Mandate Of Heaven

[BansheeOne]

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Date 25.03.2021

Author William Yang (Taipei)

Can China impose military force against Taiwan?

US military commanders have warned about the imminent threat of Beijing trying to recover control over the democratic island. But some experts say greater danger lies with China's inconspicuous "gray zone tactics."

A top US military commander has warned that China's threat to invade Taiwan with military force has become more pressing than many people understand, warning that Beijing considers reclaiming control over Taiwan its "number one priority."

"My opinion is that this problem is much closer to us than most think," said Admiral John Aquilino, the Biden administration's nominee for the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command.

"The most dangerous concern is that of a military force against Taiwan," he stressed during a senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Aquilino called on Washington to adopt a proposed $27 billion (€23 billion) plan to enhance the US' defense in Indo-Pacific "in the near term and with urgency."

"The Chinese Communist Party has generated some capabilities in the region that are designed to keep us out," he warned.

How likely will Beijing invade Taiwan?

Earlier this month, US Commander Philip Davidson of the Asia-Pacific region said he expects China to advance  towards democratic Taiwan "in the next six years."

"I worry that they're [China] accelerating their ambitions to supplant the US and our leadership role in the rules-based international order by 2050," Davidson said during a senate committee meeting earlier this month. "Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before that. And I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years."

But some experts see a China military attack on Taiwan as unlikely.

"While we shouldn't ignore the risk of a Chinese attack, I believe an attack in the near term is unlikely. It remains a potential action of last resort if the Chinese feel that they have exhausted all their options," Bonnie Glaser, director of the Washington-based China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told DW.

According to Glaser, Beijing has more pressing priorities domestically but thinks nevertheless, that "the biggest threat Taiwan faces in the next couple of years is China's gray zone tactics."

What are Beijing's 'gray zone tactics'?

China uses gray zone tactics against neighboring countries to signal its power, Glaser explained.

Over the weekend, more than 200 Chinese vessels were spotted near a reef in the South China Sea that's claimed by the Philippines.

In February, Japan and the US expressed concern over China's new coast guard law which authorizes Chinese coast guard to open fire at foreign vessels in contested waters, including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Beijing's latest military actions and decisions have renewed concerns over a militarization of the Asia-Pacific among China's neighboring countries.

According to Glaser, China recognizes its ability to put pressure on other countries through methods that are just below the threshold of triggering military responses from the US.

"If China only intimidates, harasses and bullies other countries, it will be more challenging for the US to respond effectively," Glaser said.

"The ability to use large numbers of coast guard or maritime militia vessels in the East China Sea and South China Sea really ends up strengthening Beijing's sovereignty claims. It also aims at convincing other countries that they shouldn't challenge Chinese interests or they will pay a price," she added.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/can-china-impose-military-force-against-taiwan/a-56988658

[Stuart Galbraith]

China builds new Heliport across the straits from Taiwan.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39837/massive-new-chinese-military-heliport-taking-shape-right-across-from-taiwan

Satellite imagery shows significant progress on the construction of what is, by every indication, a massive new military heliport in China very close to the Taiwan Strait. Continued work on the facility, which is around a half a mile from the water's edge, only some 150 miles from Taiwan proper, and even closer to various islands that Taiwanese authorities control, comes amid a surge in charged rhetoric between officials in Beijing and their counterparts in both Taipei and Washington. This makes it strategically positioned to support any future operations to control the Strait or even invade Taiwan.

Twitter user @detresfa_, an independent open-source intelligence analyst who has worked as a consultant to The Intel Lab, an independent intelligence analysis group, first highlighted the recent developments at the facility in Fujian Province's Zhangpu County last week. Work began at the site, the official name of which is unknown, sometime between May and June 2019, based on imagery The War Zone reviewed from Planet Labs.

At present, the heliport has a single runway that is around 2,140 feet long, including a circular turnaround at its eastern end, as well as an adjacent flightline that is just under 6,000 feet in length, but relatively narrow. A satellite image, dated Feb. 18, 2021, which is available through Google Earth, seen above, shows 18 hangars, as well as nine more in various states of construction, along the ramp. 

[BansheeOne]

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Date 27.03.2021

China sanctions US, Canadian officials over Xinjiang

The measure comes after several countries imposed sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses against the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority.

On Saturday, China announced new sanctions on US and Canadian officials after several countries imposed measures over Beijing's treatment of mostly Muslim Uyghurs.

The sanctions targeted Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins, two members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, who are now forbidden from entering mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong. Canadian MP Michael Chong and an eight-member Canadian parliamentary committee on human rights were also hit with a Chinese travel ban.

"They must stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues, stop interfering in China's internal affairs in any form and refrain from going further down the wrong path," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

"Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt," according to the statement.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Chinese sanctions "unacceptable actions."

"We will continue to defend human rights around the world with our international partners," Trudeau said on Twitter.

Tit-for-tat dispute over Xinjiang

Earlier this week, the US, EU, UK and Canada imposed sanctions on various Chinese officials accused of committing human rights abuses against Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang.

Beijing already slapped retaliatory sanctions this week on UK and EU lawmakers in response.

China has also faced criticism from foreign companies on the Uyghur issue, with the Swedish retailer H&M and other clothing brands deciding to boycott cotton from Xinjiang. H&M clothing disappeared from the internet in China as of Friday after Chinese e-commerce sites such as Alibaba removed its products from their listings.

Chinese actors, models and singers have spoken out against international clothing brands on social media over the cotton boycott. Celebrities shared the "I support Xinjiang cotton" hashtag on Chinese social network Weibo in a wave of nationalistic backlash against the clothing companies. 

The US State Department has condemned China's attacks on foreign brands. US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also expressed concerns on Friday about Beijing's retaliatory actions in response to Western sanctions.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/china-sanctions-us-canadian-officials-over-xinjiang/a-57026474

[BansheeOne]

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Date 05.04.2021

Author Klaus Bardenhagen

Taiwan's army 'ill-prepared' for potential Chinese attack

Taiwanese civilians seem to be unfazed by the military pressure that Beijing is exerting. Military experts, on the other hand, are preoccupied and fear the armed forces are not ready to react.

