VI. Make the Party a Strong Leading Core for the Cause of Socialist Modernization

HISTORY has entrusted our Party with heavy responsibilities in the great undertaking of China's socialist modernization. In order to step up Party building in the new period, we have made many fundamental changes in the Party Constitution adopted by the 11th National Congress. The general principle guiding the revision of the Party Constitution is to set more exacting demands on Party members, enhance the fighting capacity of the Party organizations and uphold and improve Party leadership, all in conformity with the characteristics and needs of the new historical period. As required by the new Constitution, we must strive to build the Party and make it a strong leading core for the cause of socialist modernization.

The draft of the revised Party Constitution now submitted to this congress for its consideration has discarded the "Left" errors in the Constitution adopted by the 11th Congress, and carries forward the merits of the Party constitutions passed respectively by the Seventh and Eighth Congresses. The General Programme section in the draft Constitution includes Marxist definitions concerning the character and guiding ideology of the Party, the principal contradiction in our society at the present stage and the general task of the Party, and the correct way for the Party to play its leading role in the life of the state. The ideological, political and organizational requirements this draft Constitution sets for Party members and cadres are stricter than those in all our previous constitutions. In stipulating the duties of Party members, the draft absolutely forbids them to use public office for personal gain or to benefit themselves at the expense of the public interests, and requires that they firmly oppose factionalism and be bold in backing good people and good deeds and in opposing bad people and bad deeds. It sets forth as basic requirements for leading cadres at all levels that they correctly implement the Party's line, principles and policies, oppose erroneous tendencies inside and outside the Party, have the professional knowledge and organizational ability needed for competent leadership, and adhere to Party principles in struggling against all abuses of power and pursuit of personal gain. Most of these are additions, not found in the previous constitutions. In the light of our historical experience and lessons, the draft Constitution emphasizes that all Party organizations from the central down to the primary level must strictly observe the principles of democratic centralism and collective leadership, and it explicitly stipulates that the Party "forbids all forms of personality cult." It makes many new provisions for improving the systems of the central and local organizations, tightening Party discipline, reinforcing the discipline inspection organs and strengthening the primary Party organizations. According to the draft Constitution, the Central Committee is to have no Chairman but only a General Secretary, who will convene meetings of the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee and preside over the work of the Secretariat. Advisory committees are to be established at the central and provincial levels to give our many veteran comrades rich in political experience a role as consultants in the service of the Party's cause. Commissions for discipline inspection are to be elected by Party congresses at the respective levels and, within limits prescribed by the Party Constitution, they are to supervise Party committees and their members at the respective levels below the Central Committee, and they may report to the Central Committee any breach of Party discipline by any of its members. Party organizations at all levels must pay great attention to Party building and must regularly discuss and check up on the Party's work in propaganda, education, organization and discipline inspection, and its mass work and united front work. All these stipulations should help to reinforce the Party's collective leadership, enhance its fighting capacity and strengthen its ties with the masses. It should be said that the present draft is an improvement on all the previous constitutions and is fuller in content. Being a precious crystallization of the Party's historical experience and collective wisdom, it is an important guarantee for making our Party still stronger in the new historical period.

All Party members must study and strictly observe the new Constitution after its adoption by this congress. Whether or not a Party member really meets the requirements set by the Constitution and can fully discharge the duties of membership will be the fundamental criterion for judging whether he or she is qualified to be a Party member. Before the present revision of the Constitution, our Party worked out the Guiding Principles for Inner-Party Political Life, a document which has played a salutary role in that regard. The Guiding Principles will remain in full effect as an important complement to the Constitution. In light of the present conditions in the Party and in the spirit of our new Party Constitution, we must now concentrate on solving the following problems in Party building.

First, improve the Party's system of democratic centralism and further normalize inner-Party political life.

