Airport scanners at office entrances, road closures for large-scale midnight rehearsals, drones banned, guards stationed 24/7 on all overpasses: Beijing has effectively paralyzed its urban core for a 70-minute military parade on Sept. 3.
The "Victory Day" parade, marking the end of World War II following Japan's formal surrender, will be a projection of China's growing military might amid deep-seated mistrust in the West, geopolitical uncertainty with the United States and territorial rows with neighboring countries.
The highly choreographed parade, one of China's largest in years, will unveil cutting-edge equipment like fighter jets, missile-defense systems and hypersonic weapons — the results of a long-running modernization drive of the People's Liberation Army, which has lately been beset by corruption scandals and personnel purges.
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