Chinese President Xi Jinping leads tributes to fallen heroes of revolution in Tiananmen Square ceremony
- Xi and other members of the leadership attend the Martyr’s Day ceremony in the heart of Beijing one day before the country celebrates National Day
- The memorial to those who died in the revolutionary struggle is part of a wider drive to focus on the Communist Party’s history and promote patriotism
At 10am, Xi together with the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee and Vice-President Wang Qishan, paid their respects at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the centre of Tiananmen Square in Beijing as an honour guard placed nine wreaths representing the party, state and the military in front of the monument.
The ceremony, which included a minute’s silence and performances by a military band and a choir of children from the Communist Youth League, was also attended by war veterans, relatives of the fallen and party, state and military leaders.
As in previous years, Xi, the Communist Party’s general secretary, did not make any comment.
Police closed off Tiananmen Square and its surrounding roads in central Beijing on Wednesday night to prepare for the ceremony.
Martyr’s Day – an event held the day before China’s National Day – was first established in 2014 and this was the eighth such ceremony.
