CHINA REPORT RED FLAG
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CIA-RDP04-01460R000100320001-2
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Publication Date:
August 11, 1982
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"V
JPRS 81504
11 August 1982
China Report
RED FLAG
No. 12,: 16. June. 1982,
FBIS
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JPRS 81504
11 August 1982
CHINA REPORT
RED FLAG
No. 12, 16 June 1982
Translation of the semimonthly theoretical journal of the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party published in Beijing.
CONTENTS
Our Party's Basic Policy on Religious Questions During the
Period of Socialism (pp 2-8, 19)
(RED FLAG Editorial Department) .................................. 1
Consolidate and Strengthen the People's Democratic
Dictatorship (pp 9-12')
(Yang Yifan) ..................................................... 14
Strengthen the Building of Political Power in Grassroots
Units (pp 13-15)
(Zhang Qingfu) ................................................... 21
Select and Appoint Persons of Ability (pp 16-19)
(Yang Fengchun) .................................................. 27
Investigation on Liuzhuang (pp 20-25)
(Joint investigation team comprising members of the
Henan Provincial CCP Committee, Xinxiang Prefectural
CCP Committee and Xinxiang County CCP Committee) ................. 33
Emancipation of Philosophy and Study of Philosophy (pp 26-29)
(Liang Zhao, Tan Sizhe) .......................................... 44
Shout Aloud for the Work of Gathering Materials--Foreword to
the Book 'Disputed Problems in Socialist Economic Theory'
(pp 30-31)
(Mao Zhongyang) .................................................. 50
Dimitrov and the Chinese Revolution (pp 32-35)
(Ma Xipu) ........................................................ 53
- a - [III - CC - 75]
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Carry Out Systematic Theoretical Education To Raise Cadres'
Political Quality (pp 36-39)
(Commentator) .................................................... 60
At Present, We Should Expand Reproduction With Emphasis on
Intension (pp 38-40) -
(Lu Congming) ................................................... 64
Why Does the Price of a Commodity Rise Even When Its Value
Decreases? (pp 41-42)
(Wei Xinghua) ................................................... 68
Is the Socialist Economy a Planned Economy or a Commodity
Economy? (p 43)
(Mao Gang) ...................................................... 72
Recommending 'Popular Philosophy' (inside back cover)
(Sha Ying) ...................................................... 74
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OUR PARTY'S BASIC POLICY ON RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS DURING THE PERIOD OF
SOCIALISM
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 2-8, 19
[Article by RED FLAG Editorial Department]
[Text] Summary: Freedom of religious belief is our
party's basic policy on religious questions during
the period of socialism. This article analyzes the
history and the present situation of religion in our
country according to the Marxist basic viewpoints on
religious questions, points out the reasons why under
socialist conditions religion inevitably will exist
for a long time, reviews the positive and negative
experience of the party's religious work since the
founding of the PRC and stresses the great signifi-
cance of thoroughly and correctly implementing the
party's policy on religion. In carrying out our work
related to religion at present, we should primarily
combat the "leftist" erroneous tendencies and at the
same time, we should also pay attention to preventing
and overcoming the erroneous laissez-faire tendency.
The article also expounds on the party's principles
and policies concerning all aspects of the party's work
related to religion, including winning over, uniting
and educating the people of religious circles, training
and educating the younger generation of patriotic
professional religious workers, giving full play to the
role of the patriotic religious organizations, cracking
down on illegal and criminal activities and counter-
revolutionary sabotage activities under the cover of
religion, developing friendly international exchanges
related to religion and resisting the penetration of
hostile religious influence from abroad. The article
concludes by pointing out that strengthening the party's
leadership is the basic guarantee for doing a good job
in religious work. Party organizations at all levels
must unite their thinking, understanding and policy on
religious questions and conscientiously carry out this
work satisfactorily.
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Article 35 of the "Draft of the Revised Constitution of the PRC" provides:
"Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious
belief. No organs of state, public organizations or individuals shall.
compel citizens to believe in religion or disbelieve in religion, nor shall
they discriminate against citizens who believe, or do not believe, in
religions. The state protects legitimate religious activities. No one
may use religion to carry out counterrevolutionary activities or activities
that disrupt public order, harm the health of citizens or obstruct the
educational system of the state. No religious affairs may be dominated by
any foreign country." The whole content of this provision is our party's
basic policy on religious questions during the socialist period. We com-
munists are atheists and Marxism always holds that religion is the opiate
of the people. Why, then, should our party implement a policy of allowing
freedom of religious belief?
Social and Historical Factors That Have Given Rise to Religion and Enable
It To Exist
Ours is a country with many kinds