CHINA'S COMMUNIST PARTY CONGRESS
Xi gives marathon speech
As Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered his three-plus-hour speech at the Communist Party congress, delegates ranging from men in suits to military officers and former presidents dutifully turned every page as they read and listened to his words.
On the internet, government bureaus peppered social media with their favourite phrases from Xi's speech, while photos circulated of children watching yesterday's congress in classrooms.
The carefully orchestrated address was in keeping with the cult of personality that state media have crafted around the Chinese leader, who is expected to consolidate his already formidable power at the week-long conclave.
During his wide-ranging monologue about China's achievements and challenges ahead, Xi stood behind a glossy wooden lectern, resting both his palms on the stand and occasionally sipping from a white ceramic mug.
Jiang rises from the 'dead'
Rumoured to have died a few months ago, 91-year-old former Chinese president Jiang Zemin roused social media users yesterday by taking a prominent place at the ruling Communist Party's leadership Congress.
Proving that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated, the former leader sat next to President Xi Jinping and stood for the national anthem as the twice-a-decade congress opened on national television in Beijing's vast Great Hall of the People.
Many Chinese internet users gushed over the elderly "Frog" -- an affectionate nickname inspired by Jiang's wide grin and prominent bespectacled eyes -- marvelling over the apparently still hale nonagenarian in postings sprinkled with frog emojis.
"I want to ask about his secret for longevity," said one posting on China's Twitter-like social network Weibo.
North Korea sends faint praise
North Korea issued an unusually short congratulatory message to China's Communist Party yesterday as President Xi Jinping opened its five-year congress amid strained ties between the two traditional allies.
China is North Korea's longtime ally and economic benefactor, saving the country from defeat during the 1950-53 Korean War.
But the relationship has soured in recent months over Pyongyang's growing weapons ambitions, which have seen Beijing agree to toughened United Nations sanctions.
In a three-paragraph message carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) "warmly congratulated the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China and sent warm greetings to all the party members and other Chinese people".
"The Chinese people have made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism... and we are greatly pleased over this," it added.
Comments