Grace Tsoi
BBC News, Hong Kong

Police have fired today’s first tear gas in the working-class neighbourhood of Wong Tai Sin in Hong Kong.

The first canister was fired outside of a shopping mall as hundreds of protesters in black were trying to occupy a major road.

My colleague Danny Vincent is at the scene. He saw a few protesters throw paving stones at a police van that was forced to drive off from the crowds.

Alexander Neill
International Institute for Strategic Studies

Image source, Reuters

My overall impression of the military parade we saw earlier in Beijing is more about questions than answers. The military element of the parade was not that different to its two predecessors during Xi Jinping's leadership. There was a clear emphasis on "intelligent warfare" and networked command and control capabilities, seeking to demonstrate that the People's Liberation Army is part of China's digital revolution.

A key question which is difficult to answer from watching a parade like this is the effectiveness of the reform and restructuring of the PLA launched by President Xi in late 2015. This is going to be a long-haul process up to 2049, the target date for the PLA to be a world class military.

The PLA, like many militaries, across Asia has not been tested in combat for several decades. Ironically, the period of time when the PLA has made its fastest technological advances matches the decade when US and allied forces fought their hardest during bloody wars of intervention in the middle east and Afghanistan, gaining invaluable operational experience.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Hong Kong

As we pass through Admiralty, where the police and government headquarters are located, there are signs of the march starting to take a darker tone.

“Frontliner” protesters stop to put on armour, shielded by their friends holding umbrellas.

Nearby, some start breaking up the pavement and amassing bricks. Police are glimpsed along an overhead bridge with protesters shouting abuse at them. Some are even making loud barking noises - a reference to a common derogatory term for the police as “dogs”.

As I move closer with my camera, the mood turns a little hostile and some start opening umbrellas to block my view. “Careful, a reporter is here," shouts someone. They clearly do not want to be captured on film preparing what could end up as projectiles and weapons in a clash with police.

In the main, however, the march is continuing peacefully, with many singing songs and shouting slogans.

But it leads you to wonder: how long will it last?

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, CCTV

Xi Jinping was flanked by his two predecessors – Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao – on the rostrum of the Gate of Heavenly Peace.

Sporting sunglasses, the 92-year-old Jiang – nicknamed the "toad" – was unmoved as his huge portrait was displayed during the parade.

Jiang, who served as president from 1993 to 2003, rarely makes public appearances these days, and is often the subject of speculation over his poor health.

Image source, CCTV

Meanwhile Xi's immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao, looked visibly aged, sporting grey hair, which is unusual for Chinese leaders.

It was Hu Jintao who inspected the parade in 2009 as China marked its 60th anniversary.

Image source, CCTV

Let's be honest, today's celebrations in Beijing have been a spectacle - but what's the point of a spectacle if people can't see it?

So it is perhaps not surprising that China's Communist Party decided to offer a staggering 620,000 free televisions (made by a domestic brand, of course) to the country's poorest residents

According to state news agency Xinhua, external, any related costs of the 32-inch colour sets would be covered by local authorities.

Image source, Reuters

On 1 October 1949, Communist Party leader Chairman Mao stood in Tiananmen Square announcing the creation of the People’s Republic of China. That very first parade was somewhat different from what we're in for today - back then, there were a mere 17 planes the victorious troops could muster for the flyby.

His victory followed a bitter civil war between the nationalists and the communists.

Former soldier Zhu Zhende was 19 when he took part in the parade that marked the momentous day. He spoke to the BBC's Witness History programme about the optimism and excitement he felt during that time.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Hong Kong

Some people protesting here in Hong Kong are waving tiny black versions of the Chinese flag, or a bloody Bauhinia, the symbol of Hong Kong.

The colour black is seen as a reference to how democracy has died, as well as the "evilness" of the Chinese government.

Image source, Reuters

Just waking up? You can catch up on what you've missed with our coverage of today's military parades in Beijing by scrolling down through our live page. But if you want to find out a bit more about the the legacy of communism on China first, click on the links below:

• Beijing celebrations mark 70 years of Communist rule
• The day China became communist, external
• How China became the world's 'economic miracle'

Cindy Sui
BBC Taiwan reporter

For Taiwan, the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) National Day is usually barely noticed. Even the 70th anniversary will not be a big deal here on the island, which has been ruled separately from the mainland since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

That’s because, for the Nationalists or Kuomintang (KMT) who retreated to Taiwan after being defeated by the Communists, it’s a day that symbolises the shame of losing one’s country,

Meanwhile, for the longtime Taiwanese - those whose ancestors settled in Taiwan as far back as the 1600s - the founding of the PRC coincided with the beginning of direct rule over Taiwan.

It was a period marked by martial law and the White Terror, in which an estimated 140,000 people were imprisoned, and around 3,000 to 4,000 were executed on suspicion of being anti-government or pro-Communists.

So on this day, Taiwan’s media is more focused on a typhoon hitting the island than on this significant turning point in history.

Read more: BBC's Taiwan profile

Protests are building now in Hong Kong, but earlier this morning, a small group of pro-democracy activists were out, condemning Beijing for the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. They encountered a group of pro-Beijing protesters singing the national anthem, as captured in the video below shot by our BBC Chinese colleagues Meiqing Guan and Zhijie Shao.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Hong Kong

A river of protesters is flowing down the narrow streets of Causeway Bay here in Hong Kong, flanked by the tall skyscrapers and shopping centres.

A torrent of slogans rings out in the streets as the protesters stretch out open palms. "Five demands, not one less". "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times."

Suddenly the crowd stops in its tracks, we’re not sure why. Some begin running as a mild current of panic ripples through the crowd. Then others shout "it's ok". After a few uncertain minutes the march resumes. A brief reminder of how beneath the festive atmosphere runs an undercurrent of tension and fear of things suddenly going south.

