The road problem is the first problem that concerns the success or failure of the party’s cause, and the road is the life of the party. In the long-term practice and exploration, our party and people persisted in taking their own road independently, won great victories in revolutionary construction and reform, created and developed Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and fundamentally changed the future and destiny of the people of China and the Chinese nation. History and practice show us that only socialism can save China and only Socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the banner of unity, endeavor and victory for the people of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and China, and it is the fundamental direction for the development and progress of contemporary China.
1. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the conclusion of history and the choice of the people.
Rivers and Wan Li always have sources, and trees are high and thousands of feet also has roots. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Socialism with Chinese characteristics did not fall from the sky, but was a fundamental achievement made by the party and the people at all costs." Socialism with Chinese characteristics was initiated in the new period of reform and opening up, and it was also based on the long-term struggle of our party for more than 90 years, and the source of his thought, theory and practice can be traced back to further. It has been almost 500 years since the socialist thought was put forward. From this long historical process to study Socialism with Chinese characteristics, we can see the development of his thoughts more clearly and fully understand Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s historical inevitability and scientific truth.
The five hundred years of socialism have gone through the process from fantasy to science, from theory to practice, from practice in one country to development in many countries. In January, 2013, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader made a systematic review of the 500-year history of socialism in six time periods in his speech at the seminar on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for new members and alternate members of the Central Committee, showing the historical origin and development process of Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
In the first period, utopian socialism came into being and developed. Utopia, the pioneering work of utopian socialism, was published by British Moore in 1516. This book profoundly exposes the tragic scene in the process of primitive accumulation of capitalism, and at the same time depicts an ideal society without exploitation and equality for all. Since then, until the first half of the 19th century, influential utopian socialists have included German peasant war leader Muenzer, Italian Campanella, British Digging Movement leader Weinstein Lai, France’s Morelli and mably, among whom the most important are the great utopian socialist thinkers in the third day of the 19th century-France’s Saint-Simon, Fourier and Britain’s Owen. Utopian socialists expose the evils of capitalist society, criticize all the foundations of the capitalist system, demonstrate the inevitability and rationality of the future society replacing capitalism, and put forward some positive opinions and valuable guesses for the future society. However, their common limitation is their idealistic view of history, and they can’t find the right way and social force to realize their social ideals.
In the second period, Marx and Engels established the theoretical system of scientific socialism. In the mid-19th century, with the continuous development of capitalist socialized mass production, the working class stepped onto the historical stage as an independent political force. Marx and Engels deeply investigated the economic, political and social conditions of capitalism, critically inherited the rational components of German classical philosophy, British classical political economy and utopian socialism in France and Britain, founded historical materialism and surplus value theory, and put socialist thought on these two theoretical cornerstones, thus making socialism realize a great leap from utopian to scientific. Scientific socialism profoundly reveals the historical inevitability of the emergence, development and demise of capitalism and the replacement of capitalism by communism, and makes scientific predictions and assumptions on the development process, development direction and general characteristics of the future socialist society. Of course, Marx and Engels’ ideas about the future socialist society are mainly theoretical, and how to put them into practice remains to be answered by future generations.
In the third period, Lenin led the victory of the October Revolution and practiced socialism. At the beginning of the 20th century, Lenin combined the basic principles of Marxism with Russia’s concrete reality, creatively put forward the theory that socialism may win first in one country or several countries, led the October Revolution to success, established the first socialist country in the world, and made socialism realize a great leap from theory to practice. After the victory of the October Revolution, there was no precedent for how to build socialism. Lenin made in-depth thinking and hard exploration. In view of the problems exposed by the implementation of the wartime communist policy from the second half of 1918 to the spring of 1921, Lenin made a profound reflection, put forward a new economic policy and made a profound adjustment to the wartime communist policy.
In the fourth period, the Soviet model was gradually formed. After Lenin’s death, Stalin gradually formed an economic and political system with a single means of production, a mandatory planned economy and a high concentration of power in leading the socialist construction in the Soviet Union. The Soviet model promoted the rapid economic and social development of the Soviet Union under specific historical conditions, and also played an important role in winning the anti-fascist war for the Soviet army and people. However, due to the lack of respect for economic laws, as time goes by, its disadvantages are increasingly exposed, which has become a serious institutional obstacle to economic and social development. After entering the 1980s, faced with the difficulties of economic and social development, the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries also wanted to make some adjustments. However, under the powerful offensive of the West and other forces, this adjustment deviated from the right direction, which finally led to drastic changes in Eastern European countries in 1989, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the CPSU in 1991 caused great twists and turns in world socialism.
