China has marked it’s 62nd National Day (October 1) a date which celebrates the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. Events included flower basket tributes to the millions who died in China during the struggles of the 30s and 40s. There was also a display of new weapons but on the whole the occasion was a largely civilian event. Some 3600 “representatives of all walks of life” paraded to honour the dead (picture inset). The Chinese have much reason to be proud. But their view of their country frequently astonishes outsiders who recognize that it is only the free-market reforms of the past 30 years that have led to prosperity and a much better life. Those who went before lived in a different land. They laboured heroically no doubt but all their efforts were rewarded with only misery until China turned Communism on its head in 1979.
