The Daily Populous Wednesday September 3rd, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by wat3va

A hot mic at Beijing's World War II military parade has captured Russian President Vladimir Putin being interpreted to Chinese President Xi Jinping that advances in biotechnology could result in increasing longevity — and even open the door to immortality.

Mr Putin's comments were relayed through a Russian-Mandarin interpreter on Reuters and Associated Press live videos, though his own voice was not clearly audible.

Mr Xi was heard laughing at Mr Putin's human organ transplant and longevity comment.

North Korea's Kim Jong-Un was also present at the parade, where the three leaders showcased their unity in front of a global audience.

China hosts lavish military parade Photo shows A group of people standing for a photo Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was among those who attended, with Donald Trump asking China's leader to give Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un his "warmest regards" as they "conspire" against the US.

It was a rare occasion where the trio walked together in public, giving the media and public unusually close access.

Leaders from more than 20 countries, including Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Belarus and Serbia, also attended the event.

"With continuous advances in biotechnology, human organs will be increasingly transplanted — letting us live younger and younger, and perhaps even achieve immortality," the interpreter said in Mandarin, relaying Mr Putin's words.

"In this century, it's anticipated that it may be possible for people to live to 150 years old," Mr Xi responded in his own voice.

The military parade was China's largest ever. (Reuters: Tingshu Wang)

All three leaders maintain strict media protocols, with appearances tightly choreographed by their offices and little space for unscripted exchanges.

The live video, mainly covered by voice-over in English, was relayed via international wire services and viewed by the ABC, providing a rare glimpse into a candid conversation usually hidden from public view.

The rest of the leaders' conversation was not broadcast.

The remarks came as Xi hosted China's largest-ever military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat.

The parade showed off military technology including nuclear weapons. (Reuters: Tingshu Wang)

The event showcased advanced weaponry and featured Mr Putin and Mr Kim as honoured guests, underlining Beijing's growing alignment with Moscow and Pyongyang.

Mr Xi cast the moment as a global crossroads between "peace or war", projecting China as a central power in shaping the international order.

Feng Chongyi, a China studies expert at the University of Technology Sydney, said it was "no surprise" that Mr Xi, Mr Putin and Mr Kim were caught privately discussing life extension and immortality.

"Throughout history, dictators around the world have sought immortality, and in China this tradition is even longer," he said, noting that "authoritarian leaders will stop at nothing in the pursuit of eternal life."

In China, state broadcasters overlaid the scene with music and scripted narration, and the ABC found no sign of public discussion of the remarks on domestic social media.

For Chinese domestic audiences, the moment of the trio's conversation was completely inaudible as it was buried in a Chinese voice-over.

On social media platforms inaccessible from mainland China, however, Chinese-speaking users have questioned whether Mr Putin had in fact made the comments and called for fact-checks.

"It is an exceptionally rare moment when the outside world can occasionally catch a glimpse of the leaders' attitudes toward power, death, and health," said Chen Minglu, a China studies scholar at the University of Sydney.

She noted that the political systems led by Mr Xi, Mr Putin and Mr Kim were not transparent, and there were few opportunities to hear their voices directly.

In China's case, Dr Chen said such remarks also highlighted how science was bound up with politics.

"In the Communist Party's current narrative, technology is closely tied to national rejuvenation and China's status as a great power," she said.

OrnDipper on September 3rd, 2025 at 09:15 UTC »

Putin is known for being obsessed with immortality.

Before the war started he regularily (as in almost weekly) went to a doctor (alongside Richard Lugner, a somewhat famous architect from my country) to "refresh his blood".

Kinda works like dialysis, but they also make sure the blood is as healthy as possible. Sometimes also adding donated blood from healthier individuals into the mix to refresh their old blood.

It's crazy expensive. And I am not sure how ethical it is to use blood donations for something like this.

lightafire2402 on September 3rd, 2025 at 08:51 UTC »

Figures. The last people who should be immortal want it the most.

Ideon_ on September 3rd, 2025 at 08:18 UTC »

I Heard that drinking mercury will do the trick !