CHINA marked the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic yesterday with a series of pagaents in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, beginning with a military parade.

Standing on the spot where Mao Zedong proclaimed “the Chinese people have stood up” on October 1 1949, President Xi Jinping said that “no force can shake this great nation or stop us forging ahead.”

The parade featured 15,000 troops and showcased new technology such as hypersonic drones. It was followed by a “lively show,” with performances put on by representatives of a variety of occupations including farmers, doctors, teachers and others.

Relatives of veterans of the Long March — the 6,000 mile retreat by Communist forces in 1934-5 that saved their army from annihilation by the ruling Nationalists and established Mao as the party leader — and of the war against Japanese occupation carried portraits of the veterans as they joined the parade.

Mr Xi greeted soldiers marching past with “Hi, comrades!” prompting an echoing response of “Hi, President!”

In his address he noted that the foundation of the People’s Republic had marked an end to “more than 100 years of humiliation and suffering.”

Chinese historians refer to a “century of humiliation” beginning with the Opium War of 1842, when Britain attacked China after it tried to ban the import of Indian-produced opium, Britain’s main export to the country.

That resulted in the seizure of Hong Kong by the British empire and was followed by a succession of “unequal treaties” in which European powers seized “concessions” in land and trading rights from China.

That troubled history was reflected in renewed clashes in Hong Kong, where some protesters draped themselves in Union flags and carried signs reading “Not our National Day” and “Not part of China since 1842.”

Police were hit with petrol bombs and bricks while rioters torched metro stations, including Tai Wai station. Police confirmed one protester had been shot while attacking officers and had been taken to hospital.

Mr Xi said that China would continue to honour the “one country, two systems” policy.

He saluted China’s achievements since 1949, which include more than doubling life expectancy from 35 to 77 and lifting more people out of poverty than any other country in history.