Chapter IX ushers in a new era
Section 1: Gradually resume activities after smashing the "Gang of Four"
In October 1976, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee smashed the Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary clique in one fell swoop, ending the decade-long "Cultural Revolution." The whole country was full of jubilation. All fronts have carried out in-depth activities to expose and criticize the crimes of the "Gang of Four," and the united front under the leadership of the Communist Party of China has been able to recover and develop again.
Pictured: On February 18, 1977, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held a Spring Festival party for patriots from all walks of life
Pictured: December 27-29, 1977, the seventh session of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
On February 18, 1977, after ten years of calamity, the CPPCC National Committee held the Spring Festival Gala for patriots from all walks of life for the first time, which was attended by Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, Deng Yingchao and other central leaders. From December 27 to 29, the 7th Enlarged Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourth NATIONAL COMMITTEE of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing. Present at the meeting were members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, vice chairmen, vice premiers of the State Council, responsible persons of various democratic parties and people's organizations, patriotic personages without party affiliation, and responsible persons of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and relevant units in Beijing. This was the largest and broadly representative political consultative meeting in more than a decade. At this meeting, Ye Jianying reiterated in his speech that the CPC and the democratic parties should practice the principle of "long-term coexistence and mutual supervision" and restore and carry forward the fine tradition of democratic consultation on the united front. In the new historical period, "strengthen the great unity of the people of all nationalities throughout the country and further develop the united front led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants, including patriotic democratic parties, patriotic personages, Taiwan compatriots, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, and overseas Chinese compatriots," and make contributions to the fulfillment of the socialist cause and the great cause of reunifying the motherland.
Ye Jianying's speech has put an end to the political rectification of the work of the united front, the CPPCC, various democratic parties, and intellectuals, and has opened a new chapter in the restoration and development of the united front. Various democratic parties and patriotic personages generally reflected that Ye Jianying's speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee affirmed the achievements in united front work and the continuous progress of non-party personages. With these two articles, the line of Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" that has been disrupted has been clarified, and everyone has expressed that they will contribute to the construction of the country in their lifetime.
Pictured: On February 24, 1978, Xu Deheng made a report on the work of the Standing Committee of the Fourth CPPCC National Committee at the first session of the Fifth CPPCC National Committee
After smashing the "Gang of Four," 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government successively held a new session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. On this basis, from February 4 to March 8, 1978, the first session of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing. A total of 1,988 people attended the meeting, including representatives of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, various democratic parties, various nationalities, and all fronts, as well as representatives of Taiwan compatriots, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, and returned overseas Chinese. Xu Deheng, vice chairman of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Jiusan Society, delivered a "Work Report" to the meeting on behalf of the CPPCC Standing Committee, and Wei Guoqing, vice chairman of the CPPCC, made an "Explanation on Amending the CPPCC Constitution." In his report, Xu Deheng reviewed the work of the Standing Committee of the Fourth CPPCC National Committee over the past 13 years, criticized the crimes of Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" in undermining the united front and undermining the great unity of the people of the whole country, pointed out that Mao Zedong's revolutionary line has always occupied a leading position in united front work, and put forward the main tasks for the future. He stressed: It is necessary to give play to the positive role of the CPPCC in democratic consultation in major state affairs and give full play to the important role of the CPPCC in developing the revolutionary united front.
The congress unanimously adopted the "Constitution of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference" and reaffirmed that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is a revolutionary united front organization under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The meeting adopted a resolution calling on the people of all nationalities throughout the country, the broad masses of intellectuals, democratic parties, people's organizations, patriots from all walks of life, Taiwan compatriots, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, and overseas Chinese to, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, further eliminate the poison and influence of the "Gang of Four," carry forward socialist democracy, develop a revolutionary united front, strengthen the great unity of the people of all nationalities, and make joint efforts to consolidate the people's democratic dictatorship, liberate Taiwan, reunify the motherland, and build China into a great socialist modern power within this century.
The congress unanimously elected Deng Xiaoping as chairman of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Deng Xiaoping made a speech at the closing session. He said the meeting was well held. People from all walks of life gathered together to discuss major state affairs and put forward many good opinions, which embodied the spirit of democratic consultation that the CPC has always advocated. He pointed out that now that China has entered a new period of historical development, the realization of the four modernizations of socialism is an unprecedented great cause and an extremely profound revolution. The Chinese revolutionary united front will certainly play its important role in the struggle to realize the general tasks of the new period and in the great march toward the four modernizations. He hoped that friends and comrades from all walks of life would continue to make unremitting efforts, continue to forge ahead, and jointly contribute all their strength to this great cause.
This meeting was the first meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference after a decade of suspension of activities, and it marked the restoration and development of the CPPCC organization and the united front.
Previously, on October 11, 1977, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee consulted with the responsible persons of the democratic parties and the Federation of Industry and Commerce to resume and carry out the organizational activities of the democratic parties and the Federation of Industry and Commerce, first of all, to restore and establish the leading bodies of the central committees of the democratic parties. After deliberation and determination by the democratic parties, the leading body is sound and will not change again; if there are no chairmen or vice chairmen, a list of the members and responsible persons of the provisional leading body shall be proposed; if the chairman is vacant and there are only a few vice chairmen, a provisional responsible person shall be agreed; and if there are too few personnel in the leading body, one or two more shall be added.
In the winter of 1977, the Jiusan Society formed a temporary leading group with the participation of Xu Deheng, Zhou Peiyuan, Pan Shu, Mao Yisheng, Yan Keats, sun Chengpei, and others, to investigate and understand the situation of the members, organize the members to study relevant principles and policies, rectify and strengthen the leading bodies at all levels, and rebuild a number of grass-roots organizations. The organization of the society began to gradually resume.
Pictured: At the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, participants raised their hands to vote
In late August 1978, Ulan Fu, director of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, invited the responsible persons of the newly formed democratic parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce to hold forums on three occasions to discuss issues related to the activities carried out by the democratic parties. Ulanf pointed out that he hoped that the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce of the democratic parties would enliven their work and make better contributions to the realization of the four modernizations. He also supported the convening of their respective national congresses or congresses by the democratic parties at appropriate times.
In December 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, a meeting of far-reaching significance in the history of the Party. The meeting decided to stop using the slogan of "taking the class struggle as the guideline" and to make a strategic decision to shift the focus of work to socialist modernization. This meeting marked the re-establishment of the Marxist line by the Communist Party of China. The plenum adhered to the Marxist principle that "practice is the only criterion for testing truth," persisted in putting things right, and gradually eliminated the mistakes of the "Left" before the "Cultural Revolution" and the "Cultural Revolution," thus ushering in a new period in China's socialist modernization drive and quickly restoring the close cooperation between the CPC and the democratic parties.
Pictured: National Science Congress in the spring of 1978
Pictured: Deng Xiaoping at the National Science and Technology Work Conference on March 7, 1985.
In the spring of 1978, Deng Xiaoping pointed out at the National Science Congress that intellectuals from the old society "are already the working class and the working people themselves, and therefore part of the working class itself." In 1979, at the Second Session of the Fifth CPPCC National Committee, Deng Xiaoping also pointed out that the class situation in china had undergone fundamental changes and that the democratic parties "have become a political alliance of a part of the socialist working people and patriots who support socialism, all of which are political forces serving socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party of China." This removes the hat of a "bourgeois party" that has been worn on the democratic parties since the anti-Rightist struggle. The CPC Central Committee has also rectified a large number of unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, and has realistically resolved many problems left over from history, thus restoring and smoothly carrying out the work of the democratic parties.