11-16-06, 9:55 am

Veteran Red Army soldier Li Zhanrong, 86, sits in front of the Long March Monument at Jiangtaibo of Xiji County in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region October 22. The Long March ended at Jiangtaibao on October 22, 1936, after which the Red Army headed to Yan'an where the new CPC headquarters was established.

DURING the course of our stay in Beijing, three in-depth discussions with party leaders took place. These were with Liu Hongcai, vice minister, International Department of Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC); Fang Li, vice minister of Policy Research Office of Central Committee of CPC; and Zhang Zhijun, vice minister, International Department of Central Committee of CPC. Fang Li explained to the delegation the current thinking and understanding of the CPC. Founded in 1921, they divide into four stages the history of the Chinese revolution. The first stage ends in 1949 with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Through 1921 to 1949, the activities of the CPC were guided by Mao Zedong Thought, the strategy of liberating rural areas and encircling urban centres, united front tactics, and finally, the triumph of the national democratic revolution. The second stage is between 1949 and 1977 where the efforts for the consolidation of the socialist system and the building of the socialist economy were undertaken. The cultural revolution, however, derailed this process and an intense inner-party struggle finally led to the beginning of the third state between 1978 and 2002. This is the stage dominated by Deng Xiaoping Theory with the policy of reform and opening up of China that has paved the way for an unprecedented economic growth of over 8 per cent per annum. The fourth and current stage, they say, began in 2002 with the 16th Congress of CPC. PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST The sixth plenary session of the 16th Congress of CPC, as stated earlier, adopted a special resolution on the building of a harmonious socialist society. This, according to them, has a very large content. In typical Chinese style, they explained that this resolution has one core point: always put people first; and two objectives: coordinated development of the economy and comprehensive development of the human being. By comprehensive development, they mean the economic, political, social and cultural development. By coordinated development of the economy, they speak of striking a balance (a) between rural and urban development, (b) between regions, (c) between the economy and society (i.e., overcoming economic and social inequalities) and (d) sustainable development (i.e., acquiring balance with nature). To achieve this, they speak in terms of six basic features and six guidelines. The six basic features that have to be achieved are advanced development under Rule of Law; justice; ecological and environmental balance; honesty and non-corruption; social order and regulation; and harmony between man and nature. The six guidelines are: always keeping the people first; be scientific; continuing with reform and opening up of the society; deepening democracy; reforming development strategies and the leadership of the CPC. They envisage nine special targets to be achieved by 2020. (1) Advanced democracy, (2) rural-urban parity, (3) full employment and social security, (4) strengthening public services, (5) strengthening morality and social relations, (6) strengthening innovative socialist economic management, (7) socialist social management, (8) increasing efficiency by protecting the environment, and (9) building an all-round well-off society. While explaining how they intend to go about achieving these targets, they recollect an old Chinese saying: “never forget your ancestors, yet speak something new”. The best way to implement Marxism, according to CPC, is to proceed from the realities and to seek truth from the facts. If theory cannot change the present situation, then, while sticking to the basic revolutionary tenets of Marxism, we need to innovate. While learning from all civilisations and from ancient Chinese culture itself, the CPC today seeks to combine the Marxist theory with the present realities. They claim that the revolution can only succeed when this combination is correctly implemented. Recalling that Marxism came to China from outside, like in many other countries, it was the task of the Chinese Communists to implement the Marxist principles in the concrete conditions of China. This is what gave rise to the slogan of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. PUBLIC SECTOR, THE MAINSTAY In response to the question, whether the growth of private enterprise in the course of building socialism with Chinese characteristics is leading or would, in the future, lead to a class differentiation in the society, they answered in the negative. Yes, they admit, new social strata have emerged. Yes, income inequalities have risen but no new classes have emerged. The effort to build a harmonious socialist society is to prevent this from happening. They asserted that the public ownership will always remain the mainstay of the economy. While private economy is being encouraged, such development is taking place within the socialist system and within the controls imposed by the system. The main question under socialism is how wealth is generated and how this wealth is used. The pre-condition for private enterprise in China today is that they are part of the socialist system and they are judged by their contribution, whether it is beneficial to strengthen the socialist economy. In the primary stage of socialism, by its very nature as a period of transition, private ownership will exist. Converting it entirely into public ownership in this transition stage may endanger socialism itself. The character of the vast bulk of the private sector in China is mainly small or, at best, medium. However, there are a few large private enterprises with an asset value of 10 billion yuan or more. These have to function within the strict enforcement of law under the socialist State. When asked about what they mean by advanced democracy, they said that it means, (a) people are masters, (b) rule of law, and (c) the leadership of the CPC. The institutionalised forms of such democracy will consist of the system of people’s congresses and multi-party political consultations. There are eight political parties that are part of this multiparty consultations in China. Self-governing rural communities would be established while trade unions will be strengthened to ensure the protection of all labour laws under socialism. Our subsequent visits to rural areas and factories gave us the opportunity to see the manner in which the CPC leadership was seeking to implement these objectives and the problems that are arising and how these are being tackled.

From People’s Democracy