The history of our Party shows that, in the period from its founding to the early years after the establishment of the People's Republic, except for a few years when the Party fell into grave Right or "Left" errors, it implemented the principles of democratic centralism relatively well, and inner-Party political life was fairly vigorous and lively. But from the late 1950s, the personality cult gradually appeared and developed, and political life in the Party and state, and particularly in the Central Committee, grew more and more abnormal, leading eventually to the decade of domestic turmoil. The grave twists and turns of history have taught us that whether there is normal political life in the Party, and above all in the Central Committee and other leading bodies of the Party at different levels, is indeed a fundamental issue bearing on the destiny of the Party and state.

Now, the Central Committee is happy to report to the congress that, thanks to efforts made since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, political life in the Party, and first of all in the Central Committee. after being seriously abnormal for so many years, has now gradually returned to the correct path, the path of Marxism. Generally speaking, the Central Committee, its Political Bureau, the Bureau's Standing Committee and the Secretariat have proved able to follow principles of democratic centralism and collective leadership. The practices of "what one person says goes" and of each going his own way are no longer allowed. When important differences of opinion arise, unity in thinking and action can be achieved through full reasoning and criticism and self-criticism. The present Central Committee is a united and harmonious leading body and a strong core able to cope with complicated situations. There has also been marked improvement in the political life of many local Party organizations.

While affirming this major progress, we must also realize that in the Party as a whole, undemocratic practices and patriarchal ways have still not been eradicated in many organizations, and cases of decentralism and liberalism exist to a serious extent. All this hinders the implementation of the Party's line, principles and policies and weakens its fighting capacity. In order to carry forward the normalization of political life throughout the Party, we must resolutely get rid of such unhealthy phenomena. All Party members, and especially the leading cadres at various levels, must bear the principle of democratic centralism firmly in mind, see to it that collective leadership is established and strengthened first of all in the Party committees at various levels, and strive to develop inner-Party democracy while ensuring centralism and unity on the basis of democracy.

Party discipline must be strengthened in order to improve the functioning of democratic centralism. A grave problem at present is that in quite a number of organizations Party discipline has slackened, right and wrong are confounded, rewards and punishments are misused and there is failure to criticize or punish when necessary. This is a problem of long standing, which has become exacerbated after the decade of domestic turmoil, and no marked improvement has yet occurred in some places. In the last few years the Central Committee, local Party committees and Party commissions for discipline inspection at all levels have attained notable results in their major efforts to uphold Party discipline and correct the style of the Party. But they have met considerable, and in some cases shocking, obstruction in their work. If such things are allowed to spread, what will remain of the Party's fighting capacity? Party organizations at all levels and all Party members must be mobilized to fight resolutely to uphold Party discipline. We are confident that after this congress, through concerted efforts by all Party organizations and members, we shall certainly be able to fully restore the inviolability of discipline throughout the Party before too long and thus win the full trust of the people throughout the country.

Second, reform the leading bodies and the cadre system and ensure that the ranks of the cadres become more revolutionary, younger in average age, better educated and more professionally competent.

The main aim of reforming the system of leadership and the leading organs of the Party and state is to eliminate such defects as over-concentration of power, proliferation of concurrent and deputy posts, organizational overlapping, lack of clear-cut job responsibility, overstaffing and failure to separate Party work from government work, and in these ways overcome bureaucracy and increase work efficiency. The first stage of reform of the Party and government organs at the central level has been basically completed, and the reform in the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions is scheduled to start in the second half of this year or in the coming year. This reform is of far-reaching significance, being an important political guarantee for the success of China's modernization and adherence to the socialist road.

To solve correctly the question of the Party leadership over government organs and over enterprises and institutions is a highly important task in the organizational reform. It is necessary to achieve a proper division of labour between the Party and the government and between Party work and administrative and production work in enterprises and institutions. The Party is not an organ of power which issues orders to the people, nor is it an administrative or production organization. The Party should, of course, exercise leadership over production, construction and work in all other fields, and for this leadership to be fully effective it must be exercised in close connection with professional work by cadres who are professionally competent in such work. But Party leadership is mainly political and ideological leadership in matters of principle and policy and in the selection, allocation, assessment and supervision of cadres. It should not be equated with administrative work and the direction of production by government organizations and enterprises. The Party organizations should not take everything into their own hands. Only in this way can the Party ensure that the government organs and enterprises do their work independently and effectively, and can the Party itself concentrate its efforts on the study and formulation of major policies, the inspection of their implementation and the strengthening of ideological and political work among cadres and the rank and file both inside and outside the Party. For long-standing historical reasons, some members of our Party committees think that there will be nothing for them to do if they don't handle concrete administrative work - this is an erroneous idea that impairs Party building and weakens the Party's leading role. From now on, Party committees at all levels should frequently study and discuss the Party's major policies and principles regarding socialist construction, matters involving the ideology and education of cadres, Party members and the masses, the ideological tendencies of cadres and their observance of discipline, the improvement of the Party organization and the recruitment of new members, and so on. Of course, while the division of labour between Party and government is emphasized, major policy decisions concerning government and economic work must still be made by the Party, and all Party members working in government organizations, enterprises and institutions must resolutely submit themselves to Party leadership and carry out the Party's policies.

To ensure that the ranks of the cadres become more revolutionary, younger in average age, better educated and more professionally competent is a long-established principle of the Central Committee of the Party. During the organizational reform, we will relieve our many veteran cadres who are advanced in age of their heavy responsibilities in "front line" posts and at the same time enable, them to continue their service to the Party, the state and society by utilizing their rich experience in leadership work. We will promote large numbers of energetic young and middle-aged cadres who possess both political integrity and ability to various leading posts in good time, so that they can be tempered over a longer period practically and effectively by working with older cadres and taking over responsibilities from them and so that the leading bodies at all levels can continuously, absorb new life-blood and talent to maintain their vigour. As for persons who rose to prominence by "rebellion," who are seriously factionalist in their ideas, who have indulged in beating, smashing and looting, who oppose the line followed by the Party's Central Committee since its Third Plenary Session, or who have seriously violated the law and discipline, we must remove with a firm hand those among them who are still in leading posts. Persons who have violated criminal law must be investigated and dealt with according to law. Such people, of course, must never be put up as candidates for promotion to leading posts. The co-operation between old and new cadres and the succession of the new to the old are matters important to the continuation of our socialist cause. We believe that all our Party comrades, especially our old comrades, will certainly be able to accomplish this historic task with a high revolutionary sense of responsibility.

We must work strenuously to strengthen the education and training of cadres in order to prepare large numbers of specialized personnel needed for socialist modernization. In the future, in our use and promotion of cadres, we must attach importance to educational background and academic records as well as to experience and achievements in work. Party schools at all levels, cadre schools run by government organizations and enterprises, and especially designated institutions of higher learning and specialized secondary schools should all, as required by socialist modernization and in their different capacities, revise their teaching plans and shoulder the regular training of cadres. All functionaries on the job should be trained in rotation. After such training, appropriate adjustments can be made in their jobs through assessment of their actual performance. The training of all cadres in rotation is an important strategic measure for enhancing their quality. All Party members and all cadres should have a full understanding of the needs of our modernization programme and be active in study.

Third, strengthen the Party's work among the workers, peasants and intellectuals and establish close ties between the Party and the masses.

Our Party is powerful because it represents the interests of the broadest masses of the people. The Party's leading position in the life of the state determines that its activities vitally affect the interests of the masses, and at the same time involves the danger that Party members, and Party cadres in particular, may become isolated from the masses. This requires that we strive all the more consciously to preserve and carry forward the Party's fine tradition of applying the mass line and effectively strengthen the Party's close ties with the people of all strata of society.

