Statement made on 01 October 2009 by Senator Joseph Day
Hon. Joseph A. Day:
Honourable senators, I would also like to add my congratulations for the sixtieth anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed to hundreds of thousands of people in Tiananmen Square the founding of the People's Republic of China. The crowd, which was silent at first, broke into a great roar of triumph. China had been in a state of civil war since 1927, caused by an ideological split between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Communist Party of China. The changes in China following that announcement were swift.
The first Premier of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, who had been central to the rise of the Communist Party with Chairman Mao, led the development and redevelopment of the economy and the restructuring of society. However, the transition to modern China was not without its difficulties and 1958 signalled the start of the era referred to as the Great Leap Forward. The social transformation that Mao envisaged involved mobilizing the rural masses to meet China's industrial and agricultural problems, highlighting manpower over machines. This system was disastrous and led to widespread starvation, with as many as 65 million people dying in a few short years.
In 1966, Mao initiated another social movement known as the Cultural Revolution. Fuelled by a power struggle, the revolution lasted 10 years and led to a complete upheaval of Chinese society.
After the death of Mao in 1976, and under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China experienced another change, the adoption of a market economy, which led to one of the most remarkable national, economic and social transformations in the history of the world. Today, China's economy is ranked third in the world, behind the U.S. and Japan, with an annual economic growth rate in excess of 8 per cent for each of the past 30 years. China now manufactures and exports more products than any other nation in the world.
China has also become a leader in science and technology. Many cutting-edge technologies have been developed in the past few years in that country.
October 1 is a celebration of the past, the present and the future of China. Those who lived through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution cannot forget the struggles of the past; those born in the modern age look forward to a bright future for their children.
October 1 is about celebrating the present, and Beijing will certainly not be sparing any effort in celebration of their National Day festivities. They are anticipating that the parade will involve in excess of 187,000 soldiers and civilians, with hundreds of military vehicles and aircrafts involved.
Honourable senators, today we salute our friend and our second-largest trading partner, the People's Republic of China on their National Day, which leads into the week-long Autumn Festival celebrations.