Those who have been following the news about China's threats toward Taiwan might be surprised to see how little visible impact the situation seems to be having on the everyday lives of the island's 23 million inhabitants.

It is business as usual in the cities, hectic moments alternating with calmer ones. Moreover, thanks to the fact that the authorities have dealt with the coronavirus in a very efficient manner, there is no physical distancing or lockdown.

There are also few uniforms on the streets, no regular drills or military exercises. It seems citizens trust that their government and army are well prepared or are otherwise confident that the situation will not escalate.

After all, the Taiwanese are used to living in the shadow of an ongoing latent conflict. Ever since the Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, lost the Chinese civil war and fled to Taiwan in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party has wanted to take control.

Deceptive calm

The calm could be deceptive. It is completely unclear what China is really planning and whether the US would intervene on Taiwan's behalf if necessary. China is arming itself and increasing the military pressure on Taipei. Last year, the Chinese air force ignored the Taiwan Strait median line, which acts as an unofficial dividing line, more often than it had in decades, with aircraft entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) almost every third day. China claims Taiwan as its own territory.

"We are facing a gigantic military threat," said former Taiwanese Defense Minister Michael Tsai, who turned his back on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2019. "Taiwan should strengthen its self-defense capabilities."

At the National People's Congress in March, mainland China's Communist rulers made clear how important Taiwan was for their strategy. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that there was "no room for compromise or concessions" on the issue. He also warned that the US to stop "playing with fire."

At the moment, it seems as if US President Joe Biden, like his predecessor Donald Trump, will continue to support Taiwan, which is of major geostrategic importance in the Western Pacific region. When Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the People's Army to be ready for battle, the word "Taiwan" was not uttered - but the idea hung in the air.

'Hollow shell'

The morale and training of the Taiwanese army will probably play a major role in determining whether Taiwan really is ready to defend itself in an emergency. But both in terms of troop numbers and modernization, Taiwan is well behind China, despite regular arms supplies worth billions from the US.

China's official military budget alone is 16 times that of Taiwan's. In terms of size, Taiwan's 170,000-strong army is comparable with that of Germany, which boasts three and a half times as many inhabitants. At sea, China definitely has the upper hand: It is in the process of building a third aircraft carrier while Taiwan has two operational submarines, which date back to the 1980s.

"Our national security needs every young man to go to the armed forces, this is a national obligation," said Tsai, who did his own 18-month stint of military service six decades ago. The army has played a much more limited role in Taiwan since martial law was lifted in 1987 and democracy was introduced. In 2016, military service, which young men usually complete after their studies, was shortened to four months, but Tsai does not think this is long enough. He told DW that Taiwan should take a cue from South Korea, Singapore and Israel, where military service lasts considerably more than a year.

Reforming the reserve

Wen Lii, director of the Matsu Islands chapter of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was conscripted when he turned 24 in 2013. He served for a year and learned how to drive M60 tanks, which in the event of a Chinese invasion are supposed to repel Chinese troops on the beaches. Lii, who is now a reservist, said that there was no tactical combat training or maneuvers, however: His job was simply to teach new recruits how to drive.

"Today's technology and equipment is highly professionalized," said Lii. He said that it made sense for professional soldiers to play more of a role than conscripts. He explained that the army had become more attractive as a career in recent years. On the Matsu Islands, fortifications and soldiers are still omnipresent, even if they are fewer than during the Cold War.

All the more reason to train reservists regularly, he added. Taiwan officially has over 700,000 whose task would be to support the troops in case of war. However, few people have any illusions about their willingness to fight.

At the moment, reservists are called up every two years for a maximum of seven days, and often this is just on paper. Lii said that he had only been required to turn up twice, for one day. "Personally I wanted to spend longer time for training," he said, before welcoming the fact that the government wanted to reform the army reserve by introducing two weeks' training per year from 2022 onwards.

The journalist Paul Huang, a vocal critic of the current state of Taiwan's army, which he described in Foreign Policy magazine as a "hollow shell," believes that "Taiwan's military is in a crisis it can barely admit exists." Citing active and former soldiers, he found that the army's strength was only on paper and that equipment was often not satisfactory.

He told DW that the root of the problem lay with Taiwan's military culture and a tendency to ignore problems. He added that he followed similar discussions about the German army with interest. "The Bundeswehr at least knows about where to start fixing the problem," he said. "Taiwan's Ministry of Defense always says they have no problem whatsoever, everything is working, everything is fine. Even when reports surface that is not the case. They do not want to face the reality."

He attributed this to the fact that defense ministers in Taiwan were often generals and this led to problems of accountability.

"Most military leaders would not like civilians to be Minister of Defense," agreed Michael Tsai, who was a rare exception. The next civilian after him to become defense minister had to step down after less than a week in office after being accused of plagiarism.

However, he still believed that the army could be reformed if there was the necessary political will: Focus on reforming the military, restore civilian audit and control, that should be number one," he said. "Reform from the top down before thinking about what to throw money at."

https://www.dw.com/en/taiwans-army-ill-prepared-for-potential-chinese-attack/a-57102659

[BansheeOne]

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Date 27.05.2021

Trial opens in China against Australian blogger Yang Hengjun

Chinese-born Australian blogger Yang Hengjun faces 10 years or more in prison on unknown national security charges. The Australian Ambassador to China, Yang's wife and the media have all been denied access to the court.

The trial of Chinese-born Australian blogger Yang Hengjun on unknown charges related to national security opens in Beijing Thursday under heavy state security.

Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher was denied entry after he entered the south gate of Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. Outside the court, police lined the block. 

"This is deeply regrettable and concerning and unsatisfactory," Ambassador Fletcher told reporters who were also denied access to the court. "We've had longstanding concerns about this case including lack of transparency and therefore have concluded that it's an arbitrary detention."

According to consular protocol, representatives from both China and Australia should be permitted to enter court when citizens of either nation face trial in the other country.

