♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, president xi jinping says that china will not be bullied again. a warning from president xi is of its communist party. xi says that china's rise is now irreversible. also, rescue teams at the collapsed condo building near miami stop their work, fearing what is left of the structure could give way. that as president biden meets

rescuers and family members of the dead, and the 145 werstill miing. and remembering diana. princes william and harry put aside their differences to unveil a statue of tir late mother on what would have been the princess's 60th birthday. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. defiant words and a welcome today form cash from xi jinping at celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the country's communist party. xi called for taiwan to be brought back under chinese control, and said that china would not be intimidated by threats from abroad. observers see his comments as a warning to western countries that have criticized beijing for their human rights abuses.

the address followed a military flyover, cannon salutes, and patriotic songs in honor of the communist party. >> we will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us. anyone who dares to try that will find their heads bashed against the great wall of steel, forged by over 1.4 billion chinese people. brent: richard mcgregor is a china analyst at australia's institute. we asked him what he made of president xi's comments. richard: it's very tough. we first have to think this is aimed at a domestic audience. that line got one of the audience, so that tells you about the sort of red meat that many people in china like to dev our.

in other words, one of the great sources of legitimacy for the communist party is that they got rid of foreigners out of china, and the anti-foreign sentiment is still very potent. particularly if you keep framing foreigners in this narrative of trying to contain china and keep china down, then you are always going to get a response when you speak like that. brent: china has had a turbulent century under the communist party. the party started back in 1921 with a secret meeting of 53 people in shanghai. since then, it has been transformed into an instrument of national political control, with 92 one million members. for decades, underfunding leader mao zedong, the people's republic was essentially closed to the rest of the world. today, the party is self-assured enough to demonstrate foreign journalists how members are schooled in its political ideas.

reporter: it is back to class for these middle-aged students. communist party officials from all over china have been sent to this academy in shanghai for training. today's session is an overview of chinese relations with other countries, with a focus on foreigners who have supported china's communists. that is certainly not a coincidence, because on this day, the academy is welcoming a group of foreign journalists for the first time. it's a message from a more assertive china to the world. >> china has been called the east's sleeping lion. not everyone feels the lion has awoken. but this liob is benign, it's a lion open to cooperation who wants to peacefully coexist with the people of every other country. reporter: however, tensions are

rising between china and the west, as well as beijing and some of its neighbors. it's here that carter is ideologically groomed for this. becoming a member of the communist party is part of the strict election process. once they have entered the party, they are sent to academies like this one to make sure they know the party line. there are more than 2000 such schools in china. the shanghai academy is among the top five. its trainees are mostly senior officials. part of their training, an overview of technology made in china. the communist party's official history omits the calamities of the 20th century. instead, it draws a straight line from the revolutionary beginnings to today's economic achievements. >> the course is systematic. one is party spirit. because shanghai is a city of

economic development and reform, we also learn about economic policies and reforms of the new china. reporter: this leafy campus has seen almost 150,000 officials complete the course. in the last few years the pardon -- the party has become more assertive towards the outside world. the school prides itself in having trained many of china's government spokespeople. >> we tell our students to face international media in an honest way, to tell the truth. but we also warned them, international media are not what you are used to. we are use a domestic environment, so they need to know that a few foreign media ask questions to set a trap for them. no matter how many nice questions they ask, they will report on the negative. reporter: at the school entrance, slogans spell out the word confidence in multiple ways, as if the trainees still

needed a reminder. brent: work has been halted at the sight of the collapsed apartment high-rise in surfside, florida amid fears that parts of the building still standing could give way. president biden is in surfside tonight, where he has been briefed on the emergency operation. he met with first responders and thanked them for their work, and has also beenolding a closedoor meeting with the families of people who were killed, and of those still missing. the confirmed death toll has risen to 18, with as many as 145 unaccounted for. no survivors have been found in/thursday. -- found since last thursday. reporter: it's hard to think about anything else for diana winner. every time she takes the dog out, she passes by the collapsed champlain tower. hopes of finding more people alive are fading. she belves e tragedy could

