China's 60th anniversary from abroad

On Sept 29, I attended the 60th anniversary reception of the founding of New China at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, along with some 600 other overseas Chinese, Chinese American community members, students studying abroad, local municipal leaders and business people with ties to China.

It was crowded and festive, but it was not until I sat down alone in front of my computer on the afternoon of Sept 30 and watched the live broadcast of the Oct 1 parade in Beijing, that it hit me with astonishing emotional force: the dream of my father's generation had come to fruition.

That generation, who bore the brunt of China's humiliation, defeat, conquest by foreign powers and struggle for survival, fought their entire lives for the dream of a strong and prosperous nation. No matter what their political affiliation, they aspired to a China that would no longer be pushed around and ridiculed as the "Sick Man of East Asia".