Chief Executive to attend V-Day celebration in Beijing

Chui Sai On

Chief Executive Chui Sai On will lead a 100-member delegation to Beijing this week to attend the military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan during World War II, government officials announced on Friday.
The Chief Executive will be in Beijing between September 2 and 4, heading a delegation that includes Li Gang – the director of the Liaison Office – and other principal officials. Mr Chui will attend festivities at Tiananmen Square on September 3, as well as an afternoon reception at the Great Hall of the People. The Macau delegation’s itinerary will conclude with an evening variety show.
According to Bloomberg, the military parade has been planned for months. It will be President Xi Jinping’s first opportunity to present himself to the world as China’s commander-in-chief.
Such ceremonies are usually held on significant occasions in the country’s history, and serve as a ritual in establishing the Communist Party chief’s supreme national authority.
A number of foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will attend the 12,000-strong parade.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of China’s resistance to Japanese aggression during World War II, the Macau government is holding an exhibition at the Handover Gifts Museum. A commemorative ceremony will be held on September 3 at Tap Seac Square, headed by Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak.
The event starts at 8.30a.m and features a flag-raising ceremony, the singing of the National Anthem, and a tribute of silence, which will be broadcast live by TDM.
The head of the Government’s Spokesperson Office, Victor Chan, told a press conference on Friday that the exhibition opens on September 1 at 10a.m. Titled “Commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world victory against Fascism,” the exhibition features 210 photos and 80 showpieces on the topic of the war, providing a glimpse into “Macau people’s wartime life and anti-war sentiment […] at the time.”
The exhibition’s budget reached MOP1.3 million, said Mr Chan.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) president, Ung Vai Meng, said that the exhibition allows residents to learn more about the war, as well as about the city’s role in accommodating refugees.
“We were able to find many documents and objects relating to the war. And we’ve also collected papers written by local students on this subject (…) Families of World War II soldiers donated objects too,” he revealed.
“The first part of the exhibition shows the Chinese people’s concerted effort in fighting against the Japanese, while the second part shows how Macau people stood together to help save the country,” a government statement reads.
The IC will host guided tours
of the exhibition between September 5 and 30, said Mr Ung.
The exhibition was organized by the  government in collaboration with the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR.