September 22, 2009
More than 100 planes buzzed downtown Beijing yesterday morning, and papers across the country put photos of colorful smoke trails on the front page today.
Xinhua describes the rehearsal for the airborne part of the upcoming National Day extravaganza:
On the National Day, these warplanes will take off from seven military airports around the capital, and the aircraft formations will be led by an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft.
Among these formations the Air Force contributes an AWACS echelon, an aerial tanker echelon, a bomber echelon, three echelons of fighters, while a fighter-bomber echelon comes from the Navy and two helicopter echelons. The Field Army sends a reconnaissance aircraft echelon and a gunship echelon to the parade. A search and transport helicopter echelon is jointly formed by the Field Army and the Air Force.
This rehearsal was carried out exactly according to the procedure of the National Day parade, according to the sources.
The highest-ranking pilot was a major-general, Xinhua reported in its Chinese-language articles.
Today’s papers also reported on the publication of a government white paper on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to the English translation prepared by the State Council Information Office, the document is divided into the following sections:
- Swift Economic Development
- Remarkable Improvement in People’s Lives
- Steady Development of Social Programs
- Preservation of Ethnic Cultures
- Upholding Ethnic Equality and Unity
- Protecting Citizens’ Rights of Freedom of Religious Belief
- Safeguarding National Unity and Social Stability
Pretty dry stuff, but the Chongqing Times made a stab at sensationalism: “East Turkistan” created 200 incidents of terror reads the front-page headline, taken from the “Social Stability” section of the white paper.
- Xinhua via Global Times: Warplanes fly over Tian’anmen Square in National Day rehearsal
- State Council Information Office via People Online: Development and Progress in Xinjiang