How Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament rubber-stamps fear
Beijing’s Annual Political Theatre Kicks Off Under Xi’s Iron Grip
China’s annual Two Sessions political gathering opened in Beijing on Wednesday, with thousands of handpicked delegates assembling to endorse a raft of policies set by President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party leadership. For the world outside China, and especially for the people of Hong Kong who once knew a different kind of political participation, the event is a reminder of how thoroughly the CCP has consolidated control over every lever of state power. There are no surprises at the Two Sessions. The outcome is scripted. The votes are unanimous. The speeches are rehearsals.
An Economy in Trouble, A Budget Getting Bigger
The 2026 Two Sessions arrives at a moment of genuine economic difficulty for China. Growth targets remain ambitious, but the country faces a property sector crisis that has wiped out household wealth, a youth unemployment rate that surged past 20 percent in recent years before Beijing stopped publishing the data, and a consumer base too anxious to spend. Despite these headwinds, the government announced another increase in defence spending, maintaining a trajectory that the International Institute for Strategic Studies has described as the largest military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region. Defence spending now accounts for roughly 44 percent of regional military expenditure — an extraordinary concentration of military resource under a single authoritarian government. The message to neighbours, to Taiwan, and to the democratic world is unmistakable: the CCP is preparing for confrontation, not cooperation.
Technology as a Weapon of State
Technology dominates the 2026 agenda in a way that would have seemed extraordinary even a decade ago. Xi’s government is pouring resources into artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and what it calls “new quality productive forces” — a phrase that in plain language means building an economy capable of waging a technology war against the United States without needing American components, software, or expertise. The 15th Five-Year Plan, due to be formally adopted at the close of the NPC session, makes the ideological framework explicit. According to analysis by Charles Parton, Chief Adviser to the Council on Geostrategy, the plan is built on the premise that China is locked in a systemic struggle with the free world — a struggle that shapes every domestic policy choice from education to infrastructure to military-civilian fusion. “The CCP sees the global future as one of struggle,” Parton writes, noting that free and open countries ignore this reality at their peril. The Five-Year Plan calls for stricter obedience to Xi Jinping Thought, deeper integration between military and civilian industries, and accelerated efforts to internationalise the Chinese currency — all framed around reducing dependence on the United States and building leverage over countries that rely on Chinese supply chains.
No Room for Dissent
Lost in the choreography of the Two Sessions is the human cost of the system that produces it. The delegates who fill the Great Hall of the People do not represent the Chinese people — they represent the party. Independent civil society has been systematically dismantled. Lawyers who tried to defend human rights are in prison. Journalists who reported outside approved narratives have been silenced. And Hong Kong, which once sent its own elected representatives to the NPC under a framework that promised genuine autonomy, now sends loyalists chosen through a vetting process designed to exclude anyone who might ask an awkward question. The freedoms that Hong Kongers fought for in 2019 — and that the international community pledged to uphold through the Sino-British Joint Declaration — have been swept aside. The Basic Law’s promise of a high degree of autonomy has been hollowed out. What remains is a city governed by fear, integrated into a system that treats accountability as a threat and transparency as a vulnerability.
What the Rest of the World Should Do
The annual rhythm of the Two Sessions can make Beijing’s authoritarian consolidation feel routine — a story filed every March and forgotten by April. But the scale and speed of what is happening demands sustained attention. Democratic governments tracking the House Select Committee on the CCP have noted that Chinese companies have armed Iran, supplied Russia, and supported authoritarian regimes from Venezuela to Cuba. The technology ambitions announced at the Two Sessions are not separate from these geopolitical realities — they are the foundation of a strategy to ensure that no future sanctions or export controls can constrain Beijing’s power. The brave people of Hong Kong understood this before most Western governments did. They understood that a regime that arrests teachers for assigning pro-democracy reading material, that jails journalists for reporting the news, and that purges generals for disloyalty cannot be trusted to honour its international commitments. The Two Sessions is not a parliament. It is a performance. And the audience that matters most is not the Chinese people — who have no choice but to watch — but the free world, which still has a choice about how to respond.
Sin Yu Mak
Business & Consumer Affairs Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: sinyu.mak@appledaily.uk
Sin Yu Mak is a business and consumer affairs journalist with expertise in market regulation, consumer rights, and small enterprise reporting. She completed her journalism education at a respected Chinese journalism institution, where she trained in economic reporting, data literacy, and ethical standards.
Her professional experience includes reporting for Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese newspapers on consumer protection, corporate practices, retail trends, and financial transparency. Sin Yu’s work emphasizes accurate interpretation of financial data and regulatory frameworks, supported by expert commentary and verified documentation.
She has operated in fast-paced newsroom settings where financial misinformation can cause real harm, giving her strong practical experience in verification and clarity. Editors value her ability to translate technical information into accessible, fact-based reporting.
Sin Yu’s authority is reinforced by consistent publication within reputable media organizations and compliance with editorial review processes. At Apple Daily UK, she delivers trustworthy business journalism rooted in evidence, professional discipline, and public-interest reporting.