Read more on this: Why are there protests in Hong Kong?

If you're just joining us, welcome to our live coverage of China's 70th anniversary of being a Communist country.

I'm afraid you've missed the remarkable spectacle that was the enormous military parade - vast numbers of troops marched through Tiananmen Square and China showed its full array of weaponry, from gyroscopes to nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The parade there is now over, and the world's attention is turning to Hong Kong, where yet more protest events are getting under way. National Day always sees anti-Beijing events in Hong Kong, but given the political climate this year, they could be very sizeable today.

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

(continued)

But China’s embrace of its South East Asian backyard gets only a qualified welcome.

Its assertion of sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea is challenged, vigorously by Vietnam, less so by the Philippines. Anti-Chinese sentiment is especially strong in Vietnam, forcing the fellow-Communist government to tread a delicate line in relations with its powerful northern neighbour.

But there has been growing unease in Indonesia and Malaysia too over Chinese-funded infrastructure, countries where the success of the ethnic Chinese business class has long stirred local resentment.

Asean encourages the engagement of other powers like the US, Japan and India, to counteract China. South East Asia hopes to accommodate and benefit from Chinese power, without becoming overdependent on it.

Read more on this:

• Why is the South China Sea contentious?
• Myanmar's dam dilemma with China

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

For hundreds of years, China referred to warm and resource-rich region of South East Asia as Nanyang, the "south sea", and millions of Chinese migrated there in search of work and commercial opportunities.

But the turbulent politics in China prevented it exercising much sway in SE Asia, until the end of the 20th Century. In this century though, its influence has risen, to the point where it is broadly viewed as the regional superpower whose interests cannot be ignored.

Chinese trade and investment now dominate the small Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states Cambodia and Laos. China is the biggest trading partner for Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, and a growing source of funding for infrastructure, through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Governments in Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines have openly pursued closer diplomatic and military ties with China.

Alexander Neill
International Institute for Strategic Studies

Image source, CGTN

Let's have another look back at the military display we saw earlier. Pictured here is the JL2 missile which can be launched from China's Jin class submarines, tasked with mounting seaborne deterrent missions and helping to ensure China's second strike capability.

In order to mount nuclear deterrent patrols, these subs need to be able to leave their base in Hainan, transit the South China Sea and penetrate the "first island chain" into the Pacific Ocean. This might help to explain the significance of China's new bases in the Spratlyislands which could serve as a bastion to protect the Jin Class submarine patrols.

Image source, CGTN

The DF26, pictured above, is described as an anti-ship ballistic missile that can carry either a conventional or nuclear warhead. This is dubbed a "carrier killer" and designed to prevent an intervention by the US in military theatres of strategic importance for China (like the South China Sea).

These kind of missiles have prompted a debate about the vulnerability and utility of big, Cold War-style battle carrier groups but also whether US territories and bases like Guam for example are increasingly exposed to China's ballistic missile arsenal.

Virginia Harrison
Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Today's celebrations come at a tricky time for China's economy. Growth is slowing as appetite for Chinese goods eases, it tries to boost demand at home, and remains locked in a long-running trade war with the US.

But let’s not forget China’s remarkably short rise to become one of world’s greatest economic powers.

Less than 70 years ago it was desperately poor and cut off from the world. A series of historic market reforms transformed China’s economy, opening up trade routes and investment flows – and ultimately pulling hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

"From the end of the 1970s onwards we've seen what is easily the most impressive economic miracle of any economy in history," says David Mann, global chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

How China became the world’s ‘economic miracle’

Anna Jones

Image source, Reuters

We've just seen 70,000 balloons released over Tiananmen Square. And there's some justice for pigeons - 70,000 pigeons have been released too. That's a lot of pigeons.

The balloons look lovely, but perhaps Beijing didn't get the memo about their environmental impact?

The environment is actually a pressing issue for China. In pursuit of economic growth it has caused massive pollution, generated staggering amounts of waste and has fundamentally rebuilt vast swathes of countryside, with projects like the Three Gorges Dam.

China doesn't tolerate protests, but climate and environmental issues are one of the few issues we hear about where the public do get angry. And President Xi has repeatedly said the government is committed to a more ecologically-sound future for the country.

John Sudworth
China Correspondent, Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

New visitors to China are often, rightly, awe-struck by the skyscraper-festooned, hi-tech megacities connected by brand new highways and the world's largest high-speed rail network.

"How bad can it really be?" the onlookers ask, reflecting on the negative headlines they've read about China back home.

The answer, as in all societies, is that it depends very much on who you are.

In exchange for stability and growth, they may well accept - or at least tolerate - the lack of political freedom and the censorship that feature so often in the foreign media.

But in the carving out of a new China, the knife has cut long and deep.

More from John: The deep cuts of 70 years of Communist rule

Image source, CGTN

Earlier, we saw 56 guns being fired to represent the number of different officially recognised ethnic groups in China.

Now, as part of the civilian parade, China wants to showcase its diversity by having performers from its different regions on display. Each of these colourful floats represents one of China's regions and its people.

What's not on show is that these ethnic groups have to fit into the tight structures that Beijing dictates. Xinjiang's Uighurs or the people of Tibet - represented today - are probably the best-known examples of this.

Tessa Wong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been boiling with anti-Beijing protests and sentiments - and we're expected to see more of that today. But one neighbourhood has chosen to embrace China instead.

North Point is home to a Fujianese community loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and has even seen violent clashes where residents have fought with demonstrators.Last week my colleague Grace and I spoke to one North Point local, who also happens to be a protester. He told us how his love for China has now become much more complicated.