Founding of the People's Republic of China

On the afternoon of 1 October 1949 the Central People's Government Council held its first plenary meeting at Zhongnanhai, appointing Zhou Enlai premier of the Government Administration Council and foreign minister, Mao Zedong chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission, and Zhu De commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army. At 3 p.m., 300,000 soldiers and civilians gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing for the grand founding ceremony. Chairman Mao Zedong solemnly proclaimed from the Tiananmen gate tower: "The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is established today!" and pressed the button himself to raise the first Five-Star Red Flag. Fifty-four cannons then fired a 28-gun salute, symbolizing the 28 years of struggle of the Chinese people under the Communist Party. A grand military parade followed, in which Commander-in-Chief Zhu De reviewed the naval, ground and air forces and read the Order of the Headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After the parade the crowds marched, and the celebrations continued into the night. The founding of the People's Republic was an epoch-making event in Chinese history. It ended more than a hundred years of humiliation by invasion and enslavement, making China a truly independent country; from then on, the Chinese people stood up and became masters of their country; and it ended long division and achieved a high degree of national unity and unprecedented ethnic solidarity. After the founding, the Soviet Union and other countries successively recognized the People's Republic and established diplomatic relations with it. In December the Central People's Government decided to make 1 October the National Day each year.