China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping has threatened Taiwan with military action. China is striving for peaceful “unification”, “but we will never commit to giving up the use of force,” the president said Sunday at the start of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing, which takes place only every five years. The Chinese leadership will retain the “option to take all necessary measures”.
“Complete Reunification of the Fatherland”
These were aimed at foreign interference and a “small number” of pro-independence forces, “not compatriots in Taiwan”, Xi Jinping pointed out. “The full reunification of the motherland must and can be achieved.”
The communist leadership sees the democratic island republic only as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. On the other hand, Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, has long considered itself independent. Tensions have recently increased after China intensified military activity near the island to increase pressure on Taiwan.
“Potential Hazard” Warning
Xi warned of “potential dangers” and difficult times. In a speech to some 2,300 delegates at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, the president called for “preparation for the worst cases”. “So prepare and be prepared to withstand strong winds, rough seas and even dangerous storms.”
In the strongly ideological speech, Xi urged him to resolutely follow his party leadership to build a “modern socialist country” with “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. The next five years are crucial for this. Internationally, the party leader saw “immense risks and challenges” as well as “global changes not seen in a century”.
China on an authoritarian course
Xi, 69, has set China on an increasingly authoritarian course that prioritizes security, state control of the economy in the name of “shared prosperity”, more assertive diplomacy, stronger military and the takeover of democratically governed Taiwan. He also abolished presidential term limits four years ago, paving the way for a third five-year term as general secretary of the Communist Party. Xi Jinping is expected to seek another term.
While the 69-year-old is flouting previously respected term limits, the Politburo is being filled for age reasons. The personnel change in the communist leadership is also a prelude to the next session of the People’s Congress in March, when a new prime minister will be installed and a new government will be formed.
He praised China’s strict “necessary” zero Covid strategy, which has brought “tremendous and encouraging achievements” in both the fight against the pandemic and economic development. As the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China continues to pursue a zero-tolerance goal – with lockdowns, mass testing, quarantines and contact tracing slowing the economy.
re-election for a third term
The focus of the party congress, which takes place only every five years, is on expanding Xi Jinping’s power and his re-election for a third term. Delegates must further anchor their ideology as a guideline in the party constitution and appoint a new central committee.
The congress is taking place amid massive security measures, which were tightened after a rare protest by a man on a bridge with a widely circulated banner against “dictator Xi Jinping” on Thursday.
After Xi Jinping’s ten-year term, observers struck a critical balance: “We have evolved from collective leadership to autocracy, from term limits to lifetime leadership, from achievement to loyalty, from the private sector to the state, from wealth to shared prosperity, from globalization to technical autonomy,” said Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute in Australia. Ultimately, the coexistence between China and the United States has also become “confrontation”.
isolation grows
Chinese political scientist Wu Qiang saw increasing isolation as China closed its borders because of the zero Covid policy and relied on self-reliance. “I believe that 40 years of reform and opening up have come to an end,” said the lecturer, who had to leave Beijing’s renowned Tsinghua University because of the critical review. “China has become strong through globalization, reform and opening up and has maintained that power, so it will not be easy to separate it.” But ideologically, the policy of reform and opening up was abandoned.