Our Party is a party of the working class, and it must make a point of relying on the masses of workers. The composition of the working class in China has undergone a big change in recent years, with large numbers of new workers replacing old ones. Many old workers who are Party members have retired, many young people have joined the ranks of the working class, and group after group of workers who are Party members have been transferred to managerial jobs. As a result, there are fewer Party members on the production front, and the harder the labour, the smaller the number of Party members. This grave situation has weakened the direct link between the Party and the industrial workers. From now on, we must greatly strengthen Party work on the production front, encourage Party members fitted for working there to do so, and at the same time admit into the Party outstanding workers who are qualified for membership. The Party's work in the trade unions must be greatly strengthened so that they become a strong transmission belt between the Party and the masses of workers. The system of congresses of workers and staff must be implemented in earnest so that these congresses and the trade unions can both play an important role in ideological education, enterprise management and the improvement of the workers' living standards.

Effective Party work among China's 800 million peasants is a major prerequisite for its modernization. In a number of rural areas at present, some Party members are interested only in their own productive activities and neglect the interests of the Party and the masses, and some Party branches have relinquished leadership among the masses. Effective measures must be taken to check this unhealthy tendency. Party committees at all levels should face up to such new developments, further strengthen the rural Party organizations as well as the economic and administrative units and mass organizations at the grass roots and intensify ideological education among the peasants of different ages and in different localities, so that the political, economic and cultural life in the rural areas may develop soundly in the socialist direction.

In order to create a new situation in all fields of socialist modernization, we must lay special stress on the role of the intellectuals, improve the work of ideological and political education among them to suit their special characteristics, and actively recruit into the Party intellectuals who are qualified for membership.

China has now 200 million young people, who form the most active force in every field of work. Although the "cultural revolution" did them immense harm during their formative years, the overwhelming majority of them are good politically and they have made marked progress in the past few years; the negative features displayed by a small number of the young people can be changed through education. The problem now is that work among the young people falls short of the needs of real life. Party and Youth League organizations at all levels should establish closer ties with the masses of young people, become their close friends, show sincere concern for them and give them help politically, ideologically and in their work, study and personal life. The Party should be on the lookout for advanced young people, help them to become qualified for membership and then admit them to its ranks so as to bring new blood into the Party organizations. It should further strengthen its leadership over the Communist Youth League. support the League in the efforts to suit its work to the characteristics of the young people and help it play to the full its role as the Party's assistant and reserve force, so that the League can truly become a school where large numbers of young people will learn about communism through practice.

Women are not only an important force in national economic construction; they also have a particularly significant role to play in building socialist spiritual civilization. Owing to traditional prejudices, many women often do not receive due attention, protection and education. The Party must strengthen its work among women, concern itself with their special interests, pay attention to the training, selection and promotion of women cadres, and guide and support the women's federations at all levels in carrying out their tasks. The Women's Federation should become a prestigious mass organization, representing the interests of women and protecting and educating women and children.

Fourth, consolidate the Party organizations step by step in a planned way so as to effect a fundamental turn for the better in the style of the Party.

Our Party is the vanguard of the Chinese working class; it has been nurtured over the years by Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought and has matured through repeated tempering by successes and failures. Rallied in its ranks are outstanding elements of the Chinese working class and the Chinese people. The main body of our Party remains politically pure and strong despite the serious damage inflicted by the "cultural revolution." After recovery and consolidation in the past few years, the situation in our Party is now much improved, and its prestige is being restored and is rising. In these years, outstanding Communists on all fronts have led the masses in working hard to implement the Party's line, principles and policies and in many acts of heroism. Everywhere, in production and other work, in battles in defence of our motherland and against natural and other calamities, and in struggles against unhealthy tendencies and crimes, Party members have written soul-stirring paeans to communism through their own exemplary deeds. All the splendid successes of the Party and the people have been achieved precisely through the inspiring example given by such fine core members of the Party. This is the principal aspect of our Party, and whoever fails to see it, or deliberately denies it, is committing a grave error.

