{"id":7654,"date":"2026-01-01T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7654"},"modified":"2026-01-02T05:39:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T21:39:01","slug":"353-a-look-at-chinas-victory-parade-and-world-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7654","title":{"rendered":"353. A Look at China\u2019s Victory Parade and World Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>[The Lord] shall judge between the nations<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and shall arbitrate for many peoples;<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>they shall beat their swords into plowshares<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and their spears into pruning hooks;<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>nation shall not lift up sword against nation;<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0neither shall they learn war any more<\/span>. [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Isaiah 2:4<\/span>, <em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Chinese-President-Xi-Jinping-delivers-an-important-speech.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7655\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Chinese-President-Xi-Jinping-delivers-an-important-speech.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"308\" height=\"241\" \/> <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Massive-Chinese-military-weapons.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7656\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Massive-Chinese-military-weapons.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"421\" height=\"237\" \/> <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Armed-military-personnel-appear-at-the-parade.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7657\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Armed-military-personnel-appear-at-the-parade.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/> <\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[L-R] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the parade; massive display of hypersonic inter-continental ballistic missiles and super advanced high-tech military machinery; armed men and women soldiers, impressively disciplined, take part in the parade.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1st January, 2026 marks the annual World Day of Peace. Our purpose here is to reflect on Pope Leo XIV\u2019s message of peace and, in the face of the violent world in which we live, link it to the significance of China\u2019s 80<sup>th<\/sup> WWII Victory Parade which captured world attention on 3<sup>rd<\/sup> September 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1. Message of Peace from Pope Leo XIV<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c<strong>Peace be with you all<\/strong>\u201d are Pope Leo\u2019s opening words for the theme-choice for his message to the world. Subtitled \u201c<strong>Towards an &#8216;unarmed and disarming&#8217; peace<\/strong>,\u201d the Pope\u2019s message calls for peace not based on fear but on resolving conflict through trust and empathy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this theme, we hear the Pontiff expands on the prayer he expressed the night of his election May 8,\u00a0 2025 when addressing from the balcony of St Peter\u2019s Basilica the crowds gathered in St Peter\u2019s Square. Sharing Christ\u2019s greeting of peace with the crowd, he said, \u201cIt is <strong><em>the peace of the risen Christ<\/em><\/strong>. A peace <strong><em>that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering<\/em><\/strong>. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pope Leo invites people of the whole world \u201cto reject the logic of violence and war, and to embrace an authentic peace based on love and justice.\u201d That peace must prevail in two realities:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>unarmed<\/em><\/strong>, that is, not based on fear, threats or weapons; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>disarming<\/em><\/strong>, that is, \u201ccapable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts and generating mutual trust, empathy and hope.\u201d [1]<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2. The Significance of China\u2019s Victory Parade 3 September 2025<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Four months earlier, on 3 September 2025, China captured world imagination in showcasing its military power at a massive victory parade to mark the 80<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the end of World War Two. On full display was China\u2019s rapid transformation and capacity to confront any headstrong belligerent foreign powers planning to degrade her territorial integrity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The event reawakened consciousness of some seriously noteworthy issues. Three of these issues, among others, explain why.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Firstly, a military package of unmistakable annihilation-capabilities<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The message from President Xi is clear: \u201cThe rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable.\u201d So the parade showcased a military package of unmistakable annihilation-capabilities ignored at the aggressors\u2019 peril. Al Jazeera at once noted China\u2019s first public display of its complete \u201ctriad\u201d of nuclear-ready capabilities where nuclear-missiles, of hypersonic and intercontinental specifications, can be launched from land, sea, and air simultaneously. Military experts drew attention to the impressive grit and discipline &#8211; factors that are crucial in any war &#8211; of China\u2019s massive army. Observers even commented on what was not displayed, so that what the world saw is but a hint of what China has and how it will roll out its full arsenal if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In all this, China is first and foremost sending a loud and clear message to the American-led allies, with Japan closely on tow, whose records precede a pack of war-mongers bent on \u201cencircling\u201d and \u201ccontaining\u201d China. Against this circus of hegemonic western alliance that openly threatens China, the world sees a massive nation of proven record of peace &#8211; <strong>bullied and humiliated for a century<\/strong> \u2013 that stands united in displaying its real deterrent force.