Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
The year 2021 AD is the year of the Chinese lunar calendar.
In Tiananmen Square on July 1, the grand solemnity and grandeur of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China were grand and solemn, and the ceremonial order was clean, happy and heavenly! 100 red flags were displayed in the wind, 100 salutes shook the world, 100 steps were taking a shocking step, and the passion of "please rest assured that the party can rest assured, the strong country has me" reverberated with passion... The grandeur of the century-old party, the thousands of atmospheres of prosperous China, and the self-confidence and self-improvement of the great nation have attracted the attention of the whole world. General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared to the world that the land of China has built a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process.
Looking back at the two jiazi before, it was also a lunar year of hardship and ugliness, when the Qing government was forced to sign the "Xin ugly treaty" that lost power and humiliated the country, at that time, the Taihedian Square had become a military exercise ground for the invaders, and the Chinese nation entered the 20th century with the humiliation of the eight-nation alliance invading the capital, presenting a tragic scene in front of the Chinese.
In 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded, and it undertook the historical mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. One hundred years have passed, the land of China has undergone earth-shaking historical changes, and the Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up and getting rich to becoming strong, showing the world a thriving and thriving atmosphere.
A hundred years of vicissitudes, a hundred years of great leaps. Why are we able to succeed? How can we continue to succeed? General Secretary Xi Jinping raised and focused on answering this question in his important speech at the conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China: "Without the Communist Party of China, there would be no new China and no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. "This is the most important historical conclusion and the most valuable successful experience."
(i)
History determines the theme, and also chooses the true bearer of the historical mission.
After the Opium War in 1840, the country was humiliated, the people were embarrassed, and civilization was dusted, and the Chinese nation suffered unprecedented disasters. Since then, the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has become the greatest dream of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and has become the theme of all chinese history in modern times. In order to realize the dream of national rejuvenation, the Chinese people rose up to fight, and various forces followed suit, and various schemes were tested in turn.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, which tried to realize "one family under heaven and share peace", swept through most of China, effectively dealt a blow to the feudal ruling class and foreign invading forces, and shook the foundation of the Qing government's rule. As Marx put it, the Taiping Rebellion "exploded into a raging fire of anger in China," but "they quarreled and quarreled for 10 years, and the result was that everything was destroyed and nothing was built." Relying on the old-style peasant uprisings to "liberate China", "revive China" and "save the people" is nothing but an illusion.
The foreign affairs movement, which tried to realize "self-improvement and seeking prosperity," made all kinds of efforts to safeguard the feudal regime, "mastering the art of mastering the yi and making it possible to control the yi" and "taking the middle school as the body and the use of Western learning", creating enterprises, setting up foreign affairs, and introducing Western weapons and equipment, science and technology. However, whether it is the "Anqing Ordnance Institute," the "Mawei Military Port," or the "Beiyang Marine Division," all of them have sunk into the sand and vanished in ashes, which proves that the foreign affairs movement cannot find a way out for China to get rid of poverty and weaken.
Trying to "restore the new and save oneself", the Penghu Reform Law wanted to try to save the decline of the feudal dynasty, from the letter on the bus to the constitutional monarchy, from the current affairs school to the strong society, from the abolition of the Eight Shares to the Xingxi Study, the bourgeois reform movement was vigorous. However, the restoration died in only 100 days, and the six gentlemen bled on the field of law, leaving behind the unfinished ambition of "having the heart to kill thieves and unable to return to heaven", leaving behind the historical lament that the restoration could not hold back the sunset and that reform could not save the old China.
Sun Yat-sen, who shouted "revitalize China", led the Xinhai Revolution to overthrow the rule of the Qing Dynasty, establish the Republic of China, and end China's two-thousand-year-old feudal monarchical system. However, the fruits of the revolution were stolen, "immeasurable heads, immeasurable blood, and pitifully purchased fake republics"; the old democratic revolution led by the bourgeoisie did not change the nature of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, still less did it change the tragic fate of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.