In the fifth period, our party’s exploration and practice of socialism after the founding of New China. Our party is the second to lead the socialist revolution and construction in a big country. After the founding of New China, the party’s first generation of central collective leadership with Comrade Mao Zedong at the core led the whole party and people of all nationalities in China to creatively carry out socialist transformation and establish a basic socialist system on the basis of rapidly healing the wounds of war and restoring the national economy. However, how to build socialism in China is a brand-new task facing the Party. At first, we could only learn from the experience of the Soviet Union, but in practice, our party soon realized the limitations of the Soviet model and proposed to learn from the Soviet Union and independently explore the road of socialist construction suited to China’s national conditions. With Comrade Mao Zedong’s "On Ten Major Relationships" and "On Correctly Handling Contradictions among the People" as the main symbols, our Party has a new and important understanding of how to build socialism. In later practice, due to the Party’s "Left" mistakes in guiding ideology, many correct ideas about socialist construction were not implemented, and even a global and long-term serious mistake like the "Cultural Revolution" occurred, which made our Party suffer serious setbacks in the process of exploring socialism. Although the exploration is arduous and bumpy, the positive achievements made by our party are extremely valuable, which provides valuable experience, theoretical preparation and material foundation for creating Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new historical period.
In the sixth period, our party made a historic decision to carry out reform and opening up, and initiated and developed Socialism with Chinese characteristics. After the downfall of the Gang of Four, especially after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the second generation of the Party’s central collective leadership with Comrade Deng Xiaoping at the core re-established the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, completely negated the wrong theory and practice of "taking class struggle as the key link", put forward reform and opening up with great political and theoretical courage, and clearly put forward the important theoretical and practical issues of what socialism is and how to build it. In 1982, Comrade Deng Xiaoping issued a resounding call at the Twelfth National Congress of the Communist Party of China: We should integrate the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete reality of our country, take our own road and build socialism with China characteristics. Through practical exploration, Comrade Deng Xiaoping answered a series of basic questions about how to build socialism, how to consolidate and develop socialism in a country with relatively backward economy and culture like China for the first time. He inherited and developed Marxism with new ideas and views, opened up a new realm of Marxism, raised his understanding of socialism to a new scientific level, founded Deng Xiaoping Theory and successfully created Socialism with Chinese characteristics. After the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, the party’s third-generation central collective leadership with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core defended Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the face of the severe test of complicated domestic and international situation and serious twists and turns in world socialism.According to the new practice, we have established the Party’s basic program and experience, the reform goal and basic framework of the socialist market economic system, the basic economic system and distribution system in the primary stage of socialism, promoted the new great project of Party building, founded Theory of Three Represents, created a new situation of comprehensive reform and opening up, and successfully pushed Socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century. In the new stage of the new century, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as the general secretary emphasizes people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, proposes to build a socialist harmonious society, accelerate the construction of ecological civilization, form the overall layout of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s cause, focus on safeguarding and improving people’s livelihood, promote social fairness and justice, promote the construction of a harmonious world, and promote the construction of the party’s ruling ability and advanced nature, thus forming Scientific Outlook on Development and successfully upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics at a new historical starting point.
Knowing the source and evolution of the world socialist thought and the historical development of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, we can understand how our party chose Marxism and the socialist road through repeated comparison and summary in the process of promoting revolution, construction and reform. How to combine the basic principles of Marxism with China’s reality and the characteristics of the times, and go its own way independently; How to create and develop Socialism with Chinese characteristics through hardships and various costs. The magnificent historical process of world socialism in the past 500 years tells us that Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the dialectical unity of the theoretical logic of scientific socialism and the historical logic of China’s social development, the historical conclusion and the people’s choice.
2. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is composed of road, theoretical system and system.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a close combination of practice, theory and system. He not only upgraded successful practice to theory, but also guided new practice with correct theory. He also upgraded the principles and policies that have achieved results in practice to the system of the party and the state in time, thus forming the Socialism with Chinese characteristics Road, theoretical system and system. Socialism with Chinese characteristics road is the way to realize, Socialism with Chinese characteristics theory system is the guide to action, and Socialism with Chinese characteristics system is the fundamental guarantee, which are unified in Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s great practice. In November, 2012, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out in his first collective study in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee that "Socialism with Chinese characteristics is special in its road, theoretical system and system, in its internal relations of realization approach, action guide and fundamental guarantee, and in its unification with Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s great practice".
Socialism with Chinese characteristics Road is the only way to realize China’s socialist modernization and create a better life for the people. Socialism with Chinese characteristics Road not only insists on taking economic construction as the center, but also comprehensively promotes economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, ecological civilization construction and other aspects; Adhere to the four cardinal principles and reform and opening up; It not only emancipates and develops social productive forces, but also gradually realizes the common prosperity of all people and promotes the all-round development of people. This road is neither "traditional" nor "foreign" nor "westernized", but our "original creation" and a right path on earth. Only this road, and no other road, can lead China to progress and realize people’s well-being.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s theoretical system is the latest achievement of Marxism in China, including Deng Xiaoping Theory, Theory of Three Represents and Scientific Outlook on Development. This theoretical system has written a "new version" of scientific socialism, which is a contemporary China Marxism deeply rooted in China and in line with the reality of China. It has a relationship of persistence, development, inheritance and innovation with Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought must not be lost. If they are lost, they will lose their roots. At the same time, we must focus on the practical problems of China’s reform, opening up and modernization, what we are doing, the application of Marxist theory, theoretical thinking on practical problems, new practice and new development. In contemporary China, adhering to Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s theoretical system means truly adhering to Marxism.
The Socialism with Chinese characteristics system, which insists on organically combining the basic political system, the basic political system with the basic economic system, various institutional mechanisms and other specific systems, organically combining the democratic system at the national level with the grass-roots democratic system, and organically combining the party’s leadership, the people being the masters of the country, and governing the country according to law, conforms to China’s national conditions, not only adheres to the fundamental nature of socialism, but also draws lessons from the beneficial achievements of institutional construction at home and abroad, which embodies the characteristics and advantages of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is the fundamental institutional guarantee for China’s development and progress.
It should be noted that the Socialism with Chinese characteristics system is distinctive and efficient, but it is not perfect and mature, and needs to be constantly improved. In 1992, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his important talk on inspecting the south: "I’m afraid it will be another 30 years before we can form a set of more mature and stereotyped systems in all aspects." We should persist in theoretical innovation based on practice to promote institutional innovation, adhere to and improve the existing system, proceed from reality, formulate some new systems in time, and build a systematic, scientific, standardized and effective system, so as to make all aspects of the system more mature and stereotyped, and provide more effective institutional guarantee for winning new victories in Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
3. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not anything else.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a scientific socialism rooted in the land of China, reflecting the wishes of China people and adapting to the development and progress of China and the times. If socialism is a magnificent and ups-and-downs symphony through the course of high tide and low tide, success and setbacks, then Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the colorful movement of this magnificent symphony.
In his speech at the seminar on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Our Party has always emphasized that Socialism with Chinese characteristics not only adheres to the basic principles of scientific socialism, but also endows it with distinctive China characteristics according to the conditions of the times. That is to say, Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not anything else. " What kind of doctrine a country implements depends on whether this doctrine can solve the historical problems facing this country. During the period when the Chinese nation was poor and weak, all kinds of doctrines and ideological trends were tried, and the capitalist road did not work out. Reformism, liberalism, social Darwinism, anarchism, pragmatism, populism, and trade unionism all "you sing and I come on stage", but they failed to solve the future and destiny of China. It was Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought who led the people of China out of the long night and established a new China. It was Socialism with Chinese characteristics who made China develop rapidly.
Practice is the hardest standard, and how the road goes depends on the facts. Over the past 60 years since the founding of New China, especially over the past 30 years of reform and opening-up, China’s economic strength and comprehensive national strength have been greatly improved, people’s lives have been significantly improved, and its international status has been unprecedented. From 1979 to 2012, the gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 9.8%, much higher than the average annual growth rate of 2.8% in the world economy during the same period, and the total economic output jumped to the second place in the world, successfully achieving a leap from a low-income country to an upper-middle-income country. Such development and great changes are rare in the history of human development. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "China today is very different from China before the founding of New China and China after the Opium War!" Compared with some countries in Europe and America trapped in financial crisis and debt crisis, compared with some developing countries trapped in development trap, compared with some countries in West Asia, North Africa and political turmoil and social chaos, China’s development can be said to be unique in the scenery. Facts have eloquently proved that Socialism with Chinese characteristics has taken the right and good road.
