Local and foreign reporters waiting in line to cover the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on October 16 [사진=홍콩 싱타오데일리]
The opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CCP) was held on the 16th, announcing the start of the ‘third term in power under Xi Jinping (習近平). The opening ceremony of the 20th Party Congress, which started at 10 am (local time) on the same day and lasted for regarding 1 hour and 40 minutes, was broadcast live through China Central Television (CC) TV.
The Chinese stopped what they were doing and listened to President Xi’s work report through street billboards, TV, and Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter). On that day, most of the top real-time search terms on Weibo and Baidu were dominated by keywords related to the 20th Party Congress, and WeChat Friends Moments were all colored in red.
‘Attention’, the channel of the party representatives opened following the 19th party congress
The ‘Party Representative Passage’ opened ahead of the opening of the Party Congress drew attention. The Party Representative Channel was first opened at the 19th Party Congress on October 16, 2017, and is provided for reporters who want to be interviewed. Huang Kunming (黄坤明), then director of the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party, explained that the party representative channel was opened to show that the CCP party congress is more open and transparent.
At the first ‘Party Representative Passage’, which was held for regarding an hour from 7:30 am on the same day, 15 party congress representatives elected by sectors such as space and agriculture participated. Chinese short track speed skater Wu Dajing, People’s Liberation Army astronaut Wang Yaping famous for being the ‘first Chinese female astronaut’, Zhou Yuyong (朱有勇), a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Xue Chuntao (謝春濤), the Central Party Bridge of the Communist Party of China, etc. Minority groups were also present, including Juryati Smai, deputy secretary and vice president of the Kashgar University Party Committee, and Ting Batterr Innerongu Abga pastoralists.
On this day, astronaut Wang Yaping said, “China’s space industry has reached a new level in 10 years since the first flight in 2013. I’m looking forward to exploring.” “The Communist Party of China and all nationalities have started a new journey to build a modernized socialist country,” said Xue Chuntao, a member of the Party Church. It will lead to a more stable Chinese-style modernization.”
(From left) Zhou Yuyong (朱有勇), a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Wang Yaping (王亞平) astronaut of the People’s Liberation Army, and Wu Dajing (武大靖) Chinese short track speed skater[사진=인민망]
China’s 20th Party Congress held under zero-corona control
This time, the party congress was held under more control than the 19th party congress on October 16, 2017, five years ago due to the re-spread of Corona 19. In front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the opening ceremony was held that day, domestic and foreign reporters lined up from early in the morning to cover large-scale political events in China. Hong Kong’s Xingtao Daily reported today that they had to go through stricter security than the previous party congress.
This time, China’s strong zero-corona policy has cut foreign reporters by nearly half. According to official statistics, the number of reporters registered for the party congress, which is held once every five years, is 2,500. This is far below the scale of the 19th Party Congress five years ago, when Xi Jinping announced the inauguration of the second term. At that time, there were regarding 2,000 foreign correspondents dispatched from 134 countries, and a total of 3,068 people registered for coverage.
Xingtao Daily reported to the party convention that, with the exception of China Central Television (CCTV), other reporters were not allowed to bring in broadcasting equipment as well as selfie sticks.
Border levels across China have also reached their peak. In Beijing, where the party congress is held, strict security, such as deploying armed police, has been put in place, and extensive cyber censorship has been conducted under the pretext of blocking rumors and social chaos. Virtual private networks (VPNs) used by Chinese people to avoid internet crackdowns have also been blocked.
- reporter information
- Choi Ye-ji
- [email protected]
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