Sixty-six years ago, on June 25, the Korean War broke out. Sixty-six years later, on that very same day, June 25, Long March 7 soared into space.
Sixty-three years ago, on July 27, the Chinese People's Volunteers, charging forward wave after wave, made the American forces that had set foot on the Korean Peninsula sign an armistice agreement. This was China's founding war; this war made the Chinese people stand tall. Sixty-three years later, on that very same day, July 27, the flames of Long March 7 reentering the atmosphere ignited the night sky over North America—the silhouette of an Eastern dragon dancing through the heavens.
Watching that fire dragon racing at thirty thousand kilometers per hour, we knew that at this moment, someone had to be trembling before the Chinese people's victory.
In July's South China Sea dispute, new recruits rushed to the front lines, while veterans received notices to reenlist and return to their units. This very month, we withstood every pressure, withstood others' carrier battle groups, withstood their clamoring threats to start a war tonight, and did not let China's map of the South China Sea lose a single inch!
Today is August 1, Army Day. On this day, some people may be watching the wedding of two celebrities on some little island, but far more people must at this very moment be recalling those figures in olive-green uniforms who, not long ago, charged without hesitation into the floodwaters when the floods came. And surely even more people want to say today to everyone who has ever been a soldier, and everyone still wearing a military uniform—happy holidays!
The military is the courage of a nation. You are the courage of 1.4 billion Chinese people. Today, you are the stars and idols all Chinese people rightfully deserve.