For Russia’s end-of-World War II parade this weekend, the Chinese regime has sent as representatives a towering, hundred man-strong honor guard, and the descendants of purged Communist Party veterans—a lavish gesture for a party that barely fought in the war it is now commemorating.
United States President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and many European leaders will not attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9 owing to the Kremlin’s recent annexation of Crimea and backing of eastern Ukraine separatists.
But Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be in audience for the 70th anniversary military parade, and clearly wants China to make a statement.
With an average height of six foot, the 102 Chinese honor guard stand tallest in the parade, which features 52 Russian contingents and 9 from other countries, according to Vancouver-based Chinese news site Creaders.net. The honor guard even gave a rousing rendition of the Russian wartime ballad “Katyusha” during a parade rehearsal in Russia—the clip of the singing has been viewed more than 16.5 million times on Chinese video-sharing website Youku.