Who can undertake the mission of saving the people and reviving the nation? History calls for true bearers, and national rejuvenation requires a new core leadership force. As soon as the Communist Party of China was born, it resolutely and resolutely shouldered this heavy historical task, and with the heroic spirit of "sacrificing more for the sake of having the courage to sacrifice more" and the unremitting struggle of "daring to teach the sun and the moon for a new day," it established the meritorious deeds that stand in the annals of history, profoundly changed the direction and process of the development of the Chinese nation after modern times, profoundly changed the future and destiny of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and profoundly changed the trend and pattern of world development.
In the past, "Chinese and dogs are not allowed to enter" left Chinese with unforgettable memories of humiliation, which revealed the arrogance of the invaders; now, the Chinese nation stands majestically among the nations of the world, completely getting rid of the situation of "under the roof, in the leaky boat, and above the fire." Once upon a time, in the vast old China, how many people had no tiles on the top and no cone on the bottom, and how many people were naked and hungry; looking at the present dynasty, the people of Chinese not only completely bid farewell to the tragic fate of "being a slave, for cattle and horses, and for dogs and sheep" and "kneeling and still unable to survive," but also historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, and there was no longer a year of famine, the plague of frostbite, and embarked on the broad road of all-round well-off and common prosperity.
Recalling the past, Sun Yat-sen's "Founding Strategy" envisioned with great hope that to build railways, pave roads, and build a big port in China, connecting the north and south of the great river and the inland frontier, was once considered by the people of the times to be "a fantasy of the night"; today's China, high-speed rail gallops ahead of the world, highways run through urban and rural areas, and seven out of ten of the world's big ports have far exceeded Sun Yat-sen's original idea. Once, although we had nearly 20,000 kilometers of coastline, our dreams could only stop at the shore; now, our ocean-going giant ships shuttled through the world, and the huge ships chopped the waves, and the dream of "boats for public opinion, and huge seas for Yi Geng" has become a reality.
Looking back on the past, from the flying murals of the Mogao Grottoes to the flying feats of the Ming Dynasty's tens of thousands of households, dreaming of the stars and the sea is as long as the vicissitudes of the Chinese nation, from the death of China's first aircraft manufacturer Feng Ru to the "father of rockets" Qian Xuesen on the voyage back to China, the Chinese nation's flying road has been several times more arduous and more bumpy; today, the "Heavenly Eye" asks yu, the "Beidou" shines, the "Chang'e" moon, the "Zhu Rong" explores the fire, the "Heavenly Palace" surveys the sky... The aerospace achievements of "nine days to catch the moon" have amazed the world and shocked the world. Once, from the "Tianjin Youth" magazine issuing the "Three Questions of the Olympic Games" to Liu Changchun's voyage across the ocean to Los Angeles for the "One-Man Olympics," the foreign media's derogatory title of "sick man of East Asia" and the comic ridicule of carrying a big duck egg on a stretcher have all stung the hearts of every Chinese; now, from the wonderful holding of the Beijing Summer Olympic Games to the upcoming holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics, we have answered the "Olympic questions as you wish." Thousands of Chinese athletes are active in the Olympic arena, the number of gold medals and medals won is among the best, the five-star red flag is raised again and again, the march of the volunteer army is played over and over again, and the strong physique and civilized spirit bring full self-confidence to every Chinese son and daughter.
"Count the past, count the popular characters, and look at the present dynasty." Whoever can lead the people to achieve national rejuvenation, history will choose whom, the times will take care of whom, and the glory will belong to whom! Over the past one hundred years, the Communist Party of China has united and led the people, focused on the theme of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, opened up a great road, created a great cause, made great achievements, forged a great spirit, and written the most magnificent epic in the history of the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
Our party has won the choice of history with struggle, sacrifice and achievement. This is the historical logic of upholding the party's leadership.
(ii)
The times are the people who produce the papers, and the people are the people who read the papers.
