Reports have circulated that China will hold a military parade on September 3 to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). By press time, no official institutions had confirmed or denied the news. That a parade will be held made headlines on major Chinese websites on Tuesday. This is a tactic of the Internet: hyping up the news and pressing the official side to respond. In this context, if there is no official denial, the speculation is normally true.  

There are some seven months to go until the parade. It usually takes more than one year to prepare for the once-a-decade National Day parade. The time constraint prefigures that the scale of the September parade will be smaller than the National Day parade. This doesn't matter at all. Once the military parade is staged, it will be widely welcomed both at home and abroad. The parade not only could help enhance the cohesion of Chinese society and relive the anti-fascist triumph, but also could unify those countries which fought against fascism to safeguard the fruits of war and stabilize the postwar political grid. 

Holding anti-fascist parades has been a fashion in Europe. Those parades pay more attention to content rather than scale. Some countries also actively invite foreign leaders to participate in the parades. Among major global powers, Russia and France put on the most parades. The former Soviet Union held two parades every year: the October Revolution parade and the Victory Day parade. The scale of the former was much larger than that of the latter. It was a platform to showcase the most advanced weaponry of the Soviet Union besides inspecting soldiers. A limited number of weapons were exhibited in the anti-fascist parades, but each time it had veteran participation.

China now holds a National Day parade every 10 years. If we add an anti-fascist parade, there will be two. Time will tell whether China would have such a dual military parade arrangement in the future. No matter what, it is necessary to design this year's anti-fascist military parade differently from the decennial National Day parade.

It doesn't need to compete in scale; instead, the parade should exhibit its special purpose by choosing particular participants and weaponry. September 3 has been designated as a national holiday, so the military parade which is set on this day must highlight the historical significance. 

While the National Day military parade should keep an authoritative display of China's defensive power, through which all Chinese people and the world can know more about China's military strength, the anti-fascist parade must stress the interconnection between China's military power and the determination to keep world peace.

If China's first anti-fascist military parade finally happens on September 3, it will touch the country and the world. How the parade will be carried out, and the way it will influence the large audience are highly anticipated.