have been avoided. >> i feel sad. i feel sad that people did not really step up and say it is time. we need to pay attention to this and do what we need to do. i's too many ves have probably been lost as a result of it. reporter: for days, hundreds of firefighters were picking through the rubble. rescue operation is now halted, as expanding cranks and other instabilities in the structure pose danger to their lives. digging was already slow because of the risk of further collapses. worker's emotions are another obstacle. >> is very sad. the times i have gone up on the pile and you find strollers and baby bottles, stuff, toys. it just brings a sense of reality to the moment. it's very touching. i have kids myself. reporter: a 2108 inspection

warned of structural damages to the building. the focus is now on a similar high-rise in the county 40 years and older. inspectors are now checking 40 other high-rise buildings for damages. a large effort that still could not be enough if the owners don't have enough money to get the necessary work done. in the case of the champlain towers, necessary repairs could have cost $100,000 per unit. darrell arnold who lives office the champn towers believes something s to chae. he has his own theory on why the building wasot repaired, despite the findings of structural damage. >> what happened in this case is the city official inspectors said there was nothing to worry about imminently, and people breathe a sigh of relief because ey didn't want to find the money to deal with the problem. i asse that is going to change

in light of this incident, and you are going to have much more care and caution going forward. reporter: much healing is needed in surfside, florida. but for now, the beach community is reelingrom this historic tragedy. brent: and oliver sallet is in surfside, florida right now. good evening to you, oliver. can the u.s. president, at this stage, can he offer the families any hope that their missing loved ones will be found alive? oliver: it is really a balancing act. president biden has been spending the last hours behind closed doors, meeting and talking to the relatives of. the potential victims of those still unaccounted for. and he is trying to find words of sympathy. and of course many still have hopes their relatives could be found underneath the rubble. a little while ago we heard

rescuers heard the voice of a woman under the rubble. the miami-dade fire chief confirmed that. however, no one was found. everyone who is missing a female relative now of course is desperately waiting for that miracle to happen, because the last survivor was found one week ago in the early hours after the tower came down. brent: and the dangers are apparently still there. what more do we know about the situation there? oliver: the rescue operation ahead has been paused, essentially, because of the dangers of further parts of the standing construction, the tower that has not come down, that this could collapse as well. so there is a lot of fear of course that the rescuers are in danger, and that potentially those who might survive underneath the rubble are in even more danger now if more parts of the building comes down. other than that, it's a really

careful operation. we have seen that yesterday when we filmed there, people carefully with gloves, with their bare hands trying to sift through the rubble, and that's also why everything takes so long. brent: are authorities, are they any clearer on what caused this tower to collapse? oliver: there is some kind of belief that has been developed over the last days. we have heard of this 2018 inspection that found some structural damages at the building. we also know the president of the condominium association, just a few months ago, wrote in a letter to the owners that the situation has deteriorated. he spoke of $50 million u.s. that would be urgently needed, but that is an contrasting account to be city inspector who thought the situation was less urgent. it seems the owner went with his assessment. all of this looks very plausible right now, but it is important

to point that we have to wait until an investigation is finished, and that will take several months. brent: what about the concerned other buildings are at risk of collapsing? oliver: there is of of some concern because there are many of these older buildings along the east coast of the u.s., and many are being investigated right now. 40 of them only here in this county. the problem of course, and we have learned painfully from the collapse here, is that knowing the damage does not necessarily mean they are being fixed. so the hopes are some legal action might follow. i was able to speak to a board member of another condominium building, and she said it would be useful to force owners to sell their condos if they cannot afford the necessary repairs. a tough measure, but perhaps one way to avoid such a situation from happening again. brent: oliver sallet and surfside, florida tonight. thank you. here's a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world.