[2]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A people of continuous ancient culture of 5,000 years, the Chinese have suffered a century of humiliation in the hands of imperialist-fascist aggressors. Their country was repeatedly invaded, cut up at will for victors\u2019 spoils, had acquiesced to land-leases under gun-barrels, suffered a free-flow of opium into their country under the menacing threat of British gunships, paid atrociously extortionate war compensations to barbaric invaders, and watched its supremely beautiful and high-cultured Emperor\u2019s Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan <strong>\u5706\u660e<\/strong><strong>\u56ed<\/strong>) looted and then maliciously razed to the ground! Barbarians did all that, with the British and the French leading the pack. The Chinese, both homeland and overseas, cannot and will not forget any of these, not least the most vile and racist posters at public places during the time of foreign concessions: \u201cNo dogs and Chinese allowed\u201d. The 9\/3 Victory Parade is a catalyst to raise the spirit of the Chinese people wherever they may reside across the globe, to never forget, to unite, to walk tall, with a sense of mission \u2013 \u201c<em>never again!<\/em>\u201d If you understand that sentiment, you begin to understand China correctly. If you don\u2019t, you have not begun to understand China and the Chinese at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Chinese, from ancient wisdom, know only too well that \u201cThe true art of war is the art of stopping wars&#8221; (<strong>\u6b62\u6208<\/strong><strong>\u4e3a<\/strong><strong>\u6b66<\/strong> <strong>or<\/strong> <strong>\u4e0d<\/strong><strong>\u6218\u800c\u5c48\u4eba\u4e4b<\/strong><strong>\u5175<\/strong>). To make sure that the US-led war mongers would not make the stupid mistake of pushing China into a corner where it has absolutely no choice but to fight, the logical thing to do is for China to build up a military capability that is so overwhelming that this military capability acts as an effective deterrence. History does not lie. The precedents stare us all in the face. The American-led West, despite increasing rude awakenings, including from Africa, of its falling influence in recent years, continues to connive and act with a hegemonic, imperialist and colonialist mentality. There is no let up on words of attrition against China. The situation is quite comical if you seriously think about it &#8211; a pack of drooling bullies who are at the same time a pack of shaky and fading economies, trying hard to \u201ccontain\u201d the real and singular manufacturing giant of the world.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yet, their propensity for aggression will not wane unless you deter them with a convincing display of fire power \u2013 that you can sink them if they try anything stupid. To a violent gang, the only language they understand is violence.[3] Violent bullies understand well the language of violent defeat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And China, we must know, continues to hold a \u201cno first strike\u201d policy. But now, it also warns that this policy does not mean China will never strike. The rest is up to your military imagination. The U.S. may be boisterous and inhumanly violent, as it has always been (recall the bombing of Japan, Korea, Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and so on), but a quiet and non-violent China is the crouching tiger you disturb at your own peril. That message is unmistakable. China\u2019s foreign relations officers, whom Western media and politicians dub diplomatic-relations hawks, repeatedly announce in unmistakable terms that \u201cwe do not create troubles, but that does not mean we are afraid of troubles.\u201d They are forthright in proclaiming the Chinese stand: \u201cChina is for peace. You leave us alone, we shall leave you alone. But if you choose to be aggressive towards us, know that we shall meet your aggression with full force and to the very end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As Professor Jeffrey Sachs puts it, \u201cStop provoking China. You can\u2019t win a war over Taiwan with China.\u201d He tells the US-led West to learn from the strategic disaster of provoking Russia over Ukraine.[4] Or, as Ronnie Chan, a Hong Kong based businessman and a China-expert, insists, China does not want to fight, and China will avoid getting into war with the US unless, that is, China is left with no options at all.[5] <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is no need to preach peace to China! Be real; go preach elsewhere \u2013 and you know where.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong><em>Secondly, China\u2019s military power is a force for good in the world<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">China reiterated that it is a force for good in the world as President Xi once again pledges China\u2019s peaceful development.[6] This is a matter of great significance in the turbulent world in which we live. As its influence grows, China has consistently proven in recent decades that it stands resolutely as a force for good in the world, in contrast to the western hegemonic powers. China\u2019s nuclear calculus is based on the logic of a nuclear deterrence that convinces the adversary of a level of damage, when unleashed, would be beyond acceptable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just before the parade, at the 25<sup>th<\/sup> Shanghai Co-operation Organisation Summit, where China led in coalescing major non-Western powers, Xi said in his keynote speech that \u201cthe world has found itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation,\u201d one that is plagued by \u201cCold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism.\u201d With its capability and willingness to safeguard international order and peace, China can continue to exert a considerable positive influence in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Harold E. Raugh, Jr., President of the International Commission of Military History (ICMH), sees China as playing a pivotal role in helping to maintain international stability. He said during the 12<sup>th<\/sup> Beijing Xiangshan Forum:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cChina is doing a very good job by maintaining a relatively peaceful Asian area. The parade, bringing to the forefront again the memory of Chinese contributions and sacrifices in WWII, shows that China is prepared if it has to be. But its armed force is serving as a deterrent. And to me, that\u2019s very crucial.\u201d[7]<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">China in fact made great contributions to the victory in WWII. In its 14-year-long resistance from 1931 to 1945, China was the first country to rise against the Japanese fascist aggression and fought the longest resistance that began in 1931. It tied down and struck over half of Japan&#8217;s overseas forces, at the cost of 35 million military and civilian casualties, accounting for around one-third of all WWII casualties worldwide.[8] It bears stressing again that an honest study of history clearly unveils how much China was unfairly treated in the post-war settlement, and how much the American-led victors of the war, for their own interests, rewarded Japan the aggressor. And see how that unfair post-war treatment left behind wounds that fester to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On this score, war historian Raugh remarks that by publishing historical works in English and other European languages, Western powers have sought to dominate the political narrative, effectively monopolizing the history of World War II. In so doing, massive \u201ccontributions and sacrifices in WWII\u201d made by China, Russia and others have been grossly undervalued.