On Saturday, October 16th, Xi Jinping gave a menacing, nearly 2-hour speech outlining Chinese ambitions and recent conquests. The Chinese Dictator issued a foreboding warning to Taiwan, gloated over Hong Kong, and declared his intent to eliminate COVID-19.
Taiwan
National Public Radio noted that China’s largest applause came as he issued an implied threat to Taiwan. “The wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized.”
Taiwan is the last remaining remnant of China following Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward.” The communist takeover killed more than 45 million people according to the Washington Post in 2016. Mao erased Chinese traditions dating back more than 3 and a half thousand years and destroyed a flourishing empire. The remaining, legitimate government of China fled to what is now the island nation of Taiwan.
He also vowed never to renounce use of force to “reunify” Taiwan. When Xi touts “reunification,” he truly means annihilation of the last remnant of the old world.
Hong Kong
By nearly every metric, the island nation of Hong Kong was the world’s freest economy in the world. The densely packed metropolis attracted business from around the world. After the 1997 transfer of power to the Chinese Communist Party, the people of Hong Kong aspired to govern themselves.
In 2019 and 2020, that hope quickly dwindled when the Chinese Communist Party began to crack down on the city’s population. Protesters met gunfire and violence from Chinese Authorities.
Still, freedom fighters resisted. Protestors used bows and arrows to fight back when guns were no longer an option. Even in prison, Hong Kong’s people maintained hope and a spirit of democratic freedom. In the end, that hope quickly diminished.
In Xi’s speech on Saturday, he claimed that his control over Hong Kong is now complete. The dictator claims that he has successfully defeated democracy in Hong Kong.
COVID-19
In February of 2020, China was the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. The country completely locked down it’s population in a true militaristic fashion. The response didn’t end there. Even in 2022, Xi completely locked down the city of Shanghai and created a true dystopian nightmare. The dictator only lifted the lockdowns in June of this year. According to Bloomberg, those lockdowns still impact the nation’s struggling economy. He even sent drones to spy on citizens and tell them to “curb your soul’s desire for freedom.”
Xi declared in his speech on Saturday that he has no intention to back down from those objectives.
“In launching an all-out people’s war to stop the spread of the virus, we have protected the people’s health and safety to the greatest extent possible and made tremendously encouraging achievements in both epidemic response and economic and social development.”
Conclusion
Overall, Xi Jinping’s speech is a foreboding reminder that we are on the brink of a global conflict with China. If he invades Taiwan, that will undoubtedly shock the world’s balance of powers. However, while China is the world’s second largest economy according to Investopedia, they are suffering enormously. China’s belt and road initiative has all but failed and the nation still relies on the United States and it’s important to support the nation’s economic backbone. War is not in their best interest. Still, Xi has made it clear that he intends to “reunify” China. Does the United States currently have the leadership to do what is necessary if China attacks Taiwan? Only time will tell.
