Leng Rong：Relying on the people to create historical greatness, remembering the purpose to forge a new glory

Relying on the people to create historical greatness, remembering the purpose to forge a new glory*

Leng Rong

President of the Communist Party of China Literature Research

Association of China and former president and researcher of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of China

On the centenary of the CPC, the Party Central Committee held a series of grand celebrations, culminating in a major speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at a ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC on the morning of July 1. The speech is a manifesto of the CPC for the world and the future. It puts forward new ideas, new views, new generalizations and new connotations, which are rich in connotation and profound in thought, firm and bold, and inspiring. It is a programmatic document of Marxism, which points out the direction for our Party to learn from history, create a bright future, accomplish the second centenary goal and achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In the midst of the rejoicing of all people, we are not only reviewing history, but also witnessing history and creating history. Listening to the speech, I have many thoughts. Here, I will focus on the speech stressing the need to adhere to the fundamental purpose of the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “This country is its people; the people are the country. As we have fought to establish and consolidate our leadership over the country, we have in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people’s support. The Party has in the people its roots, its lifeblood, and its source of strength. The Party has always represented the fundamental interests of all Chinese people; it stands with them through thick and thin and shares a common fate with them. The Party has no special interests of its own—it has never represented any individual interest group, power group, or privileged stratum.”[1] These important remarks of General Secretary Xi Jinping are of great guiding significance for our Party to always stay true to its original aspiration and founding mission, stand with the people, rely closely on the people, do everything for the people, and keep the people at the center.

The people are the creators of history. This is a basic tenet of Marxism. Since its establishment, the CPC has distinctly chosen to stand with the proletariat and the people. The Second National Party Congress proposed that “since we are a party that struggles for the proletariat, we must ‘go to the people.’“[2] An important reason for the victory of the Northern Expeditionary War was the Party’s efforts to mobilize workers and peasants, which ensured the Great Revolution was in full swing, and the Northern Expeditionary Army progressed with great momentum. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, in the face of repeated encirclement and suppression campaigns by the formidable enemy, and despite the vast inferiority of our forces, the Red Army and its bases were able to survive, develop and grow, and achieved many victories against the encirclement and suppression campaigns. One of the fundamental reasons for this is that our Party had the support of the people. Mao Zedong pointed out: “What is a true bastion of iron? It is the masses, the millions upon millions of people who genuinely and sincerely support the revolution. That is the real iron bastion which no force can smash, no force whatsoever.”[3] During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, our Party always adhered to the line of total resistance, mobilized the people extensively, established vast resistance bases behind the enemy lines, and promoted the formation of a historical torrent of national warfare, which plunged the Japanese invaders into a vast sea of people’s war. The same is true of the War of Liberation, as General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “The final victory of the Huai-Hai Campaign was pulled to us with the people’s wheelbarrows, and the victory in the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign was won with the help from the people rowing their small boats.”[4] It has been proved that, “The richest source of power to wage war lies in the people.”[5] It was with this great power of the Chinese people that the Party overthrew the three big mountains and finally won the new-democratic revolution and established the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese people stood up.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, under the leadership of the Party, the Chinese people, who had turned themselves into masters of their own country, became extremely enthusiastic about the revolution, became self-reliant, and made great achievements in socialist revolution and construction. Relying on the people, we established a political system in which the people are the masters; gradually formed an independent and relatively complete industrial system and economic system, and changed the face of a poor country; developed socialist science and culture; successfully exploded atomic and hydrogen bombs and launched artificial satellites; and so on. The Party’s decisions and calls were heartily embraced by the people.

In exploring socialist construction, we also encountered many difficulties and even serious twists and turns, but due to the high prestige of the Party among the people and the great trust of the people in the Party, we triumphantly overcome the difficulties.

The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party created a new historical period of reform and opening up, and our Party blazed, kept to and developed the correct socialist path with Chinese characteristics. Deng Xiaoping pointed out that, “Many things in reform and opening up were proposed by the people in practice.”[6] He repeatedly stressed that the Party’s thinking and work must be judged on the basis of whether or not the people approve and are happy. Jiang Zemin stressed that the essence of the Theory of Three Represents is to govern for the people, and that the CPC should represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people.[7] Hu Jintao stressed that the core of the Scientific Outlook on Development is people-oriented, and that we must take realizing, upholding, and developing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people as the starting and ending points of all work.[8] Just as General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “The great historical drama of reform and opening up is starring hundreds of millions of people.”[9] He also said, “China has caught up with the times in great strides.”[10]

Since the 18th National Party Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and the Chinese people have achieved a tremendous transformation: they have stood up, grown rich, and are becoming strong. General Secretary Xi Jinping has distinctly put forward the idea of adhering to people-centered development. This important thought is the latest overview of the fundamental purpose of the Party, an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. As an important element of the “14 adheres” basic strategy, this thought has very rich theoretical connotation and practical requirements, with strong practical relevance and distinctive characteristics of the times.

