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 was invited to deliver a special report titled "The Communist Party of China's Persistence in its Original Aspiration 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 Auditorium" of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies. The reporting session was chaired by Xin Xiangyang, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Marxism Studies.
Zhu Jiamu posited that on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the launch of the Party history learning and education campaign [1] throughout the entire Party, the reasons why a large party of over ninety million members remains full of vitality after a century deserve our profound reflection.
Zhu Jiamu expounded on the relationship between the CPC’s persistence in its original aspiration and its centenary history from four perspectives.
First, what is our Party's original aspiration? He argued that the CPC is the vanguard of the proletariat; based on the national conditions of modern China, it is simultaneously the vanguard of national liberation. Therefore, our Party's original aspiration 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 are to struggle for the liberation of the people, national independence, and national rejuvenation, and to serve the people.
Second, unswerving persistence in the original aspiration is a fundamental reason why our Party has been able to continuously develop and grow through a century, moving from victory to victory. Specifically, he argued that precisely because our Party possesses and always adheres to its original aspiration, it can always attract the most outstanding sons and daughters and people of vision [2] of the Chinese nation to its banner, forming a powerful force that is indomitable and invincible. Precisely because our Party possesses and always adheres to its original aspiration, it can always gather the broadest masses of the people and all patriotic personages around itself, forming a majestic and overwhelming force. Precisely because our Party possesses and always adheres to its original aspiration, it can continuously correct its course on the road ahead, discovering and rectifying deviations in a timely manner, forming a magnificent force that grows more courageous with every setback and moves forward with indomitable will.
Third, over the past century, why has our Party been able to unswervingly persist in its original aspiration? He argued that emphasizing Party building and adhering to strictly governing the Party are the fundamental guarantees for this persistence. Specifically, strictly controlling the standards for Party entry and earnestly executing organizational discipline has provided a basic guarantee for the Party’s persistence in its original aspiration by improving the quality of its ranks. Persisting in conducting intra-Party struggle [3] and continuously carrying out self-rectification has provided a fundamental guarantee by correcting ideological styles. Absolutely prohibiting power-money transactions and putting an end to the "principle of equal value exchange" [4] has provided a reliable guarantee through strict discipline and institutions.
Fourth, to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the New Era, it is even more essential to not forget the original aspiration. Zhu Jiamu finally emphasized that our Party is currently at a critical moment defined by "great changes unseen in a century" [5] and the historical intersection of the "Two Centenary Goals" [6]; risks and challenges are unprecedented, and the difficulties will only increase as we progress. We must make full use of the temporal node of the CPC's centenary, seize the opportunity of the Party history learning and education campaign, further understand the history of the Chinese people's unremitting struggle under the Party's leadership since the beginning of the modern era, clarify what the Party’s original aspiration is, and more firmly establish the thought of being dedicated to the Party, the country, and the people. So long as we, under the Party’s leadership, are prepared to cross many new "Snowy Mountains" and "Grasslands" [7] and conquer many new "Loushan Passes" and "Lazikous" [8] at any time, no force in the world can block 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 CASS Institute of Marxism Studies, chaired the event.
In his concluding remarks, Xin Xiangyang spoke highly of President Zhu Jiamu's report, identifying several characteristics. First, it was "commanding from a strategic height" (gāowū-jiànlíng) [9]. 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 remain firm in the ideal of communism and persist in the original aspiration of seeking happiness for the people. Second, the reasoning was lucid. It emphasized that persisting in the original aspiration enables our Party to attract the most outstanding sons and daughters and people of vision of the Chinese nation to its banner, gather the broadest masses and all patriotic personages around the Party, and overcome all difficulties and obstacles on the road ahead. Third, the logic was rigorous. Regarding why our Party can maintain its original aspiration—in contrast to many political parties that previously held an original aspiration but turned away halfway—our Party has transformed the original aspiration into "perseverance" (héngxīn), continuously emphasizing organizational discipline, improving the quality of its ranks, and ensuring through institutions that there are no special interests within the Party.
Xin Xiangyang finally 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 report for our Party history learning and education campaign.
The second lecture of the "21st Century Marxism Grand Auditorium" of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies concluded successfully.