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As a result, Western historical studies have downplayed China\u2019s contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War, rendering it pretty unknown and unappreciated. America\u2019s role gets overblown and has captured the world imagination. America, the \u201cgrand victor\u201d, has dominated the narrative and this narrative-control has netted the most benefits from the war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A correct understanding of WWII is important for safeguarding a just, fair and peaceful post-war world system. China\u2019s September 3 commemorative military parade seeks to draw attention to not only China\u2019s massive contributions towards the eventual victory, but the contributions of other countries as well, especially Russia whose war-casualties at WWII way exceeds other countries\u2019. Their contributions need to be set straight while the American-led West remains insidiously mute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">China today is also the largest contributor of troops among the UN Security Council permanent members, having deployed over 5,000 peacekeepers and maintaining a standing force of 8,000 personnel ready for UN missions, making it a key player in UN peacekeeping operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Concerning disarmament, for the good of its own people as well as the people of the world, China cannot rationally \u201cdisarm\u201d unilaterally. Precedents-setting West and Japan do not and will not disarm; their annual defence budgets are on the rise, as the U.S. demands it from its allies. Faced with proven powerful aggressors, the rest of the world cannot act responsibly by disarming themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Instead, President Xi calls on nations to \u201celiminate the root cause of war and prevent historical tragedies from recurring.\u201d For the sake of the world, while Pope Leo or any pope for that matter, must never cease calling for an \u201cunarmed and disarming peace\u201d, that call must, in the face of uncontroverted history of Western and Japanese violence against the rest of the world, and the continued violent postures of these countries, be diligently preached to them and not to China and the rest of the world. To save the world from man-made famines and dead bodies of wars everywhere (as Israel has been doing to Palestine with American-led complicity), \u201cbeating swords into ploughshares\u201d must <strong><em>first be preached to and realized<\/em><\/strong> in the American-led west. Stop Western hypocrisy, and you stop most atrocities around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For China\u2019s part, President Xi Jinping of China, addressing 50,000 parade-spectators at Tiananmen Square, said, \u201cToday, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,\u201d adding that the Chinese people \u201cfirmly stand on the right side of history\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our third issue will be covered in the next post on 16 January 2026 when we begin a series of three posts on Japan\u2019s<strong>\u00a0<em>must-read<\/em><\/strong> historically blinding aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><u>ENDNOTES<\/u>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1. See \u201cAnd Let There Be Peace,\u201d by the Vatican Publishing House.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2. \u201cChina\u2019s armed force serves as a deterrent \u2013 YouTube\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">3. You may argue, correctly, that violent hearts can be softened by unconditional love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness, as the Jesuit Gregory Boyle has so movingly demonstrated in \u201cTattoos of the Heart\u201d. However, Boyle is an outsider, not a victim of violence. You cannot ask the victims to do the same unless you are prepared to see man-made famine and dead bodies everywhere. This latter scenario describes the current Israeli genocide of impunity, thanks to the complicity of America the merciless, politics-as-usual hegemon. The world has seen enough of the hypocrisy and lack of human decency in Western violence. Just look at the UN declaration of genocide against Israel on the one hand, and US unwavering support of Israel on the other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">4. \u201cJeffrey Sachs Warns: Stop a Catastrophic War with China We Can\u2019t Win \u2013 YouTube\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">5. \u201cRonnie Chan \u9648\u542f\u5b97 At The \u2018The United States, China And Taiwan\u2019 Symposium \u2013 YouTube.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">6. Spectators at the victory parade were seated on chairs coloured green, red and gold, which symbolise fertile land, the sacrifices of the people, and peace, respectively, according to China\u2019s state broadcaster, CCTV.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">7. \u201cChina&#8217;s contribution to WWII victory under-valued: war historian\u201d at <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/english.news.cn\/20250918\/a5d90de40c32495c8a1d52e4e992b10d\/c.html\">https:\/\/english.news.cn\/20250918\/a5d90de40c32495c8a1d52e4e992b10d\/c.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">[8] \u201cChina holds massive V-Day parade, pledging peaceful development,\u201d at <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/english.www.gov.cn\/news\/202509\/03\/content_WS68b7d6c9c6d0868f4e8f54d9.html\">https:\/\/english.www.gov.cn\/news\/202509\/03\/content_WS68b7d6c9c6d0868f4e8f54d9.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, January 2026. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To comment, email\u00a0<u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/u><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>4\u00a0[The Lord] shall judge between the nations \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0neither shall they learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:4, NRSV] [L-R] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the parade; massive display <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7654\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"4\u00a0[The Lord] shall judge between the nations \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0neither shall they learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:4, NRSV] [L-R] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the parade; massive display&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7654"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7739,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7654\/revisions\/7739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}