DN page30 FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017 CHINA CELEBRATES

Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei, Military, Air and Naval Attaché, Chinese Ambassador Yi PLA DAY Military Attaché Senior Colonel Xu Jian- State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Xianliang with the State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene Director of Presi- wei addressing the gathering Wijewardene speaking at the occasion dential Secretariat, Krishanti Weerakoon at the event hina will celebrate the 90th Anni- versary of the Founding of the Peo- ple’s Liberation Army of China on August 1. In line with this, Chinese Embassy in Colombo held the PLA Day reception recently at the Galle CFace Hotel with the participation of the state minister of defence, Ruwan Wijewardene. The People’s Liberation Army of China was formed on August 1, 1927 and at that time was called the workers and peasants’ revolutionary army. In 1927, the struggle between the Kuom- intang led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Commu- Minister of Tourism and Christian Reli- nist Party of China reached its climax. Those gious Affairs, Head of Delegation, arriving at the event who disagreed with the Chiang Kai-shek’s poli- cy, formed a revolutionary communist bloc rous- ing the people to revolt in Nanchang. The Communist Party of China upon estab- Assistant Military, Air and Naval Attaché at Russian Embassy, Major lishing its authority decided to immortalize this CMEC, General Manager, Wang Ludong Aleksey Y Terekhov with his spouse day in history, awarding it a status of a national Ministry of Defence, Military liaison officer, holiday. In 1946 the workers and peasants’ army Major General D A R Ranawaka was renamed into the Chinese People’s Libera- tion Army. At present the PLA consists of the air and naval as well as ground forces, and also engineering corps of China. Pictures by Sulochana Gamage Colonel Sundaththa Thilakarathne and Mrs.Thilakarathne

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka and Pakistan High Commission, Defence Advi- Sanijia Jayatilleka at the sor Colonel Sajjad Ali event

Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang with the State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene Colombo University - China Friend- Confucius institute, The Air Force Commander Air Marshal ship Association, Gamini Dean Zhang Xi Kapila Jayampathy and Mrs. Jayampathy B. Rajanayake

Deputy Ambassador and Political Counselor, Pang Chunxue

Private Secretary to Former President,

Bill Watson