BEIJING: China on Sunday opened its twice-decade-long party conference in which the leader Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term, breaking with recent precedent and establishing himself as the most powerful Chinese politician since Mao Zedong.
Mr. Xi is expected to deliver a lengthy speech at the opening session, but little change can be seen in his formula of strict one-party rule, intolerance of criticism and a tough approach. for Covid-19 include quarantine and travel ban even as other countries have opened up.
As with most political events in China, very little information has been released before and Conference‘Results will be announced only after a few days of closed sessions. How much has been decided in advance and how much still has to be hashed out in face-to-face meetings is also unknown.
At a two-hour press conference on Saturday, Parliament speaker Sun Yeli reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the “zero-Covid” policy despite the economic costs, and repeated his words. threatening to use force to take over the self-governing body Taiwan.
But Sun gave some details of what would happen if there were any changes to the party’s charter at the meeting, which is expected to last about a week. The congress, the 20th in the centuries-old party’s history, boasts some 96 million members, more than 2,000 of whom will attend meetings in Beijing.
Mr. Sun, deputy head of the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, who is not well known outside the party, said the changes would “combine major theoretical perspectives and strategic thinking” in the five years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. previous meeting.
The amendments or additions will “meet new requirements to promote the party’s development and work in the face of new circumstances and new tasks,” Sun said.
Mr. Xi has left little room for further political aggravation, having placed himself in full charge of domestic affairs, foreign policy, the military, the economy and most other important issues. overseen by working groups of the party he leads.
The congress takes place as China’s economy is facing major headwinds amid a near-collapsed real estate sector and fees on the retail and manufacturing sectors due to Covid-19 restrictions. -19 imposed increased population surveillance and the regime’s suppression of free speech.
In his remarks, Mr. Sun said China would make every effort to bring Taiwan under its control peacefully. But he said China would not tolerate what he called a full-fledged independence movement backed by hardliners on the island and their supporters abroad – perhaps the US. , Taiwan’s main source of military and diplomatic support despite the lack of formal relations in respect. to Beijing.
Sun also doesn’t expect China to back down from “zero Covid,” to which Xi and other leaders have raised a political issue despite criticism from China. World Health Organization and others argue that it is not a realistic long-term solution given the improvements in vaccines and therapies.
Many expect this policy to continue at least until March, when Mr. Xi is expected to be handed a third term as president and other top cabinet leaders will be installed.
Political observer and dissident Yin Weihong said Xi’s break with the party’s previous collectivist leadership style to concentrate power in his own hands made the public and party officials dissidents said. .
“It feels like he’s officially taken a cake and divided it among many people and decided to have it all for himself,” Yin said in a phone call from his home south of Shanghai.
Mr. Xi is expected to deliver a lengthy speech at the opening session, but little change can be seen in his formula of strict one-party rule, intolerance of criticism and a tough approach. for Covid-19 include quarantine and travel ban even as other countries have opened up.
As with most political events in China, very little information has been released before and Conference‘Results will be announced only after a few days of closed sessions. How much has been decided in advance and how much still has to be hashed out in face-to-face meetings is also unknown.
At a two-hour press conference on Saturday, Parliament speaker Sun Yeli reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the “zero-Covid” policy despite the economic costs, and repeated his words. threatening to use force to take over the self-governing body Taiwan.
But Sun gave some details of what would happen if there were any changes to the party’s charter at the meeting, which is expected to last about a week. The congress, the 20th in the centuries-old party’s history, boasts some 96 million members, more than 2,000 of whom will attend meetings in Beijing.
Mr. Sun, deputy head of the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department, who is not well known outside the party, said the changes would “combine major theoretical perspectives and strategic thinking” in the five years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. previous meeting.
The amendments or additions will “meet new requirements to promote the party’s development and work in the face of new circumstances and new tasks,” Sun said.
Mr. Xi has left little room for further political aggravation, having placed himself in full charge of domestic affairs, foreign policy, the military, the economy and most other important issues. overseen by working groups of the party he leads.
The congress takes place as China’s economy is facing major headwinds amid a near-collapsed real estate sector and fees on the retail and manufacturing sectors due to Covid-19 restrictions. -19 imposed increased population surveillance and the regime’s suppression of free speech.
In his remarks, Mr. Sun said China would make every effort to bring Taiwan under its control peacefully. But he said China would not tolerate what he called a full-fledged independence movement backed by hardliners on the island and their supporters abroad – perhaps the US. , Taiwan’s main source of military and diplomatic support despite the lack of formal relations in respect. to Beijing.
Sun also doesn’t expect China to back down from “zero Covid,” to which Xi and other leaders have raised a political issue despite criticism from China. World Health Organization and others argue that it is not a realistic long-term solution given the improvements in vaccines and therapies.
Many expect this policy to continue at least until March, when Mr. Xi is expected to be handed a third term as president and other top cabinet leaders will be installed.
Political observer and dissident Yin Weihong said Xi’s break with the party’s previous collectivist leadership style to concentrate power in his own hands made the public and party officials dissidents said. .
“It feels like he’s officially taken a cake and divided it among many people and decided to have it all for himself,” Yin said in a phone call from his home south of Shanghai.