in canada, a fast-moving wildfire has destroyed more than 90% of the town that has seen record-breaking heat. the mountain town in british columbia repeatedly broke canada's all-time high temperature record this week, reaching 49.6 degrees celsius on tuesday. the flames have forced the entire town to evacuate. myanmar's military have begun releasing 2300 prisoners including activists and journalists who were detained for protesting against february's coup. no reason was given for the releases, but thousands more are thought to be held behind bars. the eu has launched its digital covid-19 certificate aimed at easing travel across europe. it links up the various existg covid- app approved by each eu country, as well as vaccination details. it can store test results and evidence of recovery.

the head of the world health organization in europe has warned of a new wave of coronavirus infections unless vaccinations increase and people remain disciplined. hans said after 10 weeks of falling cases, numbers are now rising again. here are some other developments in the coronavirus pandemic. authorities in portugal are proposing a nighttime curfew for several municipalities, including the cities of lisbon and porto. the country is struggling to stem a surge of infections linked to that fast spreading delta variant. russian authorities say some clinics have begun offering booster shots for people already fully vaccinated. the country is seeking to combat rising cases, also fueled by the delta variant. and turkey has lifted nearly all of its restrictions on businesses and events as new cases have leveled off. restaurants and parties no longer need to limit guests, and

concerts and festivals cannot take place both indoors and outside. donald trump's namesake company and its longtime chief financial officer pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges today. new york prosecutors are accusing trump organization executive allen weisselberg for personally avoiding tax on $1.7 million of income. the firm is alleged to have run a quote, sweeping and audacious scheme to keep executive pay off the books. these are the first criminal charges to come out of the many years of investigations into the trump organization. the former president himself is not facing charges at this time. for more now, let's go to our financial correspondent in new york, jens korte. what exactly are the trump organization and allen weisselberg, what are they accused of? jens: the charges are that they

have been given perks to allen weisselberg and some of his family members and employees. we are talking car leases, manhattan apartments, and also private school tuition. so those can be quite costly here in the city. what prosecutors actually will have to prove is there was inten t to defraud, and they would also need proof of the amount, the value of those perks given to allen weisselberg and from the trump organization to some of those family members and employees. brent: people are wondering if donald trump if he is indeed teflon trump. is there likely to be any fallout for this for the former u.s. resident himself? -- president himself? jens: that is how the whole case is set up for prosecutors. it is not really about the tax fraud at this point, that is in

the center of those charges. what prosecutors will try to do is build up pressure on allen weisselberg. he has been an executive for the trump organization for decades. so if prosecutors can build pressure on him so that he might help actually prosecutors to go after donald trump, that's actually the goal. the trial will not start probably before next year, so there will be time for allen weisselberg and his lawyers to consider if they are going to help prosecutors, or if he's going to remain on the side of donald trump. but clearly this is all getting some witness to help prosecutors against the former president. brent: jens korte, as always, thank you. it's being hailed as a huge step towards tax justice. 130 countries have agreed to a global tax plan to ensure that multinationals pay a tax rate of

at least 15%. the plan is designed to prevent large firms including google, amazon, and facebook from taking advantage of weak tax rules. today's show of support is significant, but not every country is on board. reporter: this modest press release from the oecd could have a huge impact on the global taxation system. the newly agreed minimum tax rate could add as much as $150 a billion to government coffers worldwide. germany's finance minister says the deal is an enormous step forward. >> this will stop the race to the bottom. as democratic states, we can now decide for ourselves on a fair and appropriate level of taxation. we will no longer have to watch out for tax havens and tax avoiders, and multinationals that pay hardly any tax.

reporter: the push to secure international agreement for the global tax rate came from the biden administration. now, the u.s. government will have to impose them on its own corporate giants, and some low tax economies including ireland and hungary are not signing up. brent: thousands of women are protesting in istanbul against the turkish government's formal withdrawal today from an international treaty against femicide and domestic abuse. the istanbul convention is the world's first binding treaty to prevent and combat violence against women. president erdogan defended the decision to leave, arguing it had been quote, hijacked by people attempting to normalize homosexuality. the withdrawal has sparked outrage among western countries and rights groups. amnesty international sends -- says it sends a reckless and dangerous message to perpetrators of violence against women.

