China`s first lady attends China’s WWII military parade

China`s first lady attends China’s WWII military parade. September. 02, 2015 06:59. bonhong@donga.com.

China Central Television (CCTV) has reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan (photo) may attend the military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which is to be held at the Tiananmen Square on Thursday. If Peng attends the military parade, this is the first time for a Chinese first lady to attend an event of such kind.

CCTV disclosed the time schedule and detailed programs on its official Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter) on Tuesday, reporting that Peng will attend the military parade. According to the report, Chinese President Xi and his wife will take a group photo with leaders of the participating states and distinguished guests at 9 a.m. on Thursday and oversee the spectacle of military parade which will start at 10 a.m. at the watchtower of the Tiananmen Square.

If Chinese first lady attends to watch the military parade, it is likely to change the seating plan for Korean President Park Geun-hye. Originally, it was known that Russian President Vladimir Putin stands on the right side of President Xi while President Park standing on the left. If Peng stands together, Chinese first lady will stand on the left of President Xi and President Park is likely to stand next to the first lady.

In the group photo taken after the APEC Summit last November, Peng stood on the left side of Chinese President Xi. In the military parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the national foundation day, former Chinese President Jiang Zemin stood on the left side of former President Hu Jintao and former chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People`s Congress, Wu Bangguo, stood on the right side of Hu.