英语原文

Slump unlikely to mar China festivities

China has invited Zhang Yimou, the film director who thrilled a global audience with the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games, to organise the October festivities for the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, a sign the economic slump has not damped Beijing's appetite for spectacle.

Mr Zhang will direct the celebrations that will accompany a military parade along Chang'an Jie - the Avenue of Everlasting Peace - Beijing's main thoroughfare.

The October 1 National Day is celebrated each year but authorities usually put on a special show every 10 years. Details of this year's events have not been released but the appointment, confirmed by Mr Zhang's office, indicates the Communist party hopes to mark the occasion with some of the visuals that won acclaim at the Olympics.

The event is one of a number of important anniversaries in 2009, although not all will be the subject of official celebrations. This year is also the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and marks 50 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet.

The Beijing government announced this week that work would begin to widen and reinforce Chang'an Avenue to accommodate the tanks and other military hardware in the parade.

Local media reports late last year suggested a grand military spectacle was being planned but following criticism of lavish spending when the economy is slowing and unemployment rising, officials said the tone would be more low-key. The Xinhua news agency reported last week the parade would be "stately but frugal". That means Mr Zhang, 57, will have to create a sensation without the 15,000 performers and budget of tens of millions of dollars he enjoyed for the Olympics.

The celebrations could present a delicate political challenge for Mr Zhang of how to deal with Mao Zedong. The Olympics opening revelled in the achievements of Chinese civilisation, such as the invention of paper and printing, and gave a nod to the future through a sequence on space travel. However the turbulent history of the past century, including the controversies of the Mao years, was conspicuous by its absence. The event marks the day in 1949 when Mao told a crowd of 100,000 in Tiananmen Square, where his portrait still hangs, that "the Chinese people have stood up".

中文翻译

中国政府已邀请电影导演张艺谋执导10月份的中华人民共和国成立60周年庆典，这表明，经济低迷并未压抑北京对壮观场面的喜好。张艺谋执导的奥运会开幕式曾震撼全球观众。

张艺谋执导的庆典将伴随沿长安街（北京主要大道）的阅兵式举行。

中国每年都会庆祝10月1日的国庆节，但政府通常会每10年举行一次特别的庆典。今年活动的细节尚未公布，但已得到张艺谋办公室证实的此项任命表明，共产党希望这次庆典带有一些曾在奥运会上赢得喝彩的视觉效果。

这场盛会是2009年一系列重要周年纪念日之一，尽管并不是所有纪念日都会成为官方庆祝的主题。今年是天安门抗议事件20周年，以及*(Dalai Lama)逃离西藏50周年。

北京政府上周宣布，将开始拓宽及加固长安街，以容纳阅兵式中的坦克和其它军事装备。

当地媒体去年底报道，一场盛大的军力展示正在计划中，但面对在经济放缓及失业率上升之际还如此铺张浪费的批评之声，官员们表示，庆典的气氛会比较低调。新华社本月初表示，阅兵将“既要隆重热烈、鼓舞人心，也要注意节俭、务求实效”。这意味着，57岁的张艺谋将不得不在没有奥运会1.5万名表演者和数千万美元预算的情况下，创造出轰动场面。

庆典可能会为张艺谋带来如何处理毛泽东的微妙政治挑战。奥运会开幕式沉醉于发明造纸和印刷术等中华文明的成就，并通过一组太空之旅的表演向未来致意。然而，过去一个世纪动荡的历史，包括毛泽东时代的争议，引人注目地不在其中。此次庆典将纪念1949年10月1日，毛泽东在那一天向天安门广场（他的画像仍悬挂于此）的10万民众宣布，“中国人民从此站起来了”。