Who is Yang Hengjun?

Prior to his detention in January 2019 at Guangzhou airport in southern China, Yang was a high-profile blogger living in New York who had also authored a series of spy novels. He was traveling with his wife Yuan Xiaoliang at the time.

Despite applying for permission to attend the court hearing, she too was denied access. The two have not seen each other since he was taken into custody by Chinese authorities.

Online, Yang wrote about U.S. and Chinese politics. He was previously arrested by Chinese authorities in 2011 and held for three days during China's brief "Jasmine Revolution" protests.

Following his release in 2011, Yang said he had once worked for the Chinese state security agency in Hong Kong and Washington prior to moving to Australia in 1999.

What charges does Yang Hengjun face?

Chinese authorities arrested Yang in 2019 at a time when they were in the middle of a crackdown. The Chinese government feared foreign interference in the country's internal affairs and sought to stamp out what they claimed was a "color revolution" in the country.

The charges against Yang remain shrouded in secrecy. The Australian government previously said they have not received "any explanation or evidence for the charges," prompting an angry response from China's Embassy in Canberra Saturday.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/trial-opens-in-china-against-australian-blogger-yang-hengjun/a-57678927

[JasonJ]

EU-Japan joint statement mentioning Taiwan and peace between it and the PRC.

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Japan stepped up its interference in China’s internal affairs as it brought up the island of Taiwan in a joint statement with the European Union (EU) on Thursday, the second time it has directly referred to the Taiwan question since the meeting with US President Joe Biden in April. 

Experts said it was an ill-intentioned attempt to gang up with the West and hype the “China threat” theory, which will end up hurting regional development and even the world recovery from the pandemic.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held a virtual summit on Thursday with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council chief Charles Michel. The two sides later issued a joint statement, in which the East and South China Seas, as well as the Taiwan Straits, were mentioned. 

“We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions,” read the statement, “and reaffirm the critical importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight,” according to the official website of the European Council. 

It said that Japan and the EU underscore the need for “peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, and encourage the peaceful resolution of the cross-Strait issues.”

In April, Japan released a joint statement with the US after the two countries’ leaders met in Washington, which highlighted the US-Japan alliance in the Indo-Pacific region and portrayed China as a negative influence in the region. It was the first time the two countries’ leaders had mentioned the island of Taiwan in a joint statement since the meeting of Eisaku Sato and Richard Nixon in 1969 before China and Japan had established diplomatic relations. 

Japan’s constant attempts to meddle with China’s internal affairs has completely disregarded the China-Japan Joint Communiqué signed in 1972 and severely damaged bilateral relations, as well as China’s relations with the European Union, Lü Yaodong, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Japanese Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

After Biden took office, the alliance between Japan and the US strengthened, and thus they formed a joint force in targeting China, which is further fueled by the so-called “value-oriented diplomacy” adopted by some politicians in the West. 

Chinese observers warned that the consequences could be severe. “Japan has become a veritable saboteur, not only for the regional development of East Asia, but the entire world,” Lü said, explaining that at a time when East Asia could play a leading role in the recovery of world economy in the post-epidemic era, Japan has cast a shadow on the region’s peace and stability. 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1224721.shtml

[DB]

Lovely piece of balanced reporting there.

[BansheeOne]

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China: Xi Jinping says Beijing will no longer be 'bullied' during CCP 100 year anniversary

01.07.2021

The Chinese Communist Party celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a ceremony in Tiananmen Square. President Xi said the "great rejuvenation" of China is "irreversible."

Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone during a major address celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi told a massive audience gathered at Tiananmen Square that "the era of China being slaughtered and bullied is gone forever."

"Anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people," the Chinese leader added to roaring applause.

Xi said the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical course."

[...]

Xi promises Taiwan 'reunification'

In regards to China's security, Xi said during his speech that China "must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces."

Under Xi, China has increased the size of its military, and has built outposts on islands in the South China Sea, while claiming most of the waters as Chinese territory.

On Taiwan, Xi said he wants to achieve "complete reunification" of the country and "smash" any efforts to grant the island independence from the mainland.

Taiwan responded shortly after Xi's speech, saying that its determination to defend its sovereignty and democracy remained unchanged.

https://m.dw.com/en/china-xi-jinping-says-beijing-will-no-longer-be-bullied-during-ccp-100-year-anniversary/a-58115360

 

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US expresses alarm over China nuclear buildup

8h ago

China is reportedly building over 100 new silos for the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

The US on Thursday called China's rapid expansion of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) "concerning," as Beijing ramps up its military capabilities.

A report published in the Washington Post on Wednesday said China is constructing over 100 new silos for ICBMs in a desert near the northwestern city of Yumen.

The article drew from commercial satellite images obtained by analysts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. 

What did the US say about the build-up?

"The build-up, it's concerning," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a media briefing. "It raises questions about the PRC's intent."

"And for us it reinforces the importance of pursuing practical measures to reduce nuclear risks," he continued.

The State Department spokesperson said China's rapid build-up of weapons "has become more difficult to hide."

[...]

https://m.dw.com/en/us-expresses-alarm-over-china-nuclear-buildup/a-58132260

[JasonJ]

Full text of Xi's speech for CCP's 100th.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday gave a speech at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

Below is an official English-language translation of the full speech provided by the CCP via Xinhua News Agency:

"Comrades and friends,

Today, the first of July, is a great and solemn day in the history of both the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese nation. We gather here to join all Party members and Chinese people of all ethnic groups around the country in celebrating the centenary of the Party, looking back on the glorious journey the Party has traveled over 100 years of struggle, and looking ahead to the bright prospects for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

To begin, let me extend warm congratulations to all Party members on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

On this special occasion, it is my honor to declare on behalf of the Party and the people that through the continued efforts of the whole Party and the entire nation, we have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This means that we have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty in China, and we are now marching in confident strides toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. This is a great and glorious accomplishment for the Chinese nation, for the Chinese people, and for the Communist Party of China!

