Hong-Kong
DailyExpertNews
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed on Sunday to guide China through major challenges toward national rejuvenation, putting forward a nationalist vision that has put it on a clash path with the West.
Speaking at the opening of the 20th Party Congress, where he stands poised to secure a norm-breaking third term in power, Xi struck a confident tone, highlighting China’s growing strength and increasing influence during its first decade. to power.
But he also repeatedly underlined the risks and challenges the country faces.
Describing the past five years as “very unusual and extraordinary,” Xi said the party has led China through “a grim and complex international situation” and “enormous risks and challenges that came one after another.”
The very first challenges Xi listed were the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong and Taiwan — which he claimed China was victorious in.
The Chinese government, Xi said, had “maximised people’s lives and health” against Covid, turned Hong Kong from “chaos to governance” and waged “major struggle” against “independence forces” in the island of Taiwan, a self-governing government. Democracy Beijing claims as its own territory despite never having controlled it.
Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist with Australia National University’s Taiwan Studies Program, said Xi’s decision to highlight the Taiwan issue early in his speech is a departure from previous precedent and “indicates a renewed urgency to make progress on the Taiwan issue.”
Xi won the loudest and longest applause from the nearly 2,300 hand-picked delegates in the Great Hall of the People when he spoke again about Taiwan later in the speech.
He said China would “pursue peaceful reunification” – but then issued a stark warning, saying “we will never promise to refrain from using force and we reserve the right to take all necessary measures. ”
“The wheels of history are rolling towards the reunification of China and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Full reunification of our country must be achieved,” Xi said to thunderous applause.
Xi also underlined the “rapid changes in the international situation” – a thinly veiled reference to the fraying ties between China and the West, which are further strained by Beijing’s tacit support for Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He said China has “taken a firm stance against hegemonism and power politics” and “never hesitated” in opposition to unilateralism and “bullying” — in a clear jab at what Beijing sees as a US-led world order that needs to be addressed. dismantled.
Xi gave general direction for the next five years, saying China would focus on “quality education” and innovation to “renew growth” in the country’s crisis-hit economy. China will “accelerate efforts to achieve greater self-reliance in science and technology,” he said, in comments coming just months after its damaging crackdown on the country’s private sector and major tech companies.
Xi also pledged to accelerate efforts to convert the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into a “world-class army”, and pledged the PLA’s ability to protect national sovereignty and build strategic deterrence. He also urged the PLA to strengthen its training and improve its “ability to win”.
Xi’s speech was laced with the Chinese term for “security” – mentioned about 50 times. He called national security the “base of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and urged improvements in security in the military, the economy and “all aspects” both at home and abroad.
Another focus was Marxism and ideology. “I don’t think the ideological atmosphere will ease in the next five years,” said Victor Shih, an expert on elite Chinese politics at the University of California.
Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, said the directions in Xi’s work report are a continuation of his previous policies. By highlighting the challenges and struggles, he said, it “justifies the need for a strong party and its great leader.”
The week-long Congress began Sunday morning amid heightened security, escalated zero Covid restrictions, and a frenzy of propaganda and censorship.
The Congress is the party’s most sweeping gathering in decades. Congress will cement Xi’s status as China’s most powerful leader since the late Chairman Mao Zedong, who ruled China until his death at the age of 82. It will also have a major impact on the world, as Xi doubles down on an assertive foreign policy to boost China’s international clout and rewrite the US-led world order.
Meetings will usually take place behind closed doors throughout the week. When delegates reappear at the end of the congress next Saturday, they will hold a ceremonial vote to stamp Xi’s working report and approve changes to the party constitution — which could give Xi new titles to further bolster his power.
The delegates will also select the party’s new Central Committee, which will hold its first meeting the following day to appoint the party’s top leadership – the Politburo and the Standing Committee, following decisions passed behind the scenes before Congress. party leaders have crystallized.
Congress will be a key moment of political triumph for Xi, but it also comes during a period of potential crisis. Xi’s insistence on an uncompromising zero-covid policy has led to mounting public frustration and crippled economic growth. Meanwhile, his “boundless” friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, diplomatically, further strained Beijing’s ties with the West after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
This is why Xi’s subtle gesture during speech worries people
In the run-up to Congress, officials across China have dramatically ramped up restrictions to prevent even minor Covid outbreaks, imposing sweeping lockdowns and increasingly frequent mass Covid testing on a handful of cases. But infections caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant have continued to flare up. China reported nearly 1,200 infections on Saturday, including 14 in Beijing.
Public anger over zero-Covid emerged on Thursday in an exceptionally rare protest against Xi in Beijing. Photos online showed two banners being rolled out on a crowded overpass condemning Xi and his policies before being removed by police.
“Say no to Covid test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. No to cultural revolution, yes to reform. No to great leader, yes to votes. Don’t be a slave, be a citizen,” reads a banner.
“Go on strike, remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping,” read the other.
The Chinese public has paid little attention to party congresses in the past – they have no say in reshuffling the country’s leaders or making important policies. But this year, many have pinned their hopes on Congress as a turning point for China to ease its Covid policy.
However, a series of recent articles in the party’s mouthpiece suggest that this could be wishful thinking. The People’s Daily praised zero-Covid as the “best choice” for the country, stressing that it is “sustainable and should be followed”.
On Sunday, Xi defended his highly controversial and economically damaging zero-covid policy.
“In responding to the sudden outbreak of Covid-19, we prioritized the people and their lives above all else, and we stubbornly followed a dynamic zero-Covid policy in launching an all-out people’s war against the virus,” he said. .
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said Xi’s words pointed out that it is “impossible for China to change its zero-covid strategy in the near future” .