However, the pernicious influences of the 10 years of domestic turmoil have not yet been eradicated, and there has been some increase in the corrosive inroads of exploiting-class ideologies under new conditions. It is true that impurities in ideology, style and organization still exist within the Party and that no fundamental turn for the better has as yet been made in our Party style. In the leadership work of some Party organizations signs of flabbiness and lack of unity abound. Some primary Party organizations lack the necessary fighting capacity, and some are even in a state of paralysis. A small number of Party members and cadres have become extremely irresponsible or seriously bureaucratic; or live a privileged life and abuse the powers entrusted to them to seek personal gain; or commit acts of anarchism and ultra-individualism in violation of Party discipline; or obdurately indulge in factional activities to the detriment of the Party's interests. A few Party members and cadres have even sunk to corruption, embezzlement and other malpractices, committing serious economic crimes. In addition, a small remnant of the followers of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques still usurp some leading positions and are waiting for a chance to stir up trouble. All these phenomena have greatly impaired our Party's prestige. While we must not allow any exaggeration of this dark aspect of our Party, on no account should we be afraid to expose it. For ours is a staunch Party; we have ample healthy forces on our side to wage an uncompromising struggle against the dark aspect and are confident of our victory in the struggle.

The style of a political party in power determines its very survival. To achieve a fundamental turn for the better in the style of our Party, the Central Committee has decided on an overall rectification of Party style and consolidation of Party organizations, which will proceed by stages and by groups over a period of three years beginning from the latter half of 1983. This task will undoubtedly be of primary importance to the Party, and it requires very careful attention and preparation and should be carried out step by step in a planned way. The key link in accomplishing this work must be thoroughgoing ideological education throughout the Party. In conjunction with the study and implementation of the report and the new Party Constitution to be adopted by this Party congress, the whole Party should study the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China and the Guiding Principles for Inner-Party Political Life and carry on an education in the basic theories of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, in the ideal of communism and the Party's line, principles and policies and in essential knowledge concerning the Party and the requirements for Party membership. We must lay stress on getting every member to understand clearly the character, position and role of the Party and to realize that all Party members have only the duty to serve the people diligently and conscientiously, and no right whatsoever to take advantage of their power and positions to "fatten" on the state and on the masses. In matters of organization and leadership, the consolidation will start with the leading organs and cadres and then proceed, from top to bottom, with the leading bodies at different levels which have already been consolidated leading the consolidation of the subordinate and primary organizations. Bad elements must on no account be permitted to take this as an opportunity to frame and attack good people. We must act in, and develop further, the spirit of the Yanan Rectification Movement of 1942, follow its principle of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient" and its twofold objective of "clarity in ideology and unity among comrades" in unfolding earnest criticism and self-criticism, and take appropriate measures to solicit opinions from the masses outside the Party. In the final stage, there will be a re-registration of all Party members and, in strict accordance with the provisions of the new Party Constitution, those who still fail to meet the requirements for membership after education shall be expelled from the Party or asked to withdraw from it. At the same time, concrete measures should be worked out to strengthen and improve Party leadership so as to effect an improvement in the work of Party organizations at all levels.

Through the proposed consolidation of the Party, we must further normalize inner-Party political life, place an effective check on unhealthy tendencies and greatly strengthen the ties between the Party and the masses. In this way, we will certainly achieve a fundamental turn for the better in our Party style.

Comrades! Our Central Committee has explained to this congress the fighting tasks that confront the whole Party. We have proposed that in the coming five years a fundamental turn for the better should be made in the financial and economic situation, in standards of social conduct and in Party style. Can these tasks be accomplished? The Central Committee is confident that the unanimous reply by our congress will be: Yes, the tasks can and definitely shall be accomplished!

The principles and tasks to be defined by this congress will enrich and develop the correct line followed since the Third Plenary Session of the Party's 11th Central Committee. Richer in content and closer to reality, they will be even more persuasive in unifying the thinking of the entire Party and the people of all our nationalities and become an even more accurate guide to our action.

