Zhu Jiamu: The Communist Party of China's Adherence to Its Original Aspiration and Its Centenary History
Zhu Jiamu, former member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and former Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies, delivered a report.
On the morning of April 8, Zhu Jiamu, former member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and former Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies, was invited to deliver a special report titled "The Communist Party of China's Adherence to its Original Aspiration and Founding Mission and its Centenary History" to all comrades of the Institute of Marxism Studies. This report constituted the second lecture of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Forum" organized by the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies. The lecture was chaired by Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies.
Zhu Jiamu proposed that on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the launch of the Party-wide "study and education on Party history," [1] the reasons why this great Party of over 90 million members remains full of vitality after a century of history deserve our profound reflection.
Zhu Jiamu elaborated on the relationship between the CPC’s adherence to its original aspiration and founding mission and its centenary history from four perspectives.
First, what is our Party's original aspiration and founding mission? He argued that the CPC is the vanguard of the proletariat, rooted in the national conditions of modern China, while simultaneously serving as the vanguard of national liberation. Therefore, our Party's original aspiration and founding mission includes not only the realization of the great cause of communism, but also the mission of the democratic revolution. In this sense, our Party's original aspiration and founding mission is to struggle for the people's liberation, national independence, and national rejuvenation, and to serve the people.
Second, unswerving adherence to the original aspiration and founding mission is a fundamental reason why our Party has grown and expanded over a hundred years, moving from victory to victory. Specifically, he argued that precisely because our Party possesses and remains committed to its original aspiration, it has always been able to attract the finest sons and daughters and people of vision [2] of the Chinese nation to its banner, forming an indomitable and invincible force. Because our Party possesses and remains committed to its original aspiration, it has always been able to gather the broadest masses of the people and all patriots around itself, forming a majestic and overwhelming force. Because our Party possesses and remains committed to its original aspiration, it has always been able to continuously correct its course on the road ahead, discovering and rectifying deviations in a timely manner, forming a grand force that grows more courageous with every setback and moves forward with indomitable will.
Third, why has our Party been able to unswervingly adhere to its original aspiration and founding mission for a hundred years? He argued that emphasizing Party building and persisting in strictly governing the Party are the fundamental guarantees for this adherence. Specifically, strictly controlling the standards for Party membership and effectively enforcing organizational discipline has provided a basic guarantee for the Party’s adherence to its mission by improving the quality of its ranks. Persisting in carrying out inner-Party struggle and continuous self-rectification has provided a fundamental guarantee by rectifying ideological and work styles. Absolutely prohibiting power-for-money transactions and putting a stop to the "principle of exchange of equal values" [3] has provided a reliable guarantee through strict discipline and institutional systems.
Fourth, to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the New Era, it is even more necessary to remain true to our original aspiration and founding mission. Zhu Jiamu concluded by emphasizing that our Party is currently at a critical moment where the "changes unseen in a century" intersect with the transition period between the "Two Centenary Goals" [4]; the risks and challenges are unprecedented, and the difficulties will only increase as we move forward. We must fully utilize the temporal milestone of the centenary of the Party's founding and seize the opportunity of Party history study and education to further understand the history of the Chinese people’s unremitting struggle under the Party’s leadership since the modern era. We must clarify what the Party’s original aspiration is and more firmly establish the ideology of being wholeheartedly devoted to the Party, the country, and the people. So long as we are prepared under the Party’s leadership to cross many new "Snow Mountains" and "Grasslands" and conquer many new "Loushan Passes" and "Lazikous," [5] no force in the world can stop our progress, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the complete reunification of the motherland will surely be realized as scheduled.
Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, chaired the event.
In his concluding remarks, Xin Xiangyang spoke highly of President Zhu Jiamu’s report, noting that it possessed several characteristics. First, it was "standing on high and looking far" (gāowū-jiànlǐng). [6] From the dimension of the long river of a century of history, it analyzed the important reason why our Party remains young after a hundred years rather than becoming listless: we have always maintained our original aspiration. We both uphold the ideal of communism and remain committed to the original mission of seeking happiness for the people. Second, the reasoning was lucid. It emphasized that adhering to the original aspiration allows our Party to attract the finest sons and daughters and people of vision to its banner, gathering the broadest masses and all patriots around the Party to overcome all hardships and move forward courageously. Third, the logic was rigorous. Regarding why our Party can maintain its original aspiration—in contrast to many political parties that held an original aspiration early on but turned away halfway—our Party has transformed that original aspiration into a "constant heart" (héngxīn), continuously emphasizing organizational discipline, improving the quality of the ranks, and ensuring through the institutional system that there are no "special interests" within the Party.
Finally, Xin Xiangyang emphasized that President Zhu Jiamu's report possessed both theoretical depth and a wealth of data and brilliant historical facts. More crucially, it resolved doubts and provided answers to many questions. This report was not only an academic feast but also a magnificent presentation for our Party history study and education.
The scene of the meeting.
The second lecture of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Forum" of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies concluded successfully.