Major Chinese Websites Go Red for Communist Party’s 90th Anniversary

July 1st marks the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and already a number of China’s major websites and web portals are ‘going red’ in celebration, with specially-created front-page themes showing billowing national flags, and the traditional Commnunist insignia of a hammer and sickle.

Pictured above are the current front pages at video-sharing site Youku.com, and web portals Netease (163.com) and Sina.com.cn, two full days before the event. Most websites that I’ve spotted running the regalia have opted to include a ‘close’ button which can return the site to its ordinary clothing.

It’s not clear if the sites are running the red livery as a spontaneous celebration, or if their hand is being somewhat forced by the Central Propaganda Department, which issues weekly directives to all media outlets, instructing them on what to say – and what not to say – so as to tow the Party line.

Either way, even foreign websites such as MSN China are likely to be making the east red as the anniversary date nears, and China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, will likely have a CPC-themed doodle come July 1st.

If you’d like to see some suitably revolutionary songs, you might like to check out the four videos of foreigners rocking some Chinese tunes that we posted a few weeks ago.