The Hill
BY SETH CROPSEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 07/07/21 10:30 AM EDT
President Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) centenary speechconveyed his regime’s resolve in many ways.
Those who attempt to drive a wedge between the party and the Chinese nation, he stated, will encounter “a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.” He pledged to reinforce central control over the party, warning those who oppose its mission that they will be purged “like viruses.” He praised the party’s “courage to fight and fortitude to win,” making the CCP “invincible.” He committed to expanding and modernizing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to defend Chinese “sovereignty, security, and development interests.” He implied that Taiwan is a part of Chinese sovereign territory — and any efforts toward “Taiwan independence,” therefore, will be met with force.