At this point, it should be emphasized that our Party faces yet another historic task, that of joining hands with all our patriotic fellow-countrymen in a common endeavour to accomplish the sacred task of reunifying our mother-land. Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of our motherland, and the people in Taiwan are our kith and kin. The return of Taiwan to the embrace of our great and indivisible motherland with her history of 5,000 years, population of one billion and territory of 9.6 million square kilometres is the common desire of all our compatriots; it will be an inevitable outcome of historical development, which no political party or individual can resist. It is China's internal affair with which no foreign country has the right to interfere. We hope that our compatriots in Taiwan, Xianggang (Hongkong) and Aomen (Macao) and Chinese nationals residing abroad will urge the Kuomintang authorities to take a realistic view of the situation and put the future of our country and the interests of the nation above all else, instead of persisting in their obdurate stand, so that talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party may be held at an early date and, together, we can bring about the peaceful reunification of our motherland.

Socialist modernization is the common will, and is in the fundamental interests, of the people of all our nationalities. Remember what hardships and miseries the Chinese nation went through in the century or more between the Opium War of 1840 and liberation! Long years of historical experience have inevitably turned the hearts and minds of all members of our Party, army and people to the fundamental goal of the prosperity of the country under socialism and of reunification, particularly the return of Taiwan to the motherland. Socialist China's political situation is stable, and the prospect is that our modernization and reunification will definitely succeed. This prospect accords with the desires of the people and the tide of history. So long as we firmly trust and rely on the overwhelming majority of the masses, maintain close ties with the people, and work conscientiously for their interests, our cause will be invincible.

We are, of course, soberly aware that we will come upon all kinds of obstacles and difficulties on the path of socialist modernization. At present, the major problems calling for urgent solution are the unhealthy phenomena in our Party style and lowered standards of social conduct, which are the aftermath of the "cultural revolution"; the continuance of serious criminal activities undermining the socialist economy, politics and culture; and the unwieldiness, overstaffing and inefficiency in leading bodies at various levels, and the failure of our economic systems to fully meet the needs of the expansion of the productive forces. Consequently, as already said above, in the period to come we must systematically complete the organizational reform and reforms in the economic systems, go all out in building socialist spiritual civilization, hit hard at the serious criminal activities undermining our socialist economy and socialist system, and rectify the Party style and consolidate the Party organizations. Fulfilment of these four tasks will provide an important guarantee that we can adhere to the socialist system and succeed in socialist modernization. The whole Party, particularly Party committees at all levels, must lay great stress on these tasks and work unswervingly to accomplish them.

Our comrades should take a correct approach towards difficulties. It is entirely wrong to see only the bright and not the difficult side of the situation, to the point of mistaking one's subjective desires for objective reality and rushing blindly ahead. We suffered greatly from such an approach in the past and should always remember the lessons learnt. On the other hand, it is likewise entirely wrong to fear and cower before difficulties, lose faith in the strength of the Party and the masses, and waver and procrastinate even after the Central Committee has correctly analysed the situation and formulated principles and tasks accordingly. Things today are far different from those in past periods when our Party encountered tremendous difficulties. When our Red Army was compelled to go on the Long March, it was vastly outnumbered by the enemy, yet we overcame that difficulty. During the "cultural revolution" the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques ran rampant and the whole country was thrown into chaos, yet we turned the tide. So can there be any difficulties today which we cannot overcome? The correct attitude for Marxists in the face of difficulties, the revolutionary style for Communists striving to create a new situation is to throw themselves enthusiastically into the great work of socialist modernization and, going among the masses and digging into the actual work, forge ahead in the struggle with added vigour, indomitably and indefatigably.