In the face of the people’s strong resentment of corruption, the Party Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi Jinping at the core, made heavy-handed efforts to crack down on it. From the beginning, the Central Committee made sure that no place is out of bounds, no ground left unturned, and no tolerance shown in the fight against corruption. It ensured officials do not dare to be, are not able to be, and do not want to be corrupt. It made solid progress in “taking out tigers,” “swatting flies,” and “hunting down foxes.” This enabled the fight against corruption to achieve overwhelming victory and be consolidated in all respects and purified and reshaped the political ecology.

In the face of environmental issues of general concern to the people, ecological conservation is placed in a prominent position in the Party’s overall work, and reform of the system for developing an ecological civilization is integrated into the greater system of goals for comprehensively deepening reform. From the management of haze to the battle against pollution, from the formulation on the theory that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” to the concept that “environment is livelihood, green mountains are beauty, blue sky is happiness,” China’s eco-environmental protection has undergone historical, transitional and comprehensive changes, and the people’s sense of happiness and security from the ecological environment has been increasingly enhanced.

In the face of the poverty problem that the people are eager to solve, the Party has promised to “leave behind no single poverty-stricken area or individual.” It has taken targeted measures to reduce and eradicate poverty, including:

1.        identify the poor accurately,

2.        arrange targeted programs,

3.        utilize capital efficiently,

4.        take household-based measures, 

5.        dispatch first Party secretaries based on village conditions, and

6.        achieve the set goals.

The Party has adopted five measures:

1.        boosting the economy to provide more job opportunities,

2.        relocating poverty-stricken people,

3.        providing eco-jobs for poverty-stricken people,

4.        improving education in poverty-stricken areas, and

5.        improving social security for poverty alleviation

The Party has also ensured assurances of adequate food and clothing, and guarantees of access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing for impoverished rural residents. In the decisive battle against poverty and the completion of a moderately prosperous society, we have created a miracle in the history of the world: we have achieved the first centenary goal of completing a moderately prosperous society on the Chinese land, and resolved the historical problem of absolute poverty.

In the face of the serious threat to the lives and health of the people, we always put protecting the people and human life above everything else, and enlisted national efforts to seize major strategic achievements in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, fully demonstrating the great power of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation and the great spirit of fighting the epidemic of putting protecting life above everything else, ensuring all the people throughout country work together, are ready sacrifice their life for the good of others, respect science, and share the same future. At the critical fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, more than 39 million Party members and officials fought on the front line, more than 13 million Party members served as volunteers, and nearly 400 Party members and officials gave their lives to protect people’s lives.[11]

 These efforts have been widely praised by the people, and confidence of the Party and the people has been greatly boosted. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “In the end, the effectiveness of any initiative must be judged on the basis of whether the people have genuinely benefited or not. Bringing benefit to the people constitutes an essential requirement for upholding the principle that the Party was founded for the public good, and that it exercises state power for the people. It is an important guarantee for the continued development of the cause of the Party and people.”[12] Since the 18th National Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has ensured coordinated implementation of the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy. It has based on the new development stage, implemented the new development philosophy, built a new development pattern, and promoted high-quality development. The starting and ending points of all this are to promote interests of the people and ensure that the people live a better life. The political report of the 19th CPC National Congress is riddled with the word “people,” and there are 203 references to “people” in the whole text, with the theme of not staying true to the original aspiration and founding mission.

The Resolution on Certain Historical Issues of the Party since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China states that the mass line is a summary of the Party’s invaluable historical experience in conducting revolutionary activities in a difficult environment with a great disparity between us and the enemy over a long period of time.[13] In his speech at the group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee before July 1, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that, “For a party like ours, which has been in power for a long time, there is no greater danger than not staying true to the original aspiration and founding mission and being disengaged with the people.”[14] Both the terms “invaluable” and “no greater” represent the highest degree, indicating that the key to seizing state power lines in winning popular support, and the same is true to keeping state power. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out incisively: “It was not easy for our Party to develop and grow, it was not easy to seize power, and it is not easy to build the People’s Republic of China. The people wholeheartedly support the CPC because it has always wholeheartedly served the people and worked for the happiness of all ethnic groups.”[15]

