On June 30th, Consul General Tang Zhongdong published signed article on Star and Business Day under the title From Bud to Bloosom, the Centenarian CPC is Forging Ahead, to warmly celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundong of the Communist Party of China.
The full text is as follows:
July 1, 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The launch of the CPC, the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and the implementation of the Reform and Opening-up as well as Socialism with Chinese Characteristics represent three milestones in the journey of a century, having invigorated China, a time-honored country, and brought great historic changes to both China and the world.
Ever since its founding, the CPC has clearly defined Marxism, an advanced political theory originated in the West, as its guiding ideology, and has set fighting for well-being of the Chinese people, rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and creation of greater harmony in the world as its original aspiration and mission. The experience of numerous setbacks and failures over the last 100 years have taught the Chinese communists that the CPC can only achieve real success in China when the advanced theory of Marxism can be put into practice to adapt to China's national conditions and culture. During the course of 100 magnificent years, a number of guiding ideologies have been developed by the Chinese communists with collective wisdom of several generations, including Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thought of "Three Represents", the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which have successfully guided the practices of China's revolution and socialist construction.
Since the First Opium War in 1840, the western powers had compelled China to open to the outside world with battleships and cannons, imposing a humiliating history of 100 plus years on the Chinese people. The foreign powers coerced China to sign hundreds of unequal treaties to cede territory and pay indemnities and seized various privileges in China, transforming China into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society step by step. For the sake of winning China's independence and national liberation, countless people with lofty ideals made constant and arduous explorations and tried various political models. However, the historical task of saving the nation and defeating imperialism and feudalism still ended in failure. In July 1921, the CPC was formed at this historic juncture and stepped onto the stage of Chinese history. Since then, the Chinese people struck in the abyss of misery have taken control of their own destiny and fostered strong cores of political leadership on the journey of gaining state independence and national liberation, realizing national prosperity and people's happiness, and forging ahead toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
During the 28 years from 1921 to 1949, faced with three huge burdens of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic-capitalism, the Chinese Communists united and led the Chinese people to fight bloodshed struggles. They adapted the fundamental principles of Marxism to the practices of the Chinese revolution and developed Mao Zedong Thought, the first theoretical achievement of the localization of Marxism in China, which successfully blazed the Chinese revolutionary way of the encirclement of cities from the countryside and the armed seizure of political power. They defeated the Japanese imperialism, overthrew the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, founded the People's Republic of China, thus opening a great era of socialism in the east of the world, all of which marked the advancement of human progress and the growth of socialist powers.
From 1950 to 1978, the CPC led the whole nation to accelerate healing the war wounds, restore the national economy, implement the large-scale socialist transformation (1956), establish the basic socialist economic system, start the socialist construction, and achieve the most extensive and profound social changes. In less than 30 years, China became successful to put in place an industrial system and a national economic system featuring independence and integrity, bringing about gradual improvement of people's livelihood and considerable progress in the causes of education, health, science and technology. Independent and integral armed forces were also built up to resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity.
However, China was still a large nation with a huge population and underdeveloped economy foundation, the CPC failed to gain a scientific and full understanding of what socialism meant, how to build socialism, and the rules of construction and development of socialist society concerning theory, cognition and practical experience, nor it was fully prepared intellectually, which ended up in many mistakes, setbacks and failures in China's way of exploration.
In November 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee shifted the priorities of the CPC and the nation, made the historic decision to reform and open up, and reconfirmed the ideological principle of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts. Since then, China has embarked on the great journey of Reform and Opening up. The second generation of the CPC, under the collective leadership with Deng Xiaoping as its core, learned from the positive and negative lessons in the history after 1949 and realized that the nature of socialism was to unleash and develop productivity, eliminate exploitation and polarization, and ultimately achieve common prosperity. Poverty is not supposed to be part of socialism. The intellectual achievements of the localization of Marxism in China, such as Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Important Thought of "Three represents" and the Scientific Outlook on Development, have systematically and scientifically addressed a series of issues on building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.
Since the launch of Reform and Opening up, China took only a few decades of time to accomplish the process of industrialization that took developed countries a few hundred of years. Now being the second largest economy in the world, China has become the country with the largest trade volume in goods, the largest foreign exchange reserves, the largest-scale manufacturing industry based on an integral modern industrial system, the second largest commodity consumption, the second largest foreign capital inflows, and a variety of agricultural products among the world's highest. A enormous infrastructure networks have been built and inter-connected throughout the whole China. The world's largest social security system has been established, and significant advancements has been made in science, technology, education and culture. Agricultural tax has been permanently abolished. A total of 770 million people have shaken off poverty. Long-term social stability has been maintained. The success of Reform and Opening up have proved that only socialism can save China and only Socialism with Chinese Characteristics can develop China.
In November 2012, the 12th National Congress of the CPC declared a new era for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Faced head-on with the profound changes unseen in the world for a century, the new leadership of the CPC with General Secretary Xi Jinping as its core has mobilized and guided the whole nation by assuming overall responsibilities, responding to changes, and launching new initiatives. It has overcome so many difficulties and accomplished many major goals, bringing unprecedented changes to China. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the latest achievement of adapting Marxism to China's conditions, has made it clear that the leadership of the CPC is the most essential feature of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Since then, the Chinese nation has achieved a great leap from standing up, getting richer, to growing stronger.
At the current moment, China enjoys profound and strong developing momentum under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. China has implemented the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, while upholding and improving Socialist System with Chinese Characteristics. China is standing upon the new development stage, applying the new development philosophy, fostering the new development paradigm, and promoting the people-centered development of high quality. China is promoting major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and dedicated to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. China has defeated the epidemic of Covid-19 domestically, accomplished the task of poverty alleviation, and established a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The Chinese people fully demonstrate their ownership of the country and enjoy unprecedented democracy, freedom and human rights with an unparalleled sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.
As the largest political party in the world, from bud to blossom, the centenarian CPC is still forging ahead. The past 100 years have proved to the world that socialism in China is vibrant and promising. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Chinese people unite closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, hold high the great banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, make unremitting efforts to achieve the second centenary goal and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, and make greater contribution to the progress of human civilization and the development of socialism in the world.
China and South Africa have forged a special bond of comrades plus brothers and developed into a community with a shared future and common interests based on win-win cooperation. At this new starting point of history, the CPC, the Chinese government and people stand ready as always to further deepen our exchanges and cooperation with the South African government and political parties, to work closely to build a closer and stronger China-South Africa community with a shared future.