Xi Warns China’s Foes Will Break Against ‘Steel Great Wall’

President Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone in a speech marking the Communist Party’s 100-year anniversary, calling China’s quest to gain control of Taiwan a “historic mission” and warning the country’s adversaries to avoid standing in the way of his government.

In a nationwide address from above the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square, Xi hailed the party’s successes, saying China wanted to promote peace in the world and was open to “constructive criticism.” Yet he quickly warned that the country would no longer listen to “sanctimonious preaching” and that “the time when the Chinese nation could be bullied and abused by others was gone forever.”