China held a ceremony celebrating the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Tian'anmen Square today on July 1. GDToday invited Fernando Munoz Berna, a language consultant and content creator from Colombia, to share his take on the celebration and the progress he witnessed over the past 20 years during his stay in China.
Photo provided to Newsgd.com
China will not tolerate being bullied
GDToday: What did you think of Xi Jinping’s speech at the ceremony marking the CPC centenary? Which sentences or which parts of the content impressed you the most?
Fernando: A few things stood out as important to keep in mind.
Firstly, the CPC sees this celebration as a stepping-stone, while it is good to look back and celebrate past achievements, it is equally important to understand the path ahead.
Secondly, and from the speech one can see that path ahead leads to stronger world influence with the Belt and Road initiative. CPC has eliminated abject poverty from its borders and has modernized large parts of its territory and they are ready to help other countries do the same.
In the third place, Xi Jinping was clear to mention there is no interest in global hegemony, no interest in interfering in other countries affairs - only win-win cooperation.
Last but not least, he was also clear China would not tolerate being bullied or accept threats. To me, the pledge to a peaceful reunification is extremely important for western China watchers.
Strategic development and strategic leadership - Secrets of China's fast development
GDToday: What's your take on the achievement that Chinese people gained under the leadership of CPC over the past 100 years?
Fernando: For me, the most remarkable thing about these 100 years has been how strategic the CPC is in their development. The leaders all encapsulate different stages of the overall strategy to make China what it is today in the world stage. Back in 2000, when I arrived in Guangdong, all the province had to offer was cheap manual labor and tax exemptions to attract foreign investment. That was it. Fast-forward to today, and now Guangdong, and by extent China, offers the highest tech and innovation the world has ever seen.
The one other thing that I find remarkable is its strategic leadership: China has shown to build win-win relationships that leave tangible results in partnering countries. For me, strategic development and strategic leadership around the world are the things to learn from the 100 years of the CPC.
The CPC has shown its values: health before wealth
GDToday: What impressed you the most during the recent celebration of the centenary of the CPC (things happened in your daily life or celebration performance)
Fernando: With the Covid-19 pandemic, the CPC has shown its values: health before wealth. That is the most remarkable thing for me through these 18 months. A government that has the leadership to lock down an entire 1.4 billion country. That’s leadership.
The second thing that I have experienced is the avalanche of anti-China rhetoric on Western (social) media. It’s borderline insane. Western media reporting on China can be categorized into one giant folder labeled “China Bad.” Absolutely everything gets blamed on China. From Handcok getting caught cheating to the tragic collapse of a building in Florida, to the heat dome that America is experiencing. Everything is blamed on China in the most creative ways. And I do believe it is, in a way, an escalation before the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Tomorrow will be another day but I have a feeling I will be wrong about this. Something tells me there will be more nonsensical China bad news coming from Western media.
Reporter | Keane, Sherry (intern)
Editor | Zhao Yang, Wing