As we put conscious effort into learning from history to create a bright future, we must bear the following mind: First, the aspirations of the people to live a better life must always be the focus of our efforts. This is the most impressive phrase in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s first speech after the 18th National Party Congress, and the one that best reflects the Party’s goals and tasks in the new era. Second, the Party’s mass line must be implemented. This was the theme of the first Party-wide study and education campaign conducted after the 18th National Party Congress. Third, it is necessary to develop whole-process people’s democracy, safeguard social justice, and make efforts to solve the problems of unbalanced and insufficient development and the people’s urgent difficulties and worries. Fourth, we must promote the well-rounded development of individuals and the common prosperity of all the people must make more obvious and substantial progress. Achieving common prosperity for all people is the political requirement that best reflects the second centenary goal and is most in line with the essence of socialism and the major issues of concern to the people. The Guidelines on Supporting Zhejiang in Pursuing High-Quality Development and Building a Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone, officially announced by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in 2021, has given Zhejiang an important demonstration reform task, making our Party take another big solid step forward on the path of uniting and leading the people in achieving common prosperity.

In my opinion, the abovementioned points are what General Secretary Xi Jinping meant when he stressed the need to uphold the Party’s fundamental purpose in his speech marking the centenary of the Party. Among them, “developing whole-process people’s democracy” was proposed for the first time, which is of great significance.

This year, for the whole Party and the whole country, is a year of great historical significance; for us Party history and literature research workers, it is also a year in which we should play an important role and assume important responsibilities and heavy tasks. Especially since the Party history study and education campaign began, we have given full play to our advantages in the research on Party history and documents and made many achievements editing, researching, compiling and promoting the Party’s history, theories, documents, figures and advanced deeds. We have completed each of the glorious tasks assigned to us by the CPC Central Committee with high quality, playing an irreplaceable and important role. I hope that all of our colleagues of my Society will continue to work hard and continue to play a greater role in the next phase of the Party history study and education campaign. First, we should carefully study the major speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping at a ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, take the study and implementation of the guiding principles from the speech a major political task of the Society at present and in the future. We should organize various forms of seminars and academic exchanges on these principles, carry out in-depth exchanges of learning experience, and constantly improve our understanding. Second, we should further study and understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, read the original works and articles, and fully understand the principles, so as to learn the history and understand the principles and learn to be politically conscious of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. We must stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must uphold the core position of the General Secretary on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership. Third, we should give full play to the advantages of the branches of the Society in the study of the older generation of revolutionaries. In terms of the ideological life, great achievements and intellectual conduct of these revolutionaries, we should tell the revolutionary stories well, preserve the revolutionary spirit, and promote the noble style of the revolution. Fourth, we should focus on the central task of the Party and the state and the work of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, fully mobilize and organize the resources and forces of the Society, and continue to accomplish the important tasks undertaken by the Society.

* Speech at a conference on Xi Jinping’s major speech  marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China,  held in Beijing on July 3, 2021, by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Communist Party of China Literature Research  Association of China, the Chinese Society for the Study of the Communist Party of China History Figures, the Chinese Society for the Study of Mao Zedong's Poetry, the  Chinese Society for the Study of Marx and Engels, the Chinese Society for the History of the International Communist Movement.  First published in The Literature of Chinese Communist Party, No.4, 2021.

[1]Xi Jinping, "Speech at a Ceremony Marking the Centenary of the Communist Party of China,” People's Daily, July 2, 2021.

[2] Selected Documents Produced since the Founding of the Party, Beijing: Central Party Literature Publishing House, 2011, vol. I, p. 162.

[3] Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1991, vol. I, p. 139.

[4] Xi Jinping, “Speech at a Mobilization Meeting on Party History Study and Education,” Qiushi, no. 7, 2021

[5] Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1991, vol. 2, p. 511.

[6] The Chronology of Deng Xiaoping (1975–1997), protect: Central Party Literature Publishing House, 2004, vol. II, p. 1350.

[7] Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2006, vol. III, p. 537.

[8] Selected Works of Hu Jintao, Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2016, vol. III, p. 96.

[9] Xi Jinping, Speech at a Mobilization Meeting on Party History Study and Education, Beijing: People’s Education Publishing House, 2021, p. 15.

[10] Selected Documents Produced since the 19th National Party Congress, Beijing: Central Party Literature Publishing House, 2019, vol. I, p. 427.

[11] People's Daily, September 4, 2020.

[12] Xi Jinping On Socialist Social Development, Beijing: Central Party Literature Publishing House, 2017, p. 3.

[13] Selected Documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (October 1949–May 1966), Beijing: People's Publishing House, vol. I, 2013, p. 46.

[14] People's Daily, June 27, 2021.

[15] People's Daily, June 10, 2021