<span style="color: #222222;">President Xi Jinping on Thursday warned that China would no longer be bullied by foreign forces in a speech which elicited roaring applause from an invited gathering at Tiananmen Square which participated in the centenary celebrations of the founding of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).  President Xi, who heads the party and is seen as considering a third term for him starting next year, created a wave of patriotic and nationalistic sentiment in his 70-minute-long speech mainly aimed at domestic audience. More than 70,000 people consisting of party and military officials besides schoolchildren and university students attended the event, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The event featured a military fly past and people waving Chinese flags and singing patriotic songs. Looking skyward, the crowd cheered a flyover by military planes, including helicopters forming the number "100" and a squadron of China's J-20 stealth fighter jets. The final group of jets streaked blue, yellow and red contrails across the sky.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In his address telecast live by the official television channels, Xi declared that China had restored order in Hong Kong following anti-government protests in 2019 and reiterated the Communist Party's determination to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control. He also said that integrating Taiwan with the Chinese mainland is a historic mission of the ruling party. Both policies have been widely criticized by Western democracies. In his strongly worded speech, Xi appeared to be hitting back at the western powers and others that have criticized China on trade and technology polices, military overtures and human rights record. He also said the nation must stick to its one-party rule, emphasizing the communists' role in turning China into the world's second largest economy.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">As part of a continuing crackdown on anti-government protests in the city that long enjoyed freedoms not seen on the mainland, police in Hong Kong sealed off Victoria Park on Thursday. In the past, the park was the starting point for annual pro-democracy marches on July 1, the anniversary of the British return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Today was also the first anniversary of imposition of stringent National Security Law in Hong Kong which brutally crushed any kind of protests in the city.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Xi also said the party would retain absolute control over the military, which now has the world's second-largest annual budget after the U.S.</span><br />''  <br />