Annual Working Conference of the 2017 Marxism Theory Discipline Construction and Theoretical Research Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Held on January 24th
On the morning of January 24, 2017, the "2017 Annual Work Meeting of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Project for Marxist Theoretical Discipline Construction and Theoretical Research" was held at the CASS headquarters. Leadership from the Academy in attendance included Comrade Wang Weiguang, President and Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group; Comrade Li Peilin, Vice President and Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group; Comrade Jing Huimin, Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Director of the Institute of Contemporary China; and Comrade Li Shenming, former Vice President and Vice Chairperson of the 12th National People’s Congress Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee. The meeting was presided over by Comrade Zhang Jiang, Vice President and Member of the Leading Party Members’ Group. More than 70 people, including heads of various CASS departments and representatives from some research offices, participated in the meeting.
The meeting began with exchange presentations from three units—the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, the Institute of Industrial Economics, and the Information Management Office—on their implementation in 2016 of the Leading Party Members’ Group’s "Opinions on Strengthening the Party’s Ideological Work and Building a Strong Fortress for Marxism." [1]
Subsequently, Comrade Jing Huimin delivered a work report. In the report, Comrade Jing summarized the 2016 progress made across the entire Academy in carrying out the Project for Marxist Theoretical Discipline Construction and Theoretical Research (Marxist Project) and implementing the Leading Party Members’ Group’s "Opinions on Strengthening the Party’s Ideological Work and Building a Strong Fortress for Marxism." He also deployed the work plan and put forward requirements for the Marxist Project in 2017.
Finally, Comrade Wang Weiguang put forward three requirements for all units regarding the Academy’s Marxist Project and ideological work in 2017:
Adhering to the guiding position of Marxism and strengthening the Party’s ideological work is the primary political task of our Academy, and it must be given the highest degree of importance. It is necessary to enhance the "Four Consciousnesses," [2] align with the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and firmly maintain the focus on adhering to the guiding position of Marxism and doing a good job in the Party’s ideological work.
The Marxist Project must be treated as the "No. 1 project," the "soul project," the "strategic project," and the "foundational project" for safeguarding the guiding position of Marxism in our Academy and in the philosophy and social sciences, and for ensuring the strengthening of the Party’s ideological work. All units in the Academy must attach great importance to it, participate actively, and strive to advance it. It cannot be treated as a supporting role, as optional, or—even worse—as a burden. The "top leaders" [3] must take the lead in grasping it and ensure its strict implementation.
The implementation of the Marxist Project requires, on the one hand, studying the basic principles of Marxism and, on the other hand, strengthening the research, dissemination, and innovation of the Sinicization of Marxism. At present, top priority must be given to the study, research, and dissemination of the Spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Series of Important Speeches and the New Concepts, New Ideas, and New Strategies for National Governance. [4] Every discipline in our Academy must integrate the Marxist stand, viewpoint, and method into its own disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system to guide scientific research within that discipline.
2017 marks the third year of our Academy’s construction of the "Three Systems," [5] and actual results must be seen; there must be substantive achievements. At the same time, we must fully implement the responsibility system for ideological work, carry out active ideological struggle, organize forces to criticize erroneous trends of thought, defend the Marxist fortress, and consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the philosophy and social sciences.
In the final summary of the meeting, Comrade Zhang Jiang requested that everyone fully recognize the extreme importance of the Marxist Project and ideological work. After the meeting, the spirit of the meeting should be conveyed comprehensively and in a timely manner, and implementation work should be carried out meticulously and effectively, so as to make new and greater contributions to the prosperity and development of CASS and to accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.