Chinese President Xi Jinping issued some fierce words during a 30-minute speech to his parliament this week following his unanimous re-election and a new amendment allowing him to remain China’s undisputed leader for life.
Jinping has quickly emerged as China’s most powerful leader and will likely remain in power the rest of his life. His aggressive speech comes at a time where the nation has focused heavily on increasing its military budget, testing new military technology, and expanding its presence worldwide.
The Indian Express reported that Jinping proclaimed China will not cede a “single inch of land” and is prepared to wage a “bloody battle” in order to take its due place in the world.
“Since modern times, rejuvenation of the great Chinese nation has become the biggest dream of our nation,” he said. “The Chinese people and the Chinese nation have a shared conviction, which is not a single inch of our land will be and can be ceded from China. ”
While Jinping made no direct mention of any territorial issues, China continues to be involved in a number of disputes.
Along with a border dispute with India, China claims rights over disputed islands in the East China Sea, which are currently under control of Japan. China also asserts control in areas of the South China Sea. Many nations including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have made claims for those areas.
“We have strong capabilities of taking our due place in the world. We have fought for that big dream for about 170 years. Today more than ever the Chinese people are close to that dream, ever more confident and capable of realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Jinping said.
“I am convinced once the 1.3 billion Chinese people carrying on such big dreams, we will certainly translate into a reality,” he went on, amid thunderous applause.
“We should safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and achieve full unification of the motherland. This is the aspiration of all Chinese people. This is also in line with fundamental[s] of the Chinese nation,” Jinping said, an apparent reference to the dispute with Taiwan.
In his speech, Jinping also delivered a stern message to the separatists.
“Faced with this important question of our nation and history, any action that separates the country is doomed to fail. These separatist actions will be met with the condemnation of the people and punishment of the history,” Jinping said.
“Chinese people have strong determination, full confidence and every capability to triumph over all the separatist actions,” he added.