In recent years, some public opinions at home and abroad have questioned whether what China is doing is socialism or not. Some people say it is "capital socialism", while others simply say it is "state capitalism" and "new bureaucratic capitalism". These are all completely wrong. We say that Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, that is, no matter how we reform and open up, we have always adhered to the Socialism with Chinese characteristics Road, Socialism with Chinese characteristics Theory System and Socialism with Chinese characteristics System, and adhered to the basic requirements put forward by the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to win new victories in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. This includes adhering to the Four Cardinal Principles, persisting in reform and opening up, liberating and developing social productive forces, building socialist market economy, socialist democratic politics, advanced socialist culture, socialist harmonious society and socialist ecological civilization, promoting people’s all-round development, gradually realizing the common prosperity of all people, and building a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious socialist modern country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Including the basic political system of adhering to the people’s congress system, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the system of grass-roots mass autonomy, the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, the basic economic system with public ownership as the main body and the common development of various ownership economies. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "These are the contents that embody the basic principles of scientific socialism under the new historical conditions. If we lose these, it will not be socialism."
"The elders who seek wood must consolidate their roots; Those who want to flow far away must dig their fountains. " It is not easy to find a good road, and it is even more difficult to take this road well. In the past, we copied the notebook, imitated others, experienced confusion and setbacks, hit a wall again and again, woke up again and again, practiced again and again, and made breakthroughs again and again, and finally embarked on a road to success in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Now, some people talk about this road and that road, some want to pull back to the old road, and some want to lead to the wrong road; Some are misunderstandings and some have ulterior motives. Socialism with Chinese characteristics this road, we see, identified, we must unswervingly go on. We should learn from all the achievements of civilization created by human society with an open mind, but we should not forget our ancestors and copy the development models of other countries. We must always remain sober and firm, maintain a strong determination to move forward, neither take the old road of being closed and rigid, nor take the evil road of changing the flag, not be afraid of any risks, not be confused by any interference, and truly "persevere after thousands of blows, and let the east, west, north and south wind."
4. Correctly understand the two decades before and after the reform and opening up.
The road comes step by step. In December 2013, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out at the symposium to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong’s birth: "We must not forget the road we have traveled when we move forward; No matter how far you go, you can’t forget the past. " Marked by the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, our party leads the people in the practical exploration of socialist construction, which is mainly divided into two historical periods: before and after the reform and opening up.
Some people are still vague about the relationship between the two historical periods before and after the reform and opening up. For example, some people think that China’s economic and social development has made great achievements in the past 30 years since the reform and opening up, and there have been mistakes such as the "Cultural Revolution" in the previous 30 years, so the last 30 years are used to deny the first 30 years. Some people think that there have been many new contradictions in China’s economic and social development since the reform and opening up, and even think that the Socialism with Chinese characteristics road we have taken has deviated from the socialist direction, so we use the first 30 years to deny the last 30 years. A correct understanding of the relationship between the two decades before and after the reform and opening up determines whether we can correctly evaluate the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for more than 90 years and New China for more than 60 years, which is related to the success or failure of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s cause.
On this issue of right and wrong, we should have a very clear and firm understanding. In his speech at the seminar on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out that "these are two interrelated and significantly different periods, but in essence they are all practical explorations of our party leading the people in socialist construction". Socialism with Chinese characteristics was created in the new historical period of reform and opening-up, but it was also created on the basis that the basic socialist system has been established in New China for more than 20 years. On how to correctly understand this issue, the Supreme Leader General Secretary made a profound exposition from three aspects.
First, if our Party did not resolutely decide to implement reform and opening up in 1978, and unswervingly push forward reform and opening up, and unswervingly grasp the correct direction of reform and opening up, socialist China would not have such a good situation today, and it might face a serious crisis. At the same time, if the new China was not established in 1949 and socialist revolution and construction were carried out, important ideological, material and institutional conditions and positive and negative experiences were accumulated, it would be difficult for the reform and opening up to advance smoothly.
