atmosphere of"celebration," China is also mired in a high-alert, murderous atmosphere.

Security heightened for Kim Jong-un's visit to China: Heavy military deployment and high alert

The Chinese Communist Party's"80th Anniversary of the Victory of the People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War" event will officially begin on the 3rd. Heads of state and foreign guests from many countries who are invited to attend have arrived in Beijing one after another in the past two days. Among them, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has not participated in such foreign affairs activities for many years, has attracted the most attention.

Rumors suggest that Kim Jong-un, who typically travels on his own luxury train to prevent assassination attempts, will travel to Beijing by land this time. For security reasons, not only are ground forces deployed along the route of Kim Jong-un's train, but a drone-free zone has also been declared in the air. On the afternoon of the 2nd, images surfaced online of large-scale road closures in Shenyang for Kim Jong-un's safety.

Kim Jong-un visits China on his personal luxury train, prompting reports of widespread road closures in Shenyang. (Source: Weibo, X Platform)

Not only is Kim Jong-un concerned about his own safety, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities are also on heightened alert for domestic security. Recently, many netizens have uploaded videos of schools and government agencies requiring citizens to watch the military parade together on the morning of the 3rd. Factories, forced to suspend operations for nearly a month, have also issued notices requiring workers to watch television within the factory complex. Recently, a large number of videos have surfaced online showing PLA soldiers taking the subway into Beijing, featuring murderous expressions accompanied by music, creating a puzzling image.

Chinese authorities have asked schools, government agencies, and the public to watch the military parade together on the morning of the 3rd. (From X Platform)

A risk list was issued to prevent overseas public debate and to prohibit self-media from inciting"little pink" sentiment.

According to internal information leaked by Chinese netizens, as early as August, relevant departments of the Chinese Communist Party listed a number of"key risks" that must be guarded against during the military parade, including foreign forces such as the United States and the West launching intellectual warfare and public debate, and seizing the right to speak on the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The CCP's"mainstay role" in the War of Resistance must not be denied.

On the other hand, the CCP's propaganda department has always been good at inciting"little pinks" to hype foreign and Taiwan-related issues. In order to prevent nationalism from escalating and causing populism and nationalism to get out of control and impact social order, during this period, it also required self-media not to amplify extreme nationalism to avoid causing an out-of-control situation.

Despite ostensibly celebrating the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the parade was met with a silent boycott by the democratic camp, with the exception of the host nation, the Chinese Communist Party, turning it into a"bad student party." According to the annual report of the US advocacy group Freedom House, of the 24 heads of state attending the parade, including host China, core participating nations such as China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Belarus were classified as"not free." Central Asian nations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan were categorized as"partly free" or "not free," with the percentage of countries considered "free" practically zero. This made this commemoration of the"80th anniversary of the fight against fascism" a grand gathering of authoritarian regimes.

Blue camp members' insistence on attending the military parade could lead to misunderstandings about Taiwan's international image.

Despite the anti-authoritarian atmosphere in the West, former Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu and several members of the"Blue Camp" (KMT) insisted on attending the September 3rd military parade. National security experts point out that this is tantamount to handing over the right to interpret history to the CCP, a party that had no actual participation in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Amidst the anti-authoritarian atmosphere in the West, former Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu and others insisted on attending the September 3rd military parade. (File photo/Chen Kai)

National security experts further analyzed that, judging from the current international political landscape, authoritarian countries are adopting a boycott and hostile attitude towards Western democratic countries, which is seriously impacting international norms and the stable international system that was painstakingly established after World War II.

In addition to allowing the international community to witness the gathering of just authoritarian countries, a national security expert familiar with international affairs also warned that some Taiwanese politicians ignored the advice of their own parties and public opinion and insisted on attending the military parade, which may be misinterpreted by the international community as the existence of similar views within Taiwan.