More than 80 years ago, the American journalist Edgar Snow sincerely praised in his book "The Red Star Shines on China" that communists showed a kind of "power of destiny", "this power is not fleeting, but a solid and solid fundamental vitality." But he didn't know where this power of destiny came from.
The Chinese philosophers have said: The emperor has no relatives, and only virtue is auxiliary. The Chinese Communists believe that there has never been a savior, nor a god emperor. Heaven is the people; the power of the Mandate of Heaven is the power of the people.
Whoever can truly unite the people will be able to push the wheel of history forward.
"The country does not know that there is a people, but does the people know that there is a country?" This state of disarray and insensitivity is the result of the people's long-term exploitation, oppression and enslavement. The fierce and vicious aggressors, the decadent and decadent Qing government, the feudal warlords who were divided and fought, and the Kuomintang ruled by dictatorship made the people completely blind to a little hope and a glimmer of light. After the founding of the Communist Party of China, "mobilizing millions of workers and peasants to work with one heart," the Chinese people changed from passive to active in spirit, and the majority of the oppressed and exploited Chinese were organized, condensing the power of the flood and famine that changed the world and the earth, and stood up the backbone of the Chinese nation.
When the Chinese nation reached its most dangerous time, Chen Jiageng, a leader of overseas Chinese in Nanyang, lamented after visiting Yan'an: "There, everyone is equal, and they love each other like brothers." Hard work in construction, remarkable achievements..." "In addition to the feeling of the rest, I am sincerely and infinitely excited, dreaming and dreaming, and celebrating for my great Chinese nation!" 」 China has a savior, victory is guaranteed, and China's hope is in Yan'an!"
Whoever can truly represent the interests of the people, struggle with the people, sacrifice together, and create together, the people will choose who to do and who to do.
For the sake of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the happiness of the Chinese people, "since ancient times, there has not been a single group in China, like the Communist Party, that has sacrificed everything and sacrificed many people to do such a big thing." From fighting the local tyrants to dividing up the land to "the tillers have their own land," from uniting the anti-Japanese forces of the whole nation to defeat the Japanese aggressors to leading the broad masses of the people to destroy the Kuomintang's reactionary rule, from "one transformation and three reforms" to reform and opening up, from the all-round well-off to common prosperity, from the "four modernizations" to the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country, the party and the people have thought of one place, worked hard to make every effort, and flowed blood together. The reason why the masses of the people "make the last piece of cloth and make military uniforms; the last bite of food, make military food; and send the last son to the battlefield" is because the common people have a scale in their hearts and know who is really seeking their interests. Chinese people understand a truth: If you follow the Communist Party, there will be a way out; only by following the Communist Party will you be happy.
The Communist Party fights and defends the country, and what it guards is the people's heart, so that the people can live a good life. From being a cow and a horse to being the master of the house, from the people's lack of livelihood to a better life, from absolute poverty to the overall well-off, from displacement to living and working in peace and contentment, from selling children and women to having children and children, from having nothing to rely on to the old... More than 1.4 billion Chinese people have never been so rich and prosperous as they are today, living with dignity, laughing happily, struggling passionately in their beautiful homes of more than 9.6 million square kilometers, full of ambition to be Chinese, and have the self-confidence and self-improvement of "looking at the world".
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China that "the Communist Party of China has always represented the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, shared solidarity with the people, and relied on each other for life and death, without any special interests of its own, and never represented the interests of any interest group, any powerful group, or any privileged strata." Any attempt to separate and oppose the Communist Party of China from the Chinese people will never succeed! More than 95 million Chinese Communists will not agree! More than 1.4 billion Chinese people will not agree!" The loud and clear words fully express the common voice of hundreds of millions of people.
Whoever wins the people will be able to return to the hearts of the world.
