On September 3, Beijing's Tiananmen Square parade, the specifications were high.

Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei named 26 foreign heads of state and government at the press conference, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This lineup is not only as simple as diplomatic etiquette, but also has some historical echoes and the taste of current geopolitical games.

Putin's arrival was not unexpected, China-Russia relations were stable as old iron, but Kim Jong Un's trip to Beijing was the biggest surprise, and his personal appearance as the secretary general of the DPRK's Labour Party and the head of the state equal to reaffirming the deep-rooted blood bond of the friendship between the DPRK and China.

There is also a surprising Japanese person on the list, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. He was invited to attend in his personal capacity, which is unusual in Japanese politics.

Four generations of the Yosemite family in power, anti-war peace is their label, his grandfather Yosemite as prime minister promoted the peace constitution, Yosemite himself ruled Japan in 2009, attempted to improve relations with China, put forward the idea of the East Asian community, although the term of office was short, but after the departure went to the Nanjing Holocaust Memorial to visit, publicly acknowledge history.

The Japanese government has been busy lobbying Eurasian countries not to come to the military parade recently, spending more than 50 billion yen on propaganda, trying to downplay the history of aggression and promote the image of "peace contribution". As a result, Hatoyama's attendance is equivalent to poking his own spine, which is too direct.

South Korea's president, Li, did not come, and only sent Congressman Yuan Zheng to attend, which had a long diplomatic significance.

In the history of the Korean Peninsula, the people of the Korean Peninsula suffered from the Japanese colony, many people joined the northeastern Chinese anti-Japanese coalition forces to fight guerrillas, but now the South Korean government chose to degrade this section, chose to approach with Japanese Prime Minister Shapiro Momo, the two recently joined hands to discuss "historic reconciliation", circumvented North Korea's contribution without saying, and also ignored the old account of China's joining hands against Japan.

China's direct invitation to Kim Jong-un is tantamount to reminding South Korea not to forget the days of joint resistance to the enemy.

Lee Zai-ming did not come because he might have considered the pressure from the US-Japan alliance, but this choice made some people in South Korea feel ashamed. There was a lot of discussion on the Internet. Some people said it was a quick concession on historical issues. As the speaker, Yu Won Sik came in second only to the president in terms of protocol, but he was not at the head of state level after all. Compared with Kim Jong-un's presence in person, South Korea seemed a bit passive.

The value of this list is not just the number of people, but behind it is the subtle tug of war in the international landscape.

Among the 26 heads of state, in addition to Putin and Kim Jong Un, there are also Cambodian King Sihamoni and Serbian President Vucic. They came to Beijing not only to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but also to express their views on the current world order. None of the major western countries mentioned it. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that everyone was welcome, but the reality is that the camps of the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea are obviously divided.

In the United States, people Trump wants to see like Putin and Kim Jong-un have come, which makes Washington a little unable to sit still. The media commented that this is challenging the Western-led historical narrative.

Diplomacy is not a cold game, there are always historical emotions in it.

China invited these guests not only to add luster to the military parade, but also to remind the world that the hardships of World War II must not be forgotten.

Reference information

Former Japanese Prime Minister participated in the 1993 military parade, and the full list of foreign guests was announced Elephant News