The 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will begin tomorrow, i.e., October 16, 2022, and there is not even an iota of doubt that Chinese President Mr Xi Jinping will go on to win another term as China’s top leader. The graph of the centralization of power has only been shooting up over the years in China, and Xi has been appropriately described as the “Chairman of Everything.”
It is evident that the consistent and overriding objective of the CCP has always been the regime’s survival and consolidation of power—be it domestically or internationally. To drive hard towards this goal, China has taken a number of questionable actions, including committing serious human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang (as per the latest UN report); violating international treaties with regard to Hong Kong (by introducing the archaic National Security Law); claiming Tibet as part of China and exploiting its citizens; threatening Taiwan with an impending invasion (even going so far as to enforcing a naval blockade over the free nation in the name of military security).
Even though Xi’s almost certain third term will lead to a level of centralization not seen since Mao’s time, Xi Jinping still has to deal with a lot of problems at home. These include China’s slowing economy, declining working-age population, strict lockdowns, the effects of an unscientific Zero COVID policy, a failing real estate market, environmental problems, and conflicts within the CCP party. The most paramount of these is political reform and the future of the CCP—as Xi becomes stronger than ever, there is no certain future leader named yet.
Amongst such uncertainties, one thing that certainly catches global attention is how China is disrupting international law and order with its dynamic geopolitical presence. From being an avid supporter of Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine to issuing threats of a forced “reunification” with Taiwan, from starting a trade and tech war with the US, to being a pioneer of unethical surveillance globally, from preventing sanctions on Pakistani terrorists at the UNSC, to making biological weapons, China’s name appears in controversies for all wrong reasons.
Thus, it is clear that the CCP has been notoriously stubborn in aligning any of its actions with the intention of displaying and eventually solidifying its hegemonic ambitions. This should function as a wakeup call for the democratic nations around the globe to unitedly call out the CCP’s authoritarianism and work out a resolution to safeguard human rights, international law and order and protect the lives of those being suppressed under Xi Jinping’s devilish dictatorship, which will only get stronger in the future.