Comrades and friends,

The Chinese nation is a great nation. With a history of more than 5,000 years, China has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. After the Opium War of 1840, however, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society and suffered greater ravages than ever before. The country endured intense humiliation, the people were subjected to great pain, and the Chinese civilization was plunged into darkness. Since that time, national rejuvenation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.

To save the nation from peril, the Chinese people put up a courageous fight. As noble-minded patriots sought to pull the nation together, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Yihetuan Movement, and the Revolution of 1911 rose one after the other, and a variety of plans were devised to ensure national survival, but all of these ended in failure. China was in urgent need of new ideas to lead the movement to save the nation and a new organization to rally revolutionary forces.

With the salvoes of Russia's October Revolution in 1917, Marxism-Leninism was brought to China. Then in 1921, as the Chinese people and the Chinese nation were undergoing a great awakening and Marxism-Leninism was becoming closely integrated with the Chinese workers' movement, the Communist Party of China was born. The founding of a communist party in China was an epoch-making event, which profoundly changed the course of Chinese history in modern times, transformed the future of the Chinese people and nation, and altered the landscape of world development.

Since the very day of its founding, the Party has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission. All the struggle, sacrifice, and creation through which the Party has united and led the Chinese people over the past hundred years has been tied together by one ultimate theme-bringing about the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

To realize national rejuvenation, the Party united and led the Chinese people in fighting bloody battles with unyielding determination, achieving great success in the new-democratic revolution.

Through the Northern Expedition, the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation, we fought armed counter-revolution with armed revolution, toppling the three mountains of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism and establishing the People's Republic of China, which made the people masters of the country. We thus secured our nation's independence and liberated our people.

The victory of the new-democratic revolution put an end to China's history as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, to the state of total disunity that existed in old China, and to all the unequal treaties imposed on our country by foreign powers and all the privileges that imperialist powers enjoyed in China. It created the fundamental social conditions for realizing national rejuvenation.

Through tenacious struggle, the Party and the Chinese people showed the world that the Chinese people had stood up, and that the time in which the Chinese nation could be bullied and abused by others was gone forever.

To realize national rejuvenation, the Party united and led the Chinese people in endeavoring to build a stronger China with a spirit of self-reliance, achieving great success in socialist revolution and construction.

By carrying out socialist revolution, we eliminated the exploitative and repressive feudal system that had persisted in China for thousands of years, and established socialism as our basic system. In the process of socialist construction, we overcame subversion, sabotage, and armed provocation by imperialist and hegemonic powers, and brought about the most extensive and profound social changes in the history of the Chinese nation. This great transformation of China from a poor and backward country in the East with a large population into a socialist country laid down the fundamental political conditions and the institutional foundations necessary for realizing national rejuvenation.

Through tenacious struggle, the Party and the Chinese people showed the world that the Chinese people were capable of not only dismantling the old world, but also building a new one, that only socialism could save China, and that only socialism with Chinese characteristics could develop China.

To realize national rejuvenation, the Party united and led the Chinese people in freeing the mind and forging ahead, achieving great success in reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.

We established the Party's basic line for the primary stage of socialism, resolutely advanced reform and opening up, overcame risks and challenges from every direction, and founded, upheld, safeguarded, and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus bringing about a major turn with far-reaching significance in the history of the Party since the founding of the People's Republic of China. This enabled China to transform itself from a highly centralized planned economy to a socialist market economy brimming with vitality, and from a country that was largely isolated to one that is open to the outside world across the board. It also enabled China to achieve the historic leap from a country with relatively backward productive forces to the world's second largest economy, and to make the historic transformation of raising the living standards of its people from bare subsistence to an overall level of moderate prosperity, and then ultimately to moderate prosperity in all respects. These achievements fueled the push toward national rejuvenation by providing institutional guarantees imbued with new energy as well as the material conditions for rapid development.

Through tenacious struggle, the Party and the Chinese people showed the world that by pursuing reform and opening up, a crucial move in making China what it is today, China had caught up with the times in great strides.

To realize national rejuvenation, the Party has united and led the Chinese people in pursuing a great struggle, a great project, a great cause, and a great dream through a spirit of self-confidence, self-reliance, and innovation, achieving great success for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Following the Party's 18th National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era. In this new era, we have upheld and strengthened the Party's overall leadership, ensured coordinated implementation of the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, upheld and improved the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, modernized China's system and capacity for governance, remained committed to exercising rule-based governance over the Party, and developed a sound system of intraparty regulations. We have overcome a long list of major risks and challenges, fulfilled the first centenary goal, and set out strategic steps for achieving the second centenary goal. All the historic achievements and changes in the cause of the Party and the country have provided the cause of national rejuvenation with more robust institutions, stronger material foundations, and a source of inspiration for taking greater initiative.

Through tenacious struggle, the Party and the Chinese people have shown the world that the Chinese nation has achieved the tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong, and that China's national rejuvenation has become a historical inevitability.

Over the past hundred years, the Party has united and led the Chinese people in writing the most magnificent chapter in the millennia-long history of the Chinese nation, embodying the dauntless spirit that Mao Zedong expressed when he wrote, "Our minds grow stronger for the martyrs' sacrifice, daring to make the sun and the moon shine in the new sky." The great path we have pioneered, the great cause we have undertaken, and the great achievements we have made over the past century will go down in the annals of the development of the Chinese nation and of human civilization.

Participants attend an event marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Thursday.   © Reuters

Comrades and friends,

A hundred years ago, the pioneers of Communism in China established the Communist Party of China and developed the great founding spirit of the Party, which is comprised of the following principles: upholding truth and ideals, staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission, fighting bravely without fear of sacrifice, and remaining loyal to the Party and faithful to the people. This spirit is the Party's source of strength.

Over the past hundred years, the Party has carried forward this great founding spirit. Through its protracted struggles, it has developed a long line of inspiring principles for Chinese Communists and tempered a distinct political character. As history has kept moving forward, the spirit of the Party has been passed on from generation to generation. We will continue to promote our glorious traditions and sustain our revolutionary legacy, so that the great founding spirit of the Party will always be kept alive and carried forward.

