China today celebrates the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Tens of thousands of people listened to celebratory speeches and watched air shows in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Including cannon shots and the singing of The International celebrated how the country has developed since the party was founded in 1921.
After a speech by the CCP’s youth movement, President Xi Jinping was seen on the large screens in the square. He congratulated his party members and in his speech he dwelt extensively on the economic superpower that the country has become in the past century. In the next hundred years, China must become even more prosperous, he believes.
“We have put an end to the exploitative system of feudalism that China has known for thousands of years and we have replaced it with socialism,” Xi said. The Chinese leader said that this socialism has entered a new era since the 18th National Congress, when he was appointed as the party’s secretary general.
‘Threats will meet steel wall’
“The Chinese people are not only good at destroying an old world, but also good at building a new one,” the president continued, referring to his predecessors. “Only socialism can save China and only socialism with Chinese traits can further develop China.” The party and the party leadership are, in his view, the greatest strength of this form of socialism.
Xi’s speech not only praised his country, but also warned other countries. “We will not accept hypocritical sermons from others who think they have a right to reprove us,” the president said. Military threats, harassment and oppression will meet “a steel wall forged by 1.4 billion people,” Xi said.
Many Western countries regularly condemn the Chinese “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, in which at least a million Uyghurs have been imprisoned for shorter or longer periods of time. A majority in the House of Representatives said in February that China’s dealings with the Uyghurs should be called genocide. At the last G7 summit there was a call, in this case from the US, for a joint block to form against China.
Hong Kong and Taiwan
Beijing’s growing influence over Hong Kong and the repression of pro-democracy activists are also major concerns in many Western countries. Last June, a controversial national security law was passed that ended mass protests against China’s meddling in the semi-autonomous city.
In his speech, Xi also spoke about Hong Kong, whose chief executive, Carrie Lam, was also in Beijing. Both Macau and Hong Kong will “keep a high degree of autonomy,” he said. According to him, legal measures are needed to ensure “national security and stability”.
For Taiwan, the president also had a warning: he wants to resolve the Taiwan issue and achieve full “reunification of the country”. Any attempt by the island to become independent will be broken, it said. “Comrades on both sides of the Taiwan Strait must come together and move towards unity.”
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