By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 18: The Chinese President Xi Jinping in his two hour long address at the 20th Party Congress in Beijing on Sunday emphasized his commitment to the zero-covid policy, resisting any hopes of opening up the country despite widespread frustration and economic damage. “We have adhered to the supremacy of the people and the supremacy of life, adhered to dynamic zero-COVID … and achieved major positive results in the overall prevention and control of the epidemic, and economic and social development,” Xi noted in his address.
Xi also stressed on China’s military prowess as he called on accelerating the process of building a world-class military and commented on his designs on Taiwan, which attracted the biggest applause. “We must strengthen our sense of hardship, adhere to the bottom-line thinking, be prepared for danger in times of peace, prepare for a rainy day, and be ready to withstand major tests of high winds and high waves,” he said. The 69-year-old is widely expected to establish a third term as the top leader of China at the conclusion of the week-long congress.
Nearly 2,300 top delegates on Sunday gathered in the Great Hall of the People near the Tiananmen Square amid tight security. Xi in his address described his last five-year term as “extremely uncommon and abnormal”. In his decade-long rule, China continues to prioritize security and state control in the name of “common prosperity” along with an ever aggressive stance to seize the island nation of Taiwan.
A rare protest in Beijing was staged against the government’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic last week in the lead up to the 20th Party Congress. One of the large protest banners on Sitong bridge in Beijing read, “No Covid test, we want to eat! No restrictions, we want freedom! No lies, we want dignity! No Cultural Revolution, we want reform! No leaders, we want votes. By not being slaves, we can be citizens!”
According to Reuters, the congress is expected to re-elect Xi as party general secretary as well as chairman of the Central Military Commission, although experts say that it is all but a ceremony. Right after the congress ends this Saturday, he is also expected to introduce his new Politburo Standing Committee, a top leadership committee consisting of the seven head leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.
