IPAC Calls for Tough Stance Against the CCP’s ‘Authoritarian Rule’ and ‘Oppressive Policies’

Police officers check the identification cards of people visiting Tiananmen Gate ahead of China's 20th Communist Party Congress in Beijing on October 13, 2022. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) issued a statement on Oct. 14, two days before the CCP’s 20th national congress, calling for global democracies to take actions “to safeguard human rights, democracy and the international rules based order.”

Founded on June 4, 2020, the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the IPAC is comprised of over 200 lawmakers from 28 countries who seek to shape policy and discussion on the threat posed by the CCP.

The CCP convened its 20th national congress on Oct. 16 (local time), a key political event in China that determines the political layout for the coming five years. The congress is expected to last a week.

The IPAC said that the opening of the CCP’s 20th national congress “reveals the determination of Xi Jinping and the CCP to consolidate its authoritarian rule” of China.

On Oct. 13, three days before the CCP’s national congress, a Chinese citizen named Peng Lifa unfurled two banners on a bridge in Beijing, demanding democracy, an end to the zero-COVID policies, and the removal of  Xi as top leader. He was soon arrested by police. Local governments in Beijing immediately put up recruitment ads for more security personnel to guard bridges in Beijing.

The IPAC believes that Xi, the current leader of the CCP, is expected to secure his third term. The international parliamentarians are concerned that Xi’s anticipated reelection reveals “a concentration of power not seen since the Mao era” and “is a clear signal that the CCP has no intention of moderating its belligerent policies at home or abroad.”

“The CCP under Xi’s leadership has perpetrated industrial scale human rights abuses in the Uyghur Region, violated international agreements on Hong Kong’s autonomy and provided tacit support to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine while ramping up military threats against Taiwan,” the IPAC stated.

“By securing a third term, the CCP has given licence for Xi to continue his repressive political agenda indefinitely,” reads the IPAC’s statement.

The IPAC calls for action from the democratic states, including imposing sanctions on Chinese officials “responsible for human rights violations in the Uyghur Region, Tibet, Hong Kong and elsewhere in PRC (People’s Republic of China),” “building diverse and resilient supply chains,” “increasing political and economic engagement with Taiwan,” and “repealing extradition treaties with the PRC and Hong Kong.”

With the CCP becoming ever more authoritarian at home and assertive abroad, the IPAC regards the CCP as “a defining challenge for the world’s democratic states.” The purpose of the establishment of the IPAC is “to promote a coordinated response among democratic states to challenges posed by the present conduct and future ambitions of the People’s Republic of China.”

Lin Yan contributed to this report.