'Work hard, live plainly'
2004-10-01 08:38
Beijing - China's top leaders on Friday celebrated the 55th anniversary of communist rule with National Day festivities in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and other key venues around the capital.
The party in the square was by invitation only, though hundreds of ordinary Chinese crowded nearby to try to sneak a view.
Security in central Beijing, which is tight even on a normal day, was beefed up for the holiday marking the day when revolutionary leader Mao Zedong on October 1 1949, declared the founding of the People's Republic of China.
As the sun rose, members of the Communist Youth League sang I Love You, Motherland and other patriotic songs as the flag was raised in a flower-strewn Tiananmen Square, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and other top communists joined activities at the Temple of Heaven, the Working People's Cultural Palace and at scenic parks, Xinhua said.
In a speech the night before, Wen tempered the celebratory atmosphere by reminding officials they need to do more to fight rampant corruption and heed public needs.
"We must be prepared to work hard and live plainly for a long time to come," Wen said.
China's leaders have become increasingly candid about their fears that rising public anger at graft and official abuses could undermine acceptance of communist rule.
State television devoted the day to National Day song-and-dance pageants and documentaries. The day kicks off a weeklong holiday.
Meanwhile, in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, activists called for an end to Beijing's "one-party dictatorship."
Hong Kong as a former British colony retains many Western-style freedoms that don't exist in mainland China, such as freedom of speech.
- AP