President Xi Jinping on Thursday warned that China would no longer be bullied by foreign forces in a speech which elicited roaring applause from an invited gathering at Tiananmen Square which participated in the centenary celebrations of the founding of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
President Xi, who heads the party and is seen as considering a third term for him starting next year, created a wave of patriotic and nationalistic sentiment in his 70-minute-long speech mainly aimed at domestic audience. He called for building a strong military to defend the country and warned that the Chinese people will never allow any foreign force to “bully, oppress, or subjugate them”.
More than 70,000 people consisting of party and military officials besides schoolchildren and university students attended the event, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The event featured a military fly past and people waving Chinese flags and singing patriotic songs. Looking skyward, the crowd cheered a flyover by military planes, including helicopters forming the number “100” and a squadron of China’s J-20 stealth fighter jets. The final group of jets streaked blue, yellow and red contrails in the sky.
In his address telecast live by the official television channels, Xi declared that China had restored order in Hong Kong following anti-government protests in 2019 and reiterated the Communist Party’s determination to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control. He also said that integrating Taiwan with the Chinese mainland is a historic mission of the ruling party. Both policies have been widely criticized by Western democracies. In his strongly worded speech, Xi appeared to be hitting back at the western powers and others that have criticized China on trade and technology polices, military overtures and human rights record. He also said the nation must stick to its one-party rule, emphasizing the communists’ role in turning China into the world’s second largest economy
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