Xi calls for firm confidence, solid steps for national rejuvenation

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on the nation to forge ahead with firm confidence and solid steps to achieve the great national rejuvenation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement at a reception held on the eve of the National Day at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Premier Li Qiang presided over the reception. Other leaders including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the event along with around 800 Chinese and foreign guests.

In his address to the event, Xi conveyed warm greetings to people from all walks of life across the country and heartfelt appreciation to friendly countries and international friends supporting China's development.

He noted that over the past 77 years, the Party has led the Chinese people in achieving two miracles: rapid economic growth and enduring social stability.

Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese economy has continued to progress despite mounting pressure and achieved innovation-driven and high-quality development, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality, he said.

Efforts should be made to sustain this momentum, promote innovation-driven, high-quality and sound economic development, take practical steps to safeguard and improve people's livelihoods, and meet the targets and tasks set for the year, so as to ensure a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), he said.

Xi stressed the need to remain firmly committed to the policy of "one country, two systems," under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, the people of Macao administer Macao, and both regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy.

He went on to say that the central government will support Hong Kong and Macao in integrating more fully into the country's overall development. The central government is committed to maintaining their long-term prosperity and stability, Xi added.

He also called for efforts to deepen exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, resolutely fight secessionist forces, oppose external interference, and promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations to advance national reunification.

China will stick to its independent foreign policy of peace, advance the implementation of the four major global initiatives it proposed, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity to contribute greater certainty and positive energy to a turbulent world, Xi said.

The reception concluded with guests from both home and abroad raising their glasses amid joyful music to celebrate the PRC's 77th birthday.

China's National Day falls on Oct. 1.

Xi calls for firm confidence, solid steps for national rejuvenation

While floodwaters began to recede across parts of Bangkok on Wednesday, thousands of residents in the capital's low-lying suburbs remained marooned, grappling with severe disruptions to electricity, clean water, and essential services in neighborhoods accessible only by boat.

A severe nationwide flooding swept through 42 Thai provinces between Sept 16 and 28, impacting 1.8 million people and leaving at least 8 people dead, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Officials reported that 28 provinces, primarily across Thailand's central, northern, eastern, and northeastern regions, remain affected by the disaster.

In the Lat Krabang district on Bangkok's eastern edge, just kilometers from the Suvarnabhumi Airport, streets remain submerged deep enough to swallow cars.

For the tens of thousands of people living there, the danger is not the rising water, but the grueling daily struggle to survive.

"It's devastating. Nobody can make a living. I have no money right now; all I have left is myself," said Mu Boonpitaksorn, a local resident.

With roads submerged and utility lines cut, small boats have become the communities' only connection to the outside world, delivering food, drinking water and medicine while serving as a crucial lifeline for evacuations.

"They are losing hope. That's what I think. This is one of the largest disaster area for the moment. People with disability, elderly people, family with younger children, it's much difficult for them to stay on into the community as they used to," said Weerasak Kowsurat, secretary general of the Friends in Need (of "PA") Volunteers Foundation.

Although temporary shelters have been established across the capital to offer safety, food, and dry ground to the displaced, evacuees face the reality of walking away from everything they could not carry.

"It's all gone. I have nothing left. Absolutely nothing. Fridge, washing machine, fan, air conditioner… nothing left at all. Inside my home is all mud. It's too much, it's beyond despair," said Sumontha Huanarvorn, an evacuee.

Even as Bangkok gradually dries out, the floodwaters continue to separate families from their homes, belongings, and routines, leaving residents waiting desperately for roads to reappear, and hoping they will eventually lead back to the life they knew before the deluge.

Bangkok suburbs endure daily struggle as floodwaters linger