Marking the centenary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), President Xi Jinping on Thursday said that his country will not allow itself to be bullied and anyone who tries this will face "broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people."
Speaking from the balcony of the Tiananmen Gate, Xi underlined the achievements of the Chinese Communist Party and talked about the role of the CCP in establishing China as a global power.
Talking about Hong Kong, Xi said that Beijing helped restore order after large anti-government protests had erupted in the autonomous city in 2019. He further said that China is determined to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control.
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He said that his party would still hold absolute control over the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA has been massively upgrading itself thanks to the addition of new aircraft carriers and sophisticated new aircraft, showcased in a flyover at the start of the ceremony featuring a squadron of China's J-20 stealth fighters. This helped China take the second position on the annual budget spending on military worldwide.
"The Chinese people are a people with a strong sense of pride and self-confidence," Xi said. "We have never bullied, oppressed or enslaved the people of another nation, not in the past, during the present or in the future."
"At the same time, 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," Xi said.
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However, he did not mention the specific countries he was aiming this message on. China has been caught in a feud with the United States of America for a few years now. Both the nations have been taking jibes at each other over and over. Recently at the G7 Summit and NATO meet, the USA openly denounced China and asked its allies to do the same, creating a huge heatwave between both countries.
Ironically, China has been bullying its neighbours, especially in the South China Sea where it has claimed almost all the unpopulated islands surrounding Japan. Moreover, China has been continuously harassing small islands further down the Indian Ocean. It has threatened to invade Taiwan, with which the US has boosted relations and military sales.
Xi, 68, has eliminated limits on his time in office. He is expected to begin a third five-year term as party leader next year.