dw news spoke to some of the women protesting in istanbul today who now fear for their own safety. >> the situation of women was problematic even when the istanbul convention was in place . they could not provide the necessary protection. but unknown the convention means they don't care about women's rights at all, and have no interest in protecting us. >> i was abused by my ex-boyfriend, but because of the convention, he went to jail. now, i'm afraid he might be freed. this is a big struggle for our rights. as a trans woman, it is very important for me to be here. >> that h been no public debate on this withdrawal. i think it is a political move to further polarize society. brent: dw correspondent julia hahn was that those protests today and she is following developments for us in istanbul.

julia: protesters here are furious about the government's decision to withdraw from the assembled convention. turkey was the first country to sign the convention 10 years ago , and now it is the first one to officially abandon its international treaty. it's a devastating decision for millions of women and other groups here in turkey. it comes at a time when domestic violence is on the rise, and so is the number of women murdered, the number of femicides. many women here tell me they are afraid of losing their existing rights. at the same time there is a mood, a certain atmosphere of defiance here. we won't be silenced. that is what i hear women shout over and over again. so they are determined to continue to stand up for their rights. brent: that was julia hahn there. here's a look at some other

stories making news around the world. u.s. comedian bill cosby has been released from prison after pennsylvania's supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction. the court ruled a prior agreement with a prosecutor barred chazen -- barred because we are being charged -- barred cosby from being chargd. a court in the u.s. has denied a court to remove britney spears's father -- the ruling is independent a testimony given by spears last week, where she alleges she was abused on the arrangement. british royals, princes william and harry, have appeared in public today to unveil a statue of their late mother. princess diana was killed in a high-speed car crash in paris in 1997. relations between her sons have been strained in recent months

after rinse harry and hear his wife meghan made allegations of racism against the royal family. but ain kensington palace today, the brothers seemed to put their differences aside as they led tributes to the people's princess. reporter: unfailing -- unveiling a statue to their late mother. prince william and prince harry, brought together on what would have been princess diana's 60th birthday, in the sunken garden at london's kensington palace. a spot diana was said to love when she lived here. now her sons have put aside their differences to ensure she has a permanent place here. >> thistatue i think can clearly be taken as a sign of her son's twin commitment to their mother and what she stands for. and i think in the light of

that, we can hope they would want this event to have some meaning. and what better meeting could have than for the two of them to start moving towards a some kind of reconciliation. reporter: lady diana spencer was 20 years old when she married prince charles in 1981. in what appeared to be a fairytale romance. but the relationship was anything but. they put on a brave face, but by 1992 they had publicly separated. five years later, disaster struck. princess diana was killed in a car crash in paris. her death shocked the world. prince william was 15 years old. harry, just 12.

although the siblings were close, their relationship has struggled in recent years, and the two have barely been on speaking terms. prince harry and his wife, the former hollywood actress meghan markle, have now left the u.k. and their royal duties for california. but for one day at least, these brothers have been reunited. as they remember the mother they both say they still miss every day. brent: here is a reminder of the top stories we are following for you. chinese president xi jinping has hailed his country's rise as irreversible, as it holds lavish celebrations to mark 100 years since he found ne -- finding -- president biden is in florida to comfort families of people

killed and still missing in the rubble of that beachfront apartment building that collapsed. after a short break i will be back to take you through "the day." an ancient chinese proverb and what it tells us about china and the west in the 21st century. we'll be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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mark: cancel canada day. a call from protesters after the discovery of unmarked graves of first nations children forcibly taken from their parents. joe biden at the scene of the building collapse in miami. the rescue recovery is set to resume with hopes fading for those still unaccounted for. trump organization finance chief facing 15 counts of tax fraud and