Respect for history, love for peace will sparkle China's upcoming V-Day parade, which is to demonstrate an independent, self-reliant and confident China, said U.S. author and expert on China Robert Kuhn in an interview with Xinhua.[Special coverage]
As a major event of China's commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII), a military parade featuring tanks, missiles and more than 12,000 troops will take place on Thursday morning in Beijing.
Before the grand event, Kuhn, who is also the chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, pointed out that reflecting upon the WWII history is one of the most important purposes of the military parade.
"The parade is for the 70th anniversary of the victory of Allied forces against Japanese aggression, which was one of the most terrible and oppressive invasions and wars in human history. The Second World War in all aspects was very vicious, so it's important for the world to reflect on that and to make sure it doesn't happen again in any form," Kuhn said.
The parade will help the world recognizes China's important role in the World Anti-Fascist War history and make a strong statement that China will never allow what happened during WWII and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to happen again, Kuhn said.
Taking Israel's response to the suffering of Jews during WWII as a comparison, Kuhn said the country had made the same statement as China.
"They have made the same statement in the world that they will never allow what happened to the Jews, their fellow countrymen, in Europe, Nazi Germany, ever to happen again," Kuhn said, adding that he used the analogy because it can give Westerners a better understanding of how China feels.
During the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China suffered a total of 35 million military and non-military casualties, accounting for a third of the total casualties of all the countries involved in WWII.
"The parade is making a strong statement that China is different today than it was in the past," Kuhn said. "China is self-reliant and it has an independent military capability to develop on its own. It's openly showing that it's not a hidden thing."
The military parade is also "in a sense a celebration of China's emergence in the world in a very strong way," he said. "It may be a symbol of China's strength. But not just military strength, also its independence and self-confidence."
