China’s propaganda around the “War to Resist America and Aid Korea”, the term China uses for the Korean War, is reaching its peak. Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech at an event two days before the 70th anniversary of China entering the Korean War, which is the first speech given at the event by a Chinese leader in 20 years. It is believed that the Chinese leadership will use it as an opportunity to instill patriotism in the Chinese public amidst high tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Chinese mainstream media including the People’s Daily, an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, reported Thursday that President Xi will deliver an important speech at an event that will be held on Friday at the Great Hall of the People to venerate China’s involvement in the war. The last time a Chinese leader gave a speech at the event was in 2000 by Jiang Zemin. President Xi is expected to emphasize the importance of coming together as one country with the United States in mind just like they did during the Korean War.
The fact that Xi will deliver a speech epitomizes the escalating tensions between the United States and China. The last speech by Zemin was made when tensions were high after a U.S. bomber mistakenly hit the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in May 1999, fatally wounding three journalists and injuring twenty staff members.
The situation is not much different today. Washington has placed restrictions on Chinese companies including Huawei and TikTok while becoming more favorable to Taiwan and Tibet, which goes against China’s “One China” policy.
Ki-Yong Kim kky@donga.com