Xi Jinping warns China will not renounce use of force to unify Taiwan; vows to strengthen military
Beijing, Oct 16: As he is all set to be in power for a record 3rd five-year term and perhaps for life, President Xi Jinping on Sunday warned that China will "not renounce the use of force" to unify Taiwan with the mainland.
He also vowed to advance the modernisation of the country's military to "world-class standards" to protect national sovereignty, security and developmental interests.
Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state but China views the self-ruled island as a breakaway province that must be reunified. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve national unification.
"We will not renounce the use of force and will take all necessary measures to stop all separatist movements" in Taiwan, Xi said on the opening day of the week-long key once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), which is widely expected to confer an unprecedented 3rd five-year term on him.
Except for Xi, all the top leaders of the party, including the number two leader Premier Li Keqiang, would be replaced or reshuffled during the Congress as the administration headed by 69-year-old Xi is completing a 10-year tenure.
However, the Congress is expected to endorse Xi's continuation as he has already been declared a "core leader" of the party on par with its founder Mao Zedong. Xi's continuation in power will formally end the over three decade practice of its top leaders retiring after completing two-five-year tenures.
In a show of unity, almost all retired former leaders of the party -- including Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao and Song Ping, a 105-year-old party veteran who groomed Xi's early career, took part in the opening ceremony held at the ornate Great Hall of the People here. However, conspicuously missing was 96-year-old former president Jiang Zemin, who was party leader until 2002.
All the leaders were seated along with Xi and Premier Li in the front row in the ornate Great Hall of People and seen cheering key aspects of his speech spanning one hour 45 minutes.
Xi's pledge to complete the reunification of China, which means the merger of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, received a prolonged round of applause from over 2,300 elected delegates attending the Congress.
Xi, also the General Secretary of the CPC, said the party must stand firm on its strategy to resolve the Taiwan issue and be determined to reunify the nation.
"Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese," he said.
China has conducted intense military drills and fired missiles over the self-governing island following the high-profile visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August, the highest American official visit to Taiwan, sparking concerns that Beijing may be preparing the ground for invasion.
"We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. This is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking 'Taiwan independence' and their separatist activities; it is by no means targeted at our Taiwan compatriots," Xi said.
The president said 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 realised, and it can, without doubt, be realised! We have always shown respect and care for our Taiwan compatriots and worked to deliver benefits to them. We will continue to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Strait.
"We will encourage people on both sides of the Strait to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds," he said.
He said that during the past 10 years China has resolutely safeguarded sovereignty.
"We have not yielded any ground on matters of principle and we have resolutely safeguarded China's sovereignty, security and development interests. National security has been strengthened on all fronts," he said.
But at the same time he said China strives for friendly ties and partnership with neighbouring countries. "China strives to enhance friendly ties, mutual trust and converging interests with neighbouring countries," Xi said.
Xi also stressed on further modernising national defence and military.
Achieving the goals for the centenary of the People's Liberation Army in 2027 and more quickly elevating the people's armed forces to world-class standards are strategic tasks for building a modern socialist country in all respects, he said.
The CPC will intensify troop training and enhance combat preparedness across the board, strengthen all-around military governance, and consolidate and enhance integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities, Xi said.
He also said that the CPC will strengthen its control of the military to obey its directives.
"We will strengthen party building across the board in the people's armed forces to ensure that they always obey the party's command," he said.
The party will improve the institutions and mechanisms for implementing the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
CMC is the overall high command of China's two million-strong military. Xi is also the chairman of the CMC, besides being the General Secretary of the party and President, making him the most powerful leader of the country in modern China.
During his ten-year tenure, Xi has carried out extensive reforms re-orienting the military, retrenching three lakh troops from the army and strengthening navy and air force as China expanded its influence globally with initiatives like the multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Xi said the CPC will strengthen party organisations in the people's armed forces, carry out regular activities and put in place institutions to improve the military's political work, and make unremitting efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption in the military.
In his address, Xi mostly focused on domestic issues and the development of the party under his leadership. He also said China must modernise its national security system and safeguard social stability.
"National security is the foundation of national rejuvenation, and social stability is a prerequisite of national strength. We must unswervingly implement the comprehensive national security concept, maintain national security throughout all aspects of the work of the party and the state to ensure national security and social stability," he said.
Xi said China will have to come up with capacity and institutes to ensure food, energy, key industrial and supply chains, and the lawful rights of Chinese citizens overseas.
He also said China works to see cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) exert greater influence and emerging markets and developing countries are better represented and have a greater say in global affairs.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