On the eve of the founding of New China, the land of China staged a vivid scene of the confluence of two historical torrents, southward and northward. When a million heroes crossed the great river and liberated all of China from north to south, various democratic parties, patriots, and social elites responded to the call of the Communist Party of China, or took a train or a ship, and gathered around the CPC Central Committee from south to north to discuss the state's constitution and jointly celebrate the birth of new China. This scene of historical drama depicts a "map of ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains" in which the party leads the people to fight in the rivers and mountains and sit in the rivers and mountains. At the first plenary session of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, Soong Ching Ling sighed: "We have reached today's historical status because of the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It is the only political party with the power of the masses of the people. Comrade Mao Zedong once said categorically: "Who is God?" He is the people!"
In the past, at present, and in the future, the Communist Party of China has not and will never fail to live up to the people's choice. "The Chinese Communist Party didn't use any magic tricks, they just knew the changes that the people wanted, and they embraced them." American journalists Bai Xiude and Jia Anna commented on this in the book "China's Thunder".
"Long live the people!" On the day of the founding ceremony, Comrade Mao Zedong made a strong historical sound. "Long live the great, glorious and correct Communist Party of China!" Long live the great, glorious, heroic Chinese people!" At the meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a response to the times.
Whoever can represent the interests of the people, realize, protect, and develop well the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, and serve the people wholeheartedly, the people will support and follow whomever they want. With their sincerity, enthusiasm, and hard work, with their exemplary vanguard role and their flesh-and-blood ties with the masses of the people, the Chinese Communists have led the people to create a truly happy life, thus touching the people and winning the people's choice, support, and love. This is the theoretical logic of upholding the party's leadership.
(iii)
Advantage is strength, only when there is comparison can there be discernment, and only when there is an advantage can there be hope for victory.
In the course of one hundred years of struggle, Chinese people have deeply realized that the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the greatest advantage in our march from victory to victory, where the fundamental and lifeblood of the party and the state lie, and where the interests and destiny of the people of all nationalities throughout the country are concerned. It is precisely under the leadership of the Communist Party of China that we have done many things that others cannot do, accomplished many things that others cannot do, and created human miracles that cannot be created by any political force in the world.
It is precisely because of the greatest advantage of the party's leadership that we have made great achievements in rapid economic development.
The economy is the foundation, and the advantages of the party's leadership are concentrated in economic construction. More than 70 years ago, when New China was "full of depression and full of wastes to be rebuilt," Comrade Mao Zedong said with deep feeling: "What can we build now?" Can make tables and chairs, can make tea bowls and teapots... But a car, an airplane, a tank, a tractor cannot be built. It was our party that united and led the people to write "the latest and most beautiful pictures" on "a blank piece of paper." For decades, our party has insisted on leading the practice of economic construction by formulating five-year plans or plans, and as of 2020, 13 have been completed and the fourteenth five-year plan is being implemented. Through the step-by-step implementation, relay promotion and rolling implementation of one plan or plan after another, we will consistently move towards the set goals and promote the sustained and rapid development of the economy. Many people in Western countries are envious of our five-year plan, believing that the CPC can think and plan the country's future development goals and paths in a phased and step-by-step manner, which is both continuous and forward-looking, and it is difficult to imagine and achieve in Western countries.
In the more than 70 years since the founding of New China, China's economy has grown by about 189 times in real terms; from a per capita national income of only 27 US dollars in 1949 to a per capita GDP of more than 10,000 US dollars for two consecutive years; from a backward agricultural country to becoming the world's largest manufacturing country for 11 consecutive years. Taking China's GDP growth as an example, it surpassed Italy in 2001, France in 2005, Britain in 2006, Germany in 2007, and Japan in 2010, becoming the second in the world. In 2020, the gross domestic product will exceed 100 trillion yuan, and the total economic volume will exceed 70% of that of the United States. The dynamic development model and sustained and rapid economic growth have laid a solid material foundation for realizing the irreversible historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Stability is the foundation of development and the condition for the people to live and work in peace and contentment. It is precisely because of the greatest advantage of the leadership of the party that we have achieved long-term social stability.