Second, although there are great differences in ideological guidance, principles and policies and practical work in socialist construction between these two historical periods, they are by no means separated from each other, let alone fundamentally opposed. Many correct ideas put forward by the Party in the practice of socialist construction, although not really implemented at that time, have been really implemented after the reform and opening up, and will still be adhered to and developed in the future. Marx said long ago: "People create their own history, but they don’t create it at will, not under the conditions they choose, but under the conditions they meet directly, which are established and inherited from the past." We can’t use today’s conditions of the times, the level of development and the level of understanding to measure and demand our predecessors, and we can’t demand our predecessors to do what only future generations can do.
Third, we should correctly evaluate the historical period before the reform and opening up, and we should not use the historical period after the reform and opening up to deny the historical period before the reform and opening up, nor can we use the historical period before the reform and opening up to deny the historical period after the reform and opening up. The exploration of socialist practice before the reform and opening up has accumulated conditions for the exploration of socialist practice after the reform and opening up, which is the persistence, reform and development of the previous period. To explore the socialist practice before the reform and opening up, we should adhere to the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, distinguish the mainstream from the tributaries, uphold the truth, correct mistakes, carry forward experience and learn lessons, and push forward the cause of the party and the people on this basis.
Correctly understanding and handling the relationship between socialist practice and exploration before and after the reform and opening up is not only a historical issue, but also a political issue. The ancients said: "If you destroy a country, you must first go to its history." In recent years, hostile forces at home and abroad have often made a fuss about the revolutionary history of China and the history of new China, and tried their best to attack, vilify and slander. The fundamental purpose is to confuse people’s hearts and incite the overthrow of the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership and China’s socialist system. If this major political issue is not handled well, it will have serious political consequences. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate at the beginning? Why did the CPSU collapse? An important reason is to completely deny the history of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to deny Lenin and Stalin, to engage in historical nihilism, and to confuse thoughts.
History is history, and history cannot be chosen arbitrarily. The history of a nation is the basis for a nation to settle down. No matter what twists and turns have occurred, no matter what hardships and difficulties have occurred, the history of civilization of the Chinese nation for more than 5,000 years, the history of struggle of China people for more than 170 years since modern times, the history of struggle of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for more than 90 years and the history of development of People’s Republic of China (PRC) for more than 60 years are all written by the people. Summing up and drawing lessons from history aims at learning from history and making better progress. To firmly establish a correct view of history, we must neither cut off history nor empty it. We must insist that the victory of the new-democratic revolution must not be lost, the achievements of the socialist revolution and construction must not be denied, and the direction of reform, opening up and socialist modernization must not be shaken.
5. Continue to write this great article by Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Responsibility is more important than Mount Tai, and the cause has a long way to go. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is constantly developing and advancing, and it needs generations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) people to lead the people to continue their struggle. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a great article, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping has defined the basic ideas and principles for it. The third generation of the party’s central leading collective with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core and the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as the general secretary have written wonderful chapters on this great article. Now, the task of our generation of communist party people is to continue to write this big article. " This is the solemn declaration of the new central collective leadership.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics is an unprecedented great cause, and the road ahead cannot be smooth sailing. After decades of theoretical and practical exploration, our understanding of socialism and our grasp of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s laws have reached an unprecedented new height, which is beyond doubt. At the same time, we should also see that China’s socialism is still in the primary stage, and we still face many unclear problems and unsolved problems, and our understanding and handling of many major issues are still in the process of deepening, which is beyond doubt. It takes a process to understand things, but our understanding and grasp of socialism, which we have only been engaged in for decades, is still very limited. The more advanced and developed the cause, the more new situations and problems will be, the more risks and challenges will be faced, and the more unpredictable things will be faced. All these require us to explore boldly and deepen development in practice.
In June, 2013, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader stressed in the seventh collective study in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee that in the face of the new requirements of the development of the cause of the party and the state, we should review the glorious course that the party and the people have gone through together, improve our understanding of upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continue to push forward the cause of the party and the state under the new historical conditions.
