Original title: Power and a touch of paranoia as China prepares to host grand military parade
Power and a touch of paranoia as China prepares to host grand military parade 39 minutes ago Share Save Laura Bicker China correspondent Share Save Getty Images Beijing is hosting a huge military parade - a show of strength from President Xi Jinping The stage is set in the heart of Beijing for a grand display of power and military might that has been choreographed by President Xi Jinping. Eight huge Chinese flags flutter and flank the portrait of Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China, which sits on top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace overlooking Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world. Below are rows of seats reserved for 26 foreign heads of state, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whose attendance is a diplomatic win for Xi. Across the road, near the Great Hall of the People, two huge floral arrangements commemorating the end of World War II rise up alongside seating for around 50,000 invitees. On the last day of preparations