Today's China is a safe China, one of the most secure countries in the world. The people's satisfaction with the construction of Safe China reached 98.4%, and people lamented: "The world we live in is not peaceful, we are just fortunate to live in a peaceful country." "Today's China is a happy China, and the people's sense of gain, happiness and security has steadily improved. Statistics from internationally renowned polling agencies show that in 2020, China has the highest happiness index among the participating countries, and the proportion of Chinese who feel very happy or relatively happy is as high as 93%. "There is no regret in this life, and there is no regret in the next life to plant flowers", such online words and phrases have expressed the common aspirations of hundreds of millions of people. Today's China is a harmonious China, and the sense of community of the Chinese nation has been significantly enhanced. 56 ethnic groups hug each other like pomegranate seeds, and all ethnic groups are inseparable from each other, and "the Chinese nation is a family and builds the Chinese dream together" has become a vivid portrayal of national unity and progress in the new era.
Especially in the fight against COVID-19, we have taken the lead in controlling the spread of the epidemic, and to this day, we are still the country with the lowest incidence and the lowest number of deaths among the world's major powers. In the comparison, people once again clearly see the advantages of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party in the governance of the country.
Living in a harmonious and stable China, the people are increasingly supporting and supporting the leadership of the Party. According to a 2020 report entitled "Understanding the Resilience of the Chinese Communist Party: A Long-Term Survey of Chinese Opinions" released by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Chinese people's satisfaction with the government has continued to increase since 2003, with satisfaction with the Chinese Communist Party continuing to exceed 90%.
Winning the opportunity in the competition of comprehensive national strength is the key to national rejuvenation. It is precisely because of the greatest advantage of the party's leadership that we have become the greatest positive energy that determines the great changes in the world in a hundred years.
In October 1961, Montgomery, who had finished his visit to China, told the British Sunday Times: "It is better for the Western world to establish and maintain friendly relations with the People's Republic of China; this country needs to treat each other as equals; it will become a great power no less than any country in the world in a certain period of time." A great nation, the largest country in the world, is moving forward. Arnold Joseph Toynbee, a British historian who experienced two world wars and witnessed the rise and fall of the East and the West in modern times, believes that "the future of mankind is in the East, and Chinese civilization will become the leader of the world." Their predictions are becoming reality.
Looking at the world, the world today is experiencing major changes unprecedented in a century, and a distinctive feature of this great change is that the trend of rising in the east and falling in the west is irreversible. The Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people to actively cultivate opportunities in the crisis, open up a new situation in the midst of changes, and make new development and progress, becoming a beautiful landscape in the world. The greatest significance of China's peaceful development to the world lies not only in the extensive and profound international impact of one-fifth of the world's population toward prosperity, but also in the new path of Chinese-style modernization and the new form of human civilization created by China, which provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for mankind to build a better society.
Now, the international community's perspective on China has undergone an important change: from focusing on China's achievements to focusing on the political reasons and institutional secrets of China's achievements; from asking whether the Chinese Communist Party can and cannot do it, to eager to understand why the Chinese Communist Party can and why it can do it; from marveling at the Chinese Communist Party's ability and the Chinese Communist Party's behavior, to thinking about what it can do. It can be said that the world influence of "China's rule" is getting bigger and bigger.
Historical practice has constantly proved that the Communist Party of China is the most reliable backbone and fixed star of the people Chinese when the storm strikes. The concentrated embodiment of China's strength, Chinese spirit, and Chinese efficiency is the leadership of the Communist Party of China, such as engaging in revolution, engaging in construction, grasping reform, promoting rejuvenation, fighting floods, fighting earthquakes, eliminating poverty, and controlling the epidemic. In overcoming all kinds of difficulties and obstacles and coping with various risks and challenges, the Communist Party of China can. This is the practical logic of upholding the party's leadership.
Looking back at the past and looking forward to the future, with the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China and the close unity of the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country, the goal of building a socialist modern power in an all-round way will certainly be realized, and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will certainly be realized!