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China’s 20th Party Congress
ChinaPolitics

What Xi Jinping’s shortened congress work report did not mention

  • Full version of work report alerts party to a ‘new great struggle’, promotes Taiwan’s peaceful reunification
  • Xi warns of money worship, ‘deeply shocking cases of corruption’

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The full version of the party congress work report alerts members to a ‘new great struggle’, and promotes Taiwan’s peaceful reunification. Photo: Xinhua
Stella Chen
President Xi Jinping’s highly-anticipated work report at the opening of the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade national congress in Beijing on Sunday served as a blueprint for his grand vision for China.
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During the address, Xi promised “incomparable glory” to restore the country to the forefront of global powers, hailed the party’s achievements over the past 10 years, and rallied the country to brace for the challenges it must face in the future.

But the 105-minute speech was a departure from tradition. It was a scaled-down version of the full work report, which this time was 72 pages long, and laid out a more detailed assessment of multiple political and social issues that were only shortened in Xi’s speech, but remain key parts of China’s core interests.

Because the party chief usually reads out the entire document at the opening of the congress, some observers saw the condensed report as an indication of Xi’s firm hold on power, and a signal that smaller factional gaps among party members had reached a consensus.

It is also believed the speech was shortened out of concern for the retired elderly party leaders who attended the event.

The unabridged work report, which was released soon after Xi’s speech, went into much greater detail about the challenges ahead for the country and the party, and singled out shortcomings in party performance.

The full report emphasised that a “new great struggle” was needed and stressed the internal reconstruction of the party had been inefficient. The report said that there were many issues regarding upholding the party’s leadership and that some party members and officials were wavering in their political convictions.
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