Viewpoint from the News: Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth National Day Speech Leaves the CCP Embarrassed

Hello everyone, welcome to “News Perspectives”. I am Li Xin.

Today’s highlights: Did Peng Liyuan once hold a position? The mysterious personnel agency of the Chinese Communist Party’s military exposed! Dengue fever outbreak in Guangdong, with reported fatalities! Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Day speech, provoking reactions from the CCP, but mainland Chinese people call for “endurance of the bitter Communist Party” and a “return to the Republic of China”!

October 10th is the 113th National Day of the Republic of China. It is worth noting that at 113 years old, the Republic of China is 75 years older than the People’s Republic of China at 38 years old.

President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China attended the National Day celebrations on the 10th, first meeting with foreign guests at the Presidential Office, and then delivering a speech at the square in front of the office.

In his speech, he recounted the difficult journey the Republic of China has gone through to reach this day, from the ideals of its founders to “build a nation of freedom, equality, and benevolence,” through wars and democratic movements, to finally realizing the people’s desire to govern themselves after generations of sacrifice and struggle for democracy.

This passage reminds me of Mao Zedong shouting from the Tiananmen Gate tower, “The Chinese people have stood up.” However, since then, the Chinese people on the mainland have been reduced to kneeling slaves and mere vegetables, with most having their spines broken.

Today, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China proclaimed: “The people’s wish to govern themselves has finally been realized after more than a hundred years.” How could this statement not embarrass and discomfit the CCP?

Tsai Ing-wen mentioned that the Republic of China has taken root in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, not under the authority of the People’s Republic of China; democracy and freedom have flourished on this land, with the People’s Republic of China having no authority to represent Taiwan; and the 23 million people in Taiwan must reach out to the world and face the future. He emphasized that his mission as president is to safeguard the country’s survival and development, unite the 23 million people of Taiwan, and uphold the sovereignty of the country against infringement and annexation.

However, this discourse has sparked another uproar from China, with the CCP even directing its criticism towards the foreign guests who attended the Republic of China’s National Day celebrations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning used derogatory language during the routine press conference that day, accusing Tsai Ing-wen of “selling the fallacy of ‘Taiwan independence’ in different ways,” calling him “intransigent” and on a “dead-end path,” among other remarks. They claimed that Taiwan does not have any “so-called sovereignty.” Tsai Ing-wen deliberately attempts to sever the historical ties between the two sides of the strait and propagates the “Taiwan independence” stance. Furthermore, they urged the few foreign politicians visiting Taiwan to “correct their erroneous words and actions.”

However, mainland Chinese people have expressed sentiments such as “endurance of the bitter Communist Party” and “return to the Republic of China.” Hunan-based online writer Zhou Nan stated that October 10th should be the National Day for all Chinese people. So far, the Republic of China remains the legitimate government of China, while the so-called People’s Republic of China government is an illegal local government.

He gave two reasons: “First, the government of the Republic of China is authorized by all citizens through elections. The so-called People’s Republic of China seized power through violence and lies, without a general election or legitimate ballots, making their regime unlawful.”

Dr. Liu, an independent professional from Beijing, suggested that while the CCP asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, Taiwan should reciprocate by asserting the Republic of China’s sovereignty over the mainland, using the Republic of China’s legal system and established democratic governance to reunify the mainland. He stated, “My territory may be small, but my legal system is large, my constitutional democracy and rule of law are vast, my human rights are significant, and the political system in Taiwan, with its democratic governance and news and speech freedoms, far exceeds the one-party dictatorship system on the mainland.”

He believed that if Tsai Ing-wen openly speaks like this, it would make the CCP and Xi Jinping extremely fearful and embarrassed, rendering them powerless to counter. “The CCP dare not respond directly to what Taiwan says. The more the CCP evades this issue, the more Taiwan must advance. Taiwan needs to go on the offensive, to fight big battles with small forces, to penetrate the CCP’s defenses with its spear, using Taiwan’s constitutional governance, democracy, human rights, freedom of press, and freedom of speech as weapons to exploit the CCP’s weaknesses.”

In his speech, Tsai Ing-wen also stated, “My mission is to take care of the livelihoods of the 23 million people of Taiwan, actively develop the economy, expand investments in social welfare, and ensure that the fruitful results of economic development are shared by all.”

Tsai Ing-wen’s words are not mere empty promises but actions turned into reality. There are many concrete implementation details in his speech. Taiwan has been implementing a large number of government intervention social welfare programs since the 1990s, with the three major social insurances — national health insurance, unemployment insurance, and national pension insurance, safeguarding medical treatment, employment, and economic security for the elderly being crucial pillars of Taiwan’s welfare society. I wonder how the people inside the CCP would feel if they were to hear these promises.