First, we must stick to our own path. No matter revolution, construction or reform, the road problem is the most fundamental problem. Combining the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete reality of our country and taking our own road is the basic conclusion that generations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) people emancipate their minds, seek truth from facts, keep pace with the times, go through difficulties and twists and turns, and make great sacrifices in the great practice of people creating history. The period of new democratic revolution came like this, the period of socialist revolution and construction came like this, and so did the new historical period of reform and opening up. The General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Standing on the vast land of 9.6 million square kilometers, sucking the cultural nutrients accumulated by the long struggle of the Chinese nation, we have the majestic power of 1.3 billion China people to gather, and we go our own way, which has an incomparably broad stage, an incomparably profound historical heritage and an incomparably strong determination to move forward." After more than 30 years of exploration and practice, the people of China have found, adhered to and expanded the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Now the most important thing is to unswervingly follow this road, keep pace with the times and expand this road, so as to promote the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics to become wider and wider.
Second, we must conform to the general trend of the world. "The trend of the world is vast. If you follow it, you will prosper, and if you go against it, you will die." Correctly handling the relationship between China and the world is a major issue concerning the success or failure of the Party’s cause. The birth of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the establishment of socialist China and the implementation of reform and opening up are all the results of conforming to the general trend of world development. How did the reform and opening up come about? The key point is that our party correctly judges the general trend of the world and establishes the understanding that peace and development are the themes of the times. Only with the shift of the work center of the party and the state can the new period of reform and opening up be opened. With the profound and complex changes in the world today and the unprecedented close contact and interaction between China and the world, it is even more important to pay close attention to the development and changes of the international situation, grasp the general trend of the world, coordinate the two overall situations at home and abroad, and grasp the initiative and win development in the trend of the times.
Third, it must represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. The reason why our Party has been supported and supported by the people for more than 90 years is fundamentally because it can always represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China, that is, it insists that the masses are real heroes, respects the people’s initiative, and mobilizes and organizes the people to devote themselves to the great cause led by the Party. Our party leads the people to fight local tyrants and divide the land, which is to fight for the fundamental interests of the people; Leading the people to carry out War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and drive away the Japanese aggressors is a struggle for the fundamental interests of the people; Leading the people to overthrow the Chiang family dynasty and establish a new China is a struggle for the fundamental interests of the people; Leading the people to carry out socialist revolution and construction and change the country’s poor and white appearance is to fight for the fundamental interests of the people; Leading the people to carry out reform and opening up and promote socialist modernization is also a struggle for the fundamental interests of the people. On the way forward, as long as our party always insists that the interests of the people are above everything else and closely relies on the people, it will always be invincible.
Fourth, we must strengthen the party’s own construction. In all historical periods of revolution, construction and reform, our party attaches great importance to strengthening its own construction. While doing a good job in the daily work of Party building, we have successively carried out study and education practice activities such as rectification, party consolidation, "Three Stresses", Theory of Three Represents, the Party’s advanced nature, Scientific Outlook on Development and the Party’s mass line, which have played a very important role in maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity and improving its leadership and ruling ability. The development of the situation, the development of the cause and the expectations of the people all require us to comprehensively promote the new great project of party building with the spirit of reform and innovation and comprehensively improve the scientific level of party building. We should enhance our sense of urgency and responsibility, firmly grasp the general requirements of Party building, constantly improve the Party’s leadership and ruling level, and improve its ability to resist corruption, change and risks, so that our Party will always be in the forefront of the times in the historical process of profound changes in the world situation, become the backbone of the people throughout the country in the historical process of coping with various risks and tests at home and abroad, and become a strong leadership core in the historical process of upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Fifth, we must strengthen Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s self-confidence. Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s road, theoretical system and system have been achieved through the long-term struggle of the whole party and the people of all nationalities, and have also been tested by long-term practice. Our confidence in Socialism with Chinese characteristics comes from practice, from the people and from the truth. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "In today’s world, if any political party, country or nation can be confident, then the Communist Party of China (CPC), People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese nation have the most reasons to be confident." On the basis of thoroughly grasping Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s scientificity and truth, we should strengthen our road confidence, theoretical confidence and institutional confidence, constantly create a new situation in Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s cause, and constantly hand over the qualified papers for adhering to and developing Socialism with Chinese characteristics.
People’s Daily (14th edition, July 2, 2014)
