Written by Will Hekman
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that any nation that tests or bullies China, “will face broken heads and bloodshed,” in his speech at the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party which elicited a round of applause from a carefully selected crowd.
Xi Jinping also used his speech to hit back at United States policies regarding trade, technology, human rights, and military expansion. The two nations have been at odds over trade for many years and there has been an increased amount of criticism of China over its treatment of Uyghur Muslims. Xi Jinping also used his speech to emphasize the continued need for one-party rule as he argued the Communist Party was the one responsible for lifting China to global prominence. The “celebration” consisted of military flyovers and patriotic songs, similar to the events held by the founder and former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong. Jinping even wore a gray, button-up suit much like the one that Mao commonly wore.
Jinping is considering a third term as president and can run for an unlimited amount of times as he eliminated term limits. He received massive applause when he claimed that he had lead China back to prominence despite anti-China policies from Western nations, “The Chinese people will absolutely not allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us and anyone who attempts to do so will face broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people,”.
While the CCP touts its popularity at home, its popularity on the international stage is slowly diminishing. China’s hostile policies towards pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and its treatment of Taiwan has garnered criticism from Western nations. The treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Northwest region of Xinjiang who have been pushed into re-education camps has also been greatly criticized by Western nations. The debacle of the Coronavirus outbreak and the accused cover-up by the Chinese government has been what many considered to be a breaking point in China’s global standing. The government of Taiwan released a statement commenting on the celebration of the Communist Party which criticized China’s ambitions, “Democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of the law are Taiwanese society’s core values, and the gap with the other side’s authoritarian political system is considerable,”.
While the CCP continues its campaign of pushing China to the top, many nations have seen the dark days that lie ahead if China were to gain supremacy over the world economy.
