The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) celebrated its hundredth anniversary on Thursday with great fanfare in Beijing. Addressing a crowd of tens of thousands of people, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that it is a “historical inevitability” that China will no longer be “bullied, humiliated or subjugated” by foreign countries. “Anyone who dares to try, will find their heads bashed bloody against a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people”, he threatened.
The highly choreographed ceremony was carried out at Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, the epicentre of the 1989 massacre that killed at least 10,000 people.
Mr. Xi, as expected, took the center stage. Amid a thunder of claps and flyovers by the air force on a rainy day, Xi delivered a nationalist speech. He said that the country’s survival is deeply intertwined with the Chinese Communist Party, and if the latter fell, the former would inevitably follow. “Without the Communist Party, there will be no new China.”
The communist party came into being in July 1921, exactly a hundred years ago. To mark its centenary, the Chinese government organized extravagant centennial celebrations in the capital.
President Xi further said that China is receptive to suggestions, but it will not accept “sanctimonious preaching”, referring to the remarks made by the United States, its fierce rival. Relations between China and the US have worsened in recent months over trade, espionage and the pandemic.
The issue of Taiwan is also a thorny issue between the two countries. Taiwan calls itself an independent, sovereign state, whereas Beijing calls it a breakaway province.
Under its own laws, the United States is required to assist Taiwan in case China resorts to an aggressive approach.
On Thursday, Xi said that China maintains an “unshakable commitment” to unification with China. “No one should underestimate the resolve, the will and ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.