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Yuanyue Dang

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a coastal island just across the Taiwan Strait a day after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) wrapped up massive military drills around Taiwan.
Xi inspected Dongshan county in the southeastern province of Fujian on Tuesday afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The Taiwan-facing island county has served as a regular base for PLA exercises in the past. According to the CCTV report on Wednesday, Xi inspected work on rural revitalisation, inheriting the Communist Party’s revolutionary tradition and protecting cultural heritage.
But the report did not say where Xi started his trip in Fujian or when he was due to leave the province.
According to state news agency Xinhua, the most recent instance of Xi appearing in public was on Monday morning, when he paid his final respects to Wu Bangguo, mainland China’s former legislative head who died on October 8.
Most domestic inspections by Xi usually feature a stop at a local PLA division. But it is unclear if he had done so or planned to do so on this trip.
The PLA on Monday evening wrapped up a 13-hour exercise encircling Taiwan. Dubbed “Joint Sword-2024B”, the drills focused on sea and air combat readiness patrols and the ability to blockade key ports.


PLA Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning also sailed to a strategic location to the east of Taiwan as part of the exercise, with state media releasing footage of fighter jets taking off from the warship in the dark.
Beijing said the drills were a “deterrent” to Taiwan independence forces.
The exercises came four days after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s “Double Tenth” speech marking 113 years since the founding of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name.
Lai reiterated that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were “not subordinate to each other” and that Beijing “had no authority” to represent the island.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including Taiwan’s major backer the United States, do not recognise the self-governed island as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take Taiwan by force and is committed to arming it for defence.
Double Tenth on October 10 has been celebrated in Taiwan since 1949, when the Nationalists or Kuomintang (KMT) retreated to the island following their defeat to the Communists in the Chinese civil war. The date marks the anniversary of the start of the 1911 revolution that led to the founding of the ROC on the mainland.
Dongshan became a major cross-strait battlefield in 1953, when the KMT unsuccessfully tried to retake the PLA-controlled island – in what was the last attempt by the Taiwanese army to attack the mainland.
Xi on Tuesday visited a memorial hall dedicated to Gu Wenchang, a long-time top official in Dongshan who played a significant role in that battle, Xinhua reported.
The PLA has repeatedly conducted drills on Dongshan island and its surrounding waters, including landing exercises, most recently in 2019 when it crossed the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait.
According to an article in August by the local veterans’ affairs bureau, the PLA frequently conducts drills in Dongshan due to its “unique geographical location and topographical characteristics”, and the local government “gathers the entire county’s resources” to facilitate the exercises every year.

As the latest drills encircled Taiwan, officials from the Central Military Commission, Beijing’s top military decision-making body, and senior PLA generals held a high-level meeting over Monday and Tuesday to discuss “military theoretical work”.
Xi did not attend the meeting but gave instructions, calling for the modernisation of military theories to adapt to evolving technology and warfare, according to Xinhua.
“There have been profound changes in China’s security and development needs, and the task of building a strong military has become even more urgent,” Xi was quoted as saying.


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Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the crowd during his visit to Dongshan county, Fujian province, on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Xinhua

President Xi Jinping visits a memorial hall dedicated to a top Dongshan official who played a significant role in the cross-strait battle of 1953. Photo: Xinhua

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The Liaoning aircraft carrier was part of PLA drills around Taiwan on Monday. Photo: PLA Navy

A fighter jet takes off from the PLA aircraft carrier Liaoning sailing east of Taiwan, during the “Joint Sword-2024B” military drills on Monday. Photo: AFP /PLA Eastern Theatre Command 

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A member of the US Marine Corps launches a Switchblade 300 drone during a drill in California in September 2020. Photo:   Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group

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Taiwan first lady Wu Mei-ru, left, William Lai Ching-te, Han Guo-yu and Hsiao Bi-khim cheer during National Day celebrations in Taipei on Thursday. Photo: AP

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Taiwanese soldiers display the self-governed island’s national flag during Taiwan’s National Day celebration in Taipei on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Vincent Chao (centre), a Taipei City councillor, speaks at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP

James Moriarty, former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, addresses attendees at the event hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP

News

China

Politics

Xi Jinping inspected Dongshan county in Fujian on Tuesday, CCTV says, but offers no details on when trip to province began


Xi Jinping inspected Dongshan county in Fujian on Tuesday, CCTV says, but offers no details on when trip to province began.


Xi Jinping