Comrades! The historical experience of the Party during the past 60-odd years teaches us that the fundamental reason why the Party has been able to lead the Chinese people in winning one great victory after another is its integration of the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. The supreme historical contribution of Comrade Mao Zedong and the other proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation is that they succeeded in making such an integration. To turn China with its backward economic and cultural base into a modern and powerful socialist country in this new historical period is one of the most gigantic creative undertakings in human history. Many problems involved in it were not, and could not have been, raised or solved by Marxists in the past. In such an undertaking, ideological and political deviations of one kind or another or deviations in concrete work may occur within our ranks. This is not strange, nor can it be entirely avoided. What is important is that the whole Party, Party committees at all levels in particular, must uphold the four cardinal principles, adhere to the correct line followed since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee and oppose both the "Left" tendency of trying to revert to the erroneous theories and policies which prevailed during and before the "cultural revolution" and the Right tendency of bourgeois liberalization as reflected in distrust or rejection of the four cardinal principles. We must resolutely take over and learn to use the stand, viewpoint and method of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, acquire a deeper understanding of the actual work in all fields, make systematic investigations and studies, and be good at conducting appropriate criticism and education and waging necessary struggles against wrong tendencies. Provided we persist in doing this, we can certainly accumulate new experience, break new ground in theory and carry forward Marxism-Leninism and Mao Ze-dong Thought under new historical conditions and in great new fields of practice.

Comrades! For several decades beginning with the 1920s, China's forerunners in the communist cause and millions of other glorious revolutionary fighters and martyrs shed their blood and gave their lives in heroic struggles to bring China to its present state of progress. In the new historical period, let us carry out the behest of our martyrs and accomplish, in this vast land of ours, the great undertaking never attempted before.

In terms of experience of struggles, our contingent of Party cadres consists of people of four generations: those who joined the revolution in the Party's early days, during the Agrarian Revolutionary War, during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation, and after the founding of the People's Republic. This testifies that our cause is of long standing and is assured of successors. The ranks of our Party will advance incessantly like the flowing waters of the Changjiang River. This congress of ours will go down in the Party's history as one which has defined the Party's principles and tasks for the new period politically and achieved the co-operation of old and new cadres and the succession of the new to the old organizationally, and one which creates a new situation in all fields of socialist modernization.

Let the whole Party rally still more closely under the great banner of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought! Let our Party unite still more closely with the people of all nationalities in the country, with the democratic parties and all patriotic fellow-countrymen at home and abroad, and with all the progressive forces and friendly public figures in other countries who support our cause! Let us march forward dauntlessly and with one heart and one mind. No force on earth can deter us. Our triumph is certain!

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[注释1]

The four cardinal principles are adherence to the socialist road, to the people's democratic dictatorship (i.e., the dictatorship of the proletariat), to the leadership of the Communist Party and to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought.

[注释2]

C.f. V.I. Lenin, "Meeting of the All-Russia Central Executive Committee, November 4 (17), 1917," Collected Works, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1964, Vol. 26, p. 288.

[注释3]

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "Economic Manuscripts of 1857-1859," Pre-Capitalist Socio-Economic Formations, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers. Moscow, 1979, p. 109.

[注释4]

Mao Zedong, "On Practice," Selected Works, Eng. ed., Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1967, Vol. 1, p. 308.

[注释5]

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "The German Ideology," Collected Works, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1976, Vol. 5, p. 49.

[注释6]

Mao Zedong, "On New Democracy," Selected Works, Eng. ed., Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1967, Vol. II, p. 361.

[注释7]

C.f. V.I. Lenin, "From the Destruction of the Old Social System to the Creation of the New," Collected Works, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Vol. 30, p. 518.

[注释8]

Mao Zedong, "Strive to Build a Great Socialist Country," Selected Works, Eng. ed., Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1977, Vol. V, p. 148.

[注释9]

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "On Poland," Collected Works, Eng. ed., Progress Publishers. Moscow, 1976, Vol. 6, p. 389.

(NO. 37 SEPTEMBER 13, 1982)