Mr. Yu Zhonghuan, a resident of Zhongshan City in Guangdong, expressed that living on the ground floor, he faces a lot of mosquitoes, especially at night. He uses mosquito coils, keeps doors and windows closed to prevent mosquito bites.

Known as “Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine, an inheritor of Chinese Medicine Culture,” Qiu Haiyang revealed that the dengue fever virus has spread in his region of Meizhou in Guangdong and the surrounding areas. During the National Day holiday, some Meizhou residents returned home while others visited the region, highlighting the need for attention to the dengue fever epidemic.

What are the effects of the dengue fever virus on people’s health? Qiu Haiyang indicated that its clinical features include sudden fever, body muscle pain, including bone and joint pain, which are typical symptoms. He further explained that individuals experience extreme fatigue, excessive sleepiness, enlarged lymph nodes, reduced white blood cells, and in severe cases, death.

As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army continues its clean-up and personnel reshuffle in secrecy, attention has also been drawn to black-box operations. Earlier, Peng Liyuan, wife of CCP leader Xi Jinping, was rumored to be a part-time member of the Central Military Commission’s Personnel Evaluation Committee, yet the composition of this organization has never been made public. Recent revelations have shed light on the operators behind this agency.

Prior to the CCP’s 20th Central Committee’s Third Plenary Session, rumors of Peng Liyuan “participating in politics” circulated, fueled by a photo circulating on social media from May 5th showing Peng Liyuan dressed in military attire with the rank of major general. The caption below the photo stated that “Peng Liyuan, a full member of the Central Military Commission Personnel Evaluation Committee, conducted research on building a high-level talent pool.”

Public records show that the Central Military Commission Personnel Evaluation Committee was established in October 2016. In 2016, over 100 military units at the corps level and above, with more than 1,200 senior officials, were subject to assessment.

From 2021 to 2023, the CCP’s official media repeatedly mentioned this committee in discussions of military reforms. An article in 2023 combined discussions on the establishment of the Central Military Commission’s Talent Work Leadership Group and the Military Commission’s Evaluation Committee. According to official propaganda, the personnel work of the Central Military Commission Talent Work Leadership Group emphasizes “breaking through departmental and territorial boundaries, establishing a top-level coordination mechanism.” In 2021, an Xinhuanet article referred to the establishment of the “Central Military Commission Personnel Evaluation Committee” as an important measure in “thoroughly implementing the Chairman’s responsibility system” and so forth. However, the composition of the Central Military Commission Talent Work Leadership Group and the Military Commission’s Evaluation Committee is opaque to outsiders.

A recent disclosure from the self-media platform “Hope Vision” suggested that members of the Military Commission Evaluation Committee likely do not only include representatives from the Political Work Department of the Military Commission but strive for a so-called “broad representation.” It is highly probable that representatives from the Military Commission departments and political commissars of the various theater commands are also involved. If Peng Liyuan is indeed a member of the Military Commission’s Evaluation Committee, she should represent Xi Jinping and be a concrete expression of the “thorough implementation of the Chairman’s responsibility system.”

On July 9th, the political commissar of the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department, He Hongjun, was promoted to the rank of general. He Hongjun had long served in the former General Political Department and the post-military reform Political Work Department. He was initially a deputy director but was promoted to a permanent deputy director this time, reaching the rank of a full operational deputy director, becoming a general at the theater-level.

“Hope Vision” pointed out that the installation of a powerful permanent deputy director under Xi Jinping’s control suggests that the current deputy director, Miao Hua, might be awaiting retirement. On July 9th, when He Hongjun was promoted to the rank of general, all official media sources only mentioned his first appearance as a permanent deputy director of the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department. However, the CCP’s “PLA Pictorial” exclusively exposed the secret, reporting that “Xi Jinping presented a commendation certificate to He Hongjun, who was promoted to the rank of general as the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department’s permanent deputy director and the Central Military Commission’s Personnel Evaluation Committee’s permanent deputy director.”

Moreover, He Hongjun’s newly disclosed role as the permanent deputy director of the Military Commission’s Evaluation Committee is on par with his role as the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department’s permanent deputy director.

Amidst the anti-corruption campaign within the military, individuals elevated by Xi Jinping have been continuously falling from power or their whereabouts have become unknown. Following his promotion to Director of the Military Commission Office, Xi’s chief aide, Zhong Shaobing, was recently rumored to be replaced and transferred to serve as the Political Commissar of the National Defense University. There have been rumors that both Peng Liyuan and Zhong Shaobing are no longer members of the Military Commission’s Personnel Evaluation Committee, but these claims remain unconfirmed.

In addition, Chen Guoqiang, a 61-year-old CCP Central Committee Discipline Inspection Commission member and Vice Secretary of the Military Discipline Commission, was transferred to serve as the political commissar at the National University of Defense Technology at the end of September, seen as a loss of real power. His replacement, Lieutenant General Fu Aiguo, is only 60 years old and his whereabouts remain unknown.