The Chinese president opens the XX Congress of the Communist Party: “We have shown great capacity against the independence of Taipei”. And on Covid: “Putting people’s lives first”
The Chinese president Xi Jinping opened the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. In a keynote speech lasting about an hour and forty minutes and addressed to some 2,300 delegates in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the president called for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the expansion of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Xi spoke of the GDP of the country, doubled in ten years and now equal to “18.5% of the world economy”, of how China has dealt with the pandemic of Covid, putting “people’s lives first” and “launching a people’s war against the virus”. But he also talked about Taiwan, emphasizing the China’s great “ability” against “Taiwan independence” and promising “homeland reunification”, including through the use of military force if necessary. This was a passage that stole the standig ovation of the delegates. “The complete reunification of the motherland must be achieved and can certainly be achieved. We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification, but we will never promise to give up force and reserve the right to use all means” for reunification, Xi said.
Difficult times await us, the warning from the Chinese president who warned of “potential dangers” while calling for China to be “prepared for worst-case scenarios”. “We must adapt and prepare to withstand strong winds, choppy waters and even dangerous storms,” Xi said, stressing that the next five years will be crucial, including internationally, where “global changes that have not been seen for a century” will take place. .
The centerpiece of the party congress, held every five years, is the expansion of power of 69-year-old Xi, who seeks to secure another term as the party’s general secretary. The delegates, who almost never disagree with the Communist Party’s Politburo, should enshrine Xi’s personal ideology in the party’s constitution and select a new central committee. After deliberations, which last one week, the party leader is expected to be confirmed for an unprecedented third five-year term in a plenary session of the new Central Committee.
Xi is setting a precedent, ignoring mandate limits, while age rules and mandate limits will apply to the Politburo, the supreme political body of the Chinese Communist Party. The change of staff in the Communist leadership is also a prelude to the next annual meeting of the Chinese government, scheduled for March, when a new prime minister will be selected and a new government formed.
Source-www.adnkronos.com