Comrades and friends,

We owe all that we have achieved over the past hundred years to the concerted efforts of the Chinese Communists, the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation. Chinese Communists, with comrades Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao as their chief representatives, have made tremendous and historic contributions to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. To them, we express our highest respect.

Let us take this moment to cherish the memory of comrades Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, and other veteran revolutionaries who contributed greatly to China's revolution, construction, and reform, and to the founding, consolidation, and development of the Communist Party of China; let us cherish the memory of the revolutionary martyrs who bravely laid down their lives to establish, defend, and develop the People's Republic; let us cherish the memory of those who dedicated their lives to reform, opening up, and socialist modernization; and let us cherish the memory of all the men and women who fought tenaciously for national independence and the liberation of the people in modern times. Their great contributions to our motherland and our nation will be immortalized in the annals of history, and their noble spirit will live on forever in the hearts of the Chinese people.

The people are the true heroes, for it is they who create history. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, I would like to pay my highest respects to workers, farmers, and intellectuals across the country; to other political parties, public figures without party affiliation, people's organizations, and patriotic figures from all sectors of society; to all members of the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police Force, the public security police, and the fire and rescue services; to all socialist working people; and to all members of the united front. I would like to extend my sincere greetings to compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and in Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese. And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to people and friends from around the world who have shown friendship to the Chinese people and understanding and support for China's endeavors in revolution, development, and reform.

Comrades and friends,

Though our Party's founding mission is easy to define, ensuring that we stay true to this mission is a more difficult task. By learning from history, we can understand why powers rise and fall. Through the mirror of history, we can find where we currently stand and gain foresight into the future. Looking back on the Party's 100-year history, we can see why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future. This will ensure that we act with greater resolve and purpose in staying true to our founding mission and pursuing a better future on the new journey that lies before us.

As we put conscious effort into learning from history to create a bright future, we must bear the following in mind:

We must uphold the firm leadership of the Party. China's success hinges on the Party. The more than 180-year-long modern history of the Chinese nation, the 100-year-long history of the Party, and the more than 70-year-long history of the People's Republic of China all provide ample evidence that without the Communist Party of China, there would be no new China and no national rejuvenation. The Party was chosen by history and the people. The leadership of the Party is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and constitutes the greatest strength of this system. It is the foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the country, and the crux upon which the interests and wellbeing of all Chinese people depend.

On the journey ahead, we must uphold the Party's overall leadership and continue to enhance its leadership. We must be deeply conscious of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. We must stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must uphold the core position of the General Secretary on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. Bearing in mind the country's most fundamental interests, we must enhance the Party's capacity to conduct sound, democratic, and law-based governance, and ensure that it fully exerts its core role in providing overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all sides.

We must unite and lead the Chinese people in working ceaselessly for a better life. This country is its people; the people are the country. As we have fought to establish and consolidate our leadership over the country, we have in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people's support. The Party has in the people its roots, its lifeblood, and its source of strength. The Party has always represented the fundamental interests of all Chinese people; it stands with them through thick and thin and shares a common fate with them. The Party has no special interests of its own-it has never represented any individual interest group, power group, or privileged stratum. Any attempt to divide the Party from the Chinese people or to set the people against the Party is bound to fail. The more than 95 million Party members and the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people will never allow such a scenario to come to pass.

On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history. Upholding the Party's fundamental purpose of wholeheartedly serving the people, we will stand firmly with the people, implement the Party's mass line, respect the people's creativity, and practice a people-centered philosophy of development. We will develop whole-process people's democracy, safeguard social fairness and justice, and resolve the imbalances and inadequacies in development and the most pressing difficulties and problems that are of great concern to the people. In doing so, we will make more notable and substantive progress toward achieving well-rounded human development and common prosperity for all.

We must continue to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded; it is the very soul of our Party and the banner under which it strives. The Communist Party of China upholds the basic tenets of Marxism and the principle of seeking truth from facts. Based on China's realities, we have developed keen insights into the trends of the day, seized the initiative in history, and made painstaking explorations. We have thus been able to keep adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, and to guide the Chinese people in advancing our great social revolution. At the fundamental level, the capability of our Party and the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics are attributable to the fact that Marxism works.

On the journey ahead, we must continue to uphold Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and fully implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must continue to adapt the basic tenets of Marxism to China's specific realities and its fine traditional culture. We will use Marxism to observe, understand, and steer the trends of our times, and continue to develop the Marxism of contemporary China and in the 21st century.

We must uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must follow our own path-this is the bedrock that underpins all the theories and practices of our Party. More than that, it is the historical conclusion our Party has drawn from its struggles over the past century. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a fundamental achievement of the Party and the people, forged through innumerable hardships and great sacrifices, and it is the right path for us to achieve national rejuvenation. As we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics and driven coordinated progress in material, political, cultural-ethical, social, and ecological terms, we have pioneered a new and uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and created a new model for human advancement.

On the journey ahead, we must adhere to the Party's basic theory, line, and policy, and implement the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy. We must deepen reform and opening up across the board, ground our work in this new stage of development, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy, and foster a new pattern of development. We must promote high-quality development and build up our country's strength in science and technology. We must ensure it is our people who run the country, continue to govern based on the rule of law, and uphold the core socialist values. We must ensure and enhance public wellbeing in the course of development, promote harmony between humanity and nature, and take well-coordinated steps toward making our people prosperous, our nation strong, and our country beautiful.

The Chinese nation has fostered a splendid civilization over more than 5,000 years of history. The Party has also acquired a wealth of experience through its endeavors over the past 100 years and during more than 70 years of governance. At the same time, we are also eager to learn what lessons we can from the achievements of other cultures, and welcome helpful suggestions and constructive criticism. We will not, however, accept sanctimonious preaching from those who feel they have the right to lecture us. The Party and the Chinese people will keep moving confidently forward in broad strides along the path that we have chosen for ourselves, and we will make sure the destiny of China's development and progress remains firmly in our own hands.

We must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces. A strong country must have a strong military, as only then can it guarantee the security of the nation. At the point that it was engaged in violent struggle, the Party came to recognize the irrefutable truth that it must command the gun and build a people's military of its own. The people's military has made indelible achievements on behalf of the Party and the people. It is a strong pillar for safeguarding our socialist country and preserving national dignity, and a powerful force for protecting peace in our region and beyond.

On the journey ahead, we must fully implement the Party's thinking on strengthening the military in the new era as well as our military strategy for the new era, maintain the Party's absolute leadership over the people's armed forces, and follow a Chinese path to military development. We will take comprehensive measures to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, to strengthen them through reform and technology and the training of competent personnel, and to run them in accordance with the law. We will elevate our people's armed forces to world-class standards so that we are equipped with greater capacity and more reliable means for safeguarding our national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

We must continue working to promote the building of a human community with a shared future. Peace, concord, and harmony are ideas the Chinese nation has pursued and carried forward for more than 5,000 years. The Chinese nation does not carry aggressive or hegemonic traits in its genes. The Party cares about the future of humanity, and wishes to move forward in tandem with all progressive forces around the world. China has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and preserve international order.

On the journey ahead, we will remain committed to promoting peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, to an independent foreign policy of peace, and to the path of peaceful development. We will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts, and use China's new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities. The Party will continue to work with all peace-loving countries and peoples to promote the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. We will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation, to open up rather than closing our doors, and to focus on mutual benefits instead of zero-sum games. We will oppose hegemony and power politics, and strive to keep the wheels of history rolling toward bright horizons.

We Chinese are a people who uphold justice and are not intimidated by threats of force. As a nation, we have a strong sense of pride and confidence. We have never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the people of any other country, and we never will. By the same token, we will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us. Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.

We must carry out a great struggle with many contemporary features. Having the courage to fight and the fortitude to win is what has made our Party invincible. Realizing our great dream will require hard work and persistence. Today, we are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever before of making the goal of national rejuvenation a reality. But we must be prepared to work harder than ever to get there.

On the journey ahead, we must demonstrate stronger vigilance and always be prepared for potential danger, even in times of calm. We must adopt a holistic approach to national security that balances development and security imperatives, and implement the national rejuvenation strategy within a wider context of the once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world. We need to acquire a full understanding of the new features and requirements arising from the change to the principal contradiction in Chinese society and the new issues and challenges stemming from a complicated international environment. We must be both brave and adept in carrying out our struggle, forging new paths and building new bridges wherever necessary to take us past all risks and challenges.

We must strengthen the great unity of the Chinese people. In the course of our struggles over the past century, the Party has always placed the united front in a position of importance. We have constantly consolidated and developed the broadest possible united front, united all the forces that can be united, mobilized all positive factors that can be mobilized, and pooled as much strength as possible for collective endeavors. The patriotic united front is an important means for the Party to unite all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, both at home and abroad, behind the goal of national rejuvenation.

On the journey ahead, we must ensure great unity and solidarity and balance commonality and diversity. We should strengthen theoretical and political guidance, build broad consensus, bring together the brightest minds, and expand common ground and the convergence of interests, so that all Chinese people, both at home and overseas, can focus their ingenuity and energy on the same goal and come together as a mighty force for realizing national rejuvenation.

We must continue to advance the great new project of Party building. A hallmark that distinguishes the Communist Party of China from other political parties is its courage in undertaking self-reform. An important reason why the Party remains so vital and vibrant despite having undergone so many trials and tribulations is that it practices effective self-supervision and full and rigorous self-governance. It has thus been able to respond appropriately to the risks and tests of different historical periods, to ensure that it always remains at the forefront of the times even as profound changes sweep the global landscape, and to stand firm as the backbone of the nation throughout the process of meeting various risks and challenges at home and abroad.

On the journey ahead, we must keep firmly in mind the old adage that it takes a good blacksmith to make good steel. We must demonstrate greater political awareness of the fact that full and rigorous self-governance is a never-ending journey. With strengthening the Party politically as our overarching principle, we must continue advancing the great new project of Party building in the new era. We must tighten the Party's organizational system, work hard to train high-caliber officials who have both moral integrity and professional competence, remain committed to improving Party conduct, upholding integrity, and combating corruption, and root out any elements that would harm the Party's advanced nature and purity and any viruses that would erode its health. We must ensure that the Party preserves its essence, color, and character, and see that it always serves as the strong leadership core in the course of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Comrades and friends,

We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, and implement the legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security. While protecting China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, we will ensure social stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain lasting prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions.

Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China's complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China. It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward "Taiwan independence," and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Comrades and friends,

The future belongs to the young people, and our hopes also rest with them. A century ago, a group of young progressives held aloft the torch of Marxism and searched assiduously in those dark years for ways to rejuvenate the Chinese nation. Since then, under the banner of the Communist Party of China, generation after generation of young Chinese have devoted their youth to the cause of the Party and the people, and remained in the vanguard of the drive to rejuvenate the nation.

In the new era, our young people should make it their mission to contribute to national rejuvenation and aspire to become more proud, confident, and assured in their identity as Chinese people so that they can live up to the promise of their youth and the expectations of our times, our Party, and our people.

Comrades and friends,

A century ago, at the time of its founding, the Communist Party of China had just over 50 members. Today, with more than 95 million members in a country of more than 1.4 billion people, it is the largest governing party in the world and enjoys tremendous international influence.

A century ago, China was in decline and withering away in the eyes of the world. Today, the image it presents to the world is one of a thriving nation that is advancing with unstoppable momentum toward rejuvenation.

Over the past century, the Communist Party of China has secured extraordinary historical achievements on behalf of the people. Today, it is rallying and leading the Chinese people on a new journey toward realizing the second centenary goal.

To all Party members,

The Central Committee calls on every one of you to stay true to our Party's founding mission and stand firm in your ideals and convictions. Acting on the purpose of the Party, you should always maintain close ties with the people, empathize and work with them, stand with them through good times and bad, and continue working tirelessly to realize their aspirations for a better life and to bring still greater glory to the Party and the people.

Comrades and friends,

Today, a hundred years on from its founding, the Communist Party of China is still in its prime, and remains as determined as ever to achieve lasting greatness for the Chinese nation. Looking back on the path we have travelled and forward to the journey that lies ahead, it is certain that with the firm leadership of the Party and the great unity of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, we will achieve the goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects and fulfill the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Long live our great, glorious, and correct Party!

Long live our great, glorious, and heroic people!"

 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Full-text-of-Xi-Jinping-s-speech-on-the-CCP-s-100th-anniversary

[BansheeOne]

Quote

China could soon have latest nuclear weapons, says US diplomat

By John Culatto | 16h ago

Beijing might soon obtain "exotic nukes" such as underwater drones and nuclear powered missiles, according to the US ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Robert Wood.

China is "looking at" developing advanced nuclear weapons system that, according to a US diplomat specialized in disarmament, could disrupt "global strategic stability."

Ambassador Robert Wood, US envoy to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva said "exotic nukes" like underwater drones and missiles that run on nuclear power could soon be part ofthe Chinese arsenal.

Wood also said satellite images showing China building 119 new silos in the north west of the country similar to those which house its current nuclear weapons were "of great concern."

What sort of new weapons is China looking at?

China is looking to raise the stakes by upgrading its nuclear arsenal with the latest technology so their weapons could hit US targets.

The Pentagon estimated last year that China already has more than 200 nuclear warheads and is looking to double that number over the last decade.

"This is not where China was 10 years ago," Wood said, adding that the Far Eastern economic superpower was now "pursuing weapons similar to some of the nuclear-powered delivery systems that the Russians have been pursuing."

Russia is looking at new ways to counter US ballistic weapons defense systems and Wood suspects China is following suit.

What solution does Wood suggest?

The problem, Wood argued, is that while Russia and the US, that have over 11,000 nuclear warheads between them, have "frameworks for addressing these issues", this point of contact does not exist with China.

"Until China sits down with the United States bilaterally, the risk of a devastating arms race will continue to increase and that benefits no-one," said Wood.

Although he said China claimed it was "a responsible nuclear power" with only defensive capability, "when we see a lot of what China has been doing, it runs counter to what it has been saying."

"It is in everyone's interest that nuclear powers talk to one another directly about reducing nuclear dangers and avoiding miscalculation," Wood said.

https://m.dw.com/en/china-could-soon-have-latest-nuclear-weapons-says-us-diplomat/a-58210816

[Josh]

Interestingly the PRC seems to be going for a 'dense pack' strategy with its ICBM silos. Hopefully this move will kill any objections to US ICBM development, not that I thought there was ever any real chance that the program didn't go through.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

China Is Building A Second Nuclear Missile Silo Field

By Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen • July 26, 2021

Satellite images reveal that China is building a second nuclear missile silo field. The discovery follows the report earlier this month that China appears to be constructing 120 missile silos near Yumen in Gansu province. The second missile silo field is located 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of the Yumen field near the prefecture-level city of Hami in Eastern Xinjiang.

The Hami missile silo field is in a much earlier stage of development than the Yumen site. Construction began at the start of March 2021 in the southeastern corner of the complex and continues at a rapid pace. Since then, dome shelters have been erected over at least 14 silos and soil cleared in preparation for construction of another 19 silos. The grid-like outline of the entire complex indicates that it may eventually include approximately 110 silos.

The Hami site was first spotted by Matt Korda, Research Associate for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, using commercial satellite imagery. Higher resolution images of the site were subsequently provided by Planet.

The silos at Hami are positioned in an almost perfect grid pattern, roughly three kilometers apart, with adjacent support facilities. Construction and organization of the Hami silos are very similar to the 120 silos at the Yumen site, and are also very similar to the approximately one-dozen silos constructed at the Jilantai training area in Inner Mongolia. These shelters are typically removed only after more sensitive construction underneath is completed. Just like the Yumen site, the Hami site spans an area of approximately 800 square kilometers.

Impact on the Chinese nuclear arsenal

The silo construction at Yumen and Hami constitutes the most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever. China has for decades operated about 20 silos for liquid-fuel DF-5 ICBMs. With 120 silos under construction at Yumen, another 110 silos at Hami, a dozen silos at Jilantai, and possibly more silos being added in existing DF-5 deployment areas, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) appears to have approximately 250 silos under construction – more than ten times the number of ICBM silos in operation today.

The number of new Chinese silos under construction exceeds the number of silo-based ICBMs operated by Russia, and constitutes more than half of the size of the entire US ICBM force. The Chinese missile silo program constitutes the most extensive silo construction since the US and Soviet missile silo construction during the Cold War.

The 250 new silos under construction are in addition to the force of approximately 100 road-mobile ICBM launchers that PLARF deploys at more than a dozen bases. It is unclear how China will operate the new silos, whether it will load all of them with missiles or if a portion will be used as empty decoys. If they are all loaded with single-warhead missiles, then the number of warheads on Chinese ICBMs could potentially increase from about 185 warheads today to as many as 415 warheads. If the new silos are loaded with the new MIRVed DF-41 ICBMs, then Chinese ICBMs could potentially carry more than 875 warheads (assuming 3 warheads per missile) when the Yumen and Hami missile silo fields are completed.

It should be emphasized that it is unknown how China will operate the new silos and how many warheads each missile will carry. Regardless, the silo construction represents a significant increase of the Chinese arsenal, which the Federation of American Scientists currently estimates includes approximately 350 nuclear warheads. The Pentagon stated last year that China had “an operational nuclear warhead stockpile in low-200s,” and STRATCOM commander Adm. Charles Richard said early this year that “China’s nuclear weapons stockpile is expected to double (if not triple or quadruple) over the next decade.” The new silos could allow China to accomplish this goal, if it is indeed the goal.

Although significant, even such an expansion would still not give China near-parity with the nuclear stockpiles of Russia and the United States, each of whom operate nuclear warhead stockpiles close to 4,000 warheads.

[...] 

https://fas.org/blogs/security/2021/07/china-is-building-a-second-nuclear-missile-silo-field/

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 24.10.2021

Author John Culatto

Taiwan speaks with US on taking 'meaningful' UN role

Taiwan wants a greater role in United Nations bodies, including the World Health Organization. But China claims it has the sole right to represent the island internationally.

Taiwan has held high-level talks with the US on how it can "meaningfully" participate at the United Nations since China took over its seat in 1971.

The virtual meetings announced late Saturday between the US State Department and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs came hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping was due to give a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of China's admission to the UN.

What does Taiwan want?

Taiwan wants its own voice in the World Health Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, separately to the People's Republic of China, the US State Department said.

"The discussion focused on supporting Taiwan's ability to participate meaningfully at the UN and contribute its valuable expertise to address global challenges," said the US State Department.

The US statement said Taiwan could contribute on public health, the environment, climate change, development assistance, technical standards and economic cooperation.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry tweeted its thanks to the US for its "common sense" in supporting the talks.

It added that "UN Resolution 2758 isn't a blank check for China to run roughshod over Taiwan and its 23.5 million people."

The 1971 UN resolution returned the seat to China previously held by Taiwan.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/taiwan-speaks-with-us-on-taking-meaningful-un-role/a-59608268

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 12.11.2021

Author William Yang (Taipei)

China: How has a new 'historical resolution' cemented Xi Jinping's power?

Experts say an unusual resolution passed by the Communist Party will strengthen the president's power and rewrite party history. The move, they say, offers Xi a status similar to that of Mao Zedong.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Thursday approved a resolution that is set to consolidate President Xi Jinping's authority and cement his status as one of the most important leaders in Chinese history .

The resolution can also pave the way to a likely third presidential term next year.

Experts believe that the resolution indicates a turning point for the CCP, giving Xi greater control over the narrative of its history.

It also puts Xi on a pedestal similar to CCP heroes like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the only other two leaders who have convened a resolution on the party's history.  

On Friday, the CCP held a press conference to further elaborate on the details of the resolution, following four days of closed-door talks.

'The helmsman' of rejuvenation

Party officials described Xi as "the helmsman" of Chinese rejuvenation and emphasized that the third resolution puts more emphasis on achievements and historical experiences.

The press conference, however, didn't mention Xi's predecessors, and instead focused on what it deemed significant achievements of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" under his leadership.

"In the face of a serious situation and complex tasks, the Party Central Committee, with Xi Jinping at its core, has made impressive achievements and established Xi Jinping as the core of the Party Central Committee and of the entire party," said Wang Xiaohuei, deputy director of the CCP's propaganda department.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/china-how-has-a-new-historical-resolution-cemented-xi-jinpings-power/a-59804076

[futon]

Progress of social credit system.

Quote

China has expanded its social credit system to cover 1.1 billion individuals and over 60 million enterprises and organizations as of end 2020, including 36 million small and micro enterprises and 11 million individual businesses, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

In May 2020, the second-generation credit information system was officially put into operation, and has since improved the data collection, service, system operation performance and security management level. Users can check their credit ratings through website query and bank apps.

Since 2020, the credit reference center of the PBOC has actively lowered its credit inquiry fee to reduce the financing cost of enterprise and audit costs of financial institutions.

From March 1 to December 31, 2020 a total of 950 million yuan ($146 million) worth of inquiry fees have been reduced, benefiting 3,488 financial institutes.

China plans to build the world's largest social credit system by 2020 to record the credit of all individuals, enterprises and government agencies in four areas - administrative affairs, commercial activities, social behavior, and the judicial system, according to an outline issued by the State Council in 2014.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1213955.shtml

[DB]

<Insert Chino-inciting snide comment here>.

[Burncycle360]

Well this bodes well....

[Simon Tan]

Chinesium propganda. At the same time the Taiwanese are told that their back has been got.

[DB]

Was that a typo for "shot" there, Simon?

[Josh]

Taiwan wants the status quo and the US supports that. China is the one that wants to change the deal. Independence isn't a remotely popular choice in Taiwan in the last poll of the issue I saw, though joining China is significantly less popular than that.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Josh

[futon]

Independence is not popular for fear of the lashback from the PRC. If live and let live was taken, Taiwan would go independent and the matter would be done like over a single lunch meal.

[DB]

More progress is China?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-59325399

When you're just not quite famous enough to overcome influence, it seems.

[Tim the Tank Nut]

LeBron will be along any moment to explain why the tennis player is racist.

He's one of China's mouthpieces these days

[sunday]

This look like a good recap of the current state of the PRC, but I would like to see what our Chinese members have to say in the matter. Quite long, however.

https://danwang.co/2021-letter/

This is an intriguing commentary on that letter, which highlights this quote:

Quote

An important factor in China’s reform program includes not only a willingness to reshape the strategic landscape—like promoting manufacturing over the internet—but also a discernment of which foreign trends to resist. These include excessive globalization and financialization. Beijing diagnosed the problems with financialization earlier than the US, where the problem is now endemic. The leadership is targeting a high level of manufacturing output, rejecting the notion of comparative advantage. That static model constructed by economists with the aim of seducing undergrads has leaked out of the lecture hall and morphed into a political justification for only watching as American communities of engineering practice dissolved. And Beijing today looks prescient for having kept out the US social media companies that continuously infuriate their home government.

 

[rmgill]

On 12/2/2020 at 12:57 AM, JasonJ said:

Taiwan is more of having lingering China historical legacy rather than being a part of the mandate. Taiwan was not part of the long history of heavenly mandates for Chinese dynasties. Shouldn't be in this mandate thread.

 

Izzint that more of a question of history of Chinese Government and history of the ethnicity in general? Mandate of Heaven was a thing attached to MANY dynasties over thousands of years no? Given the Kuomintang derived from a government in Mainlaind China in the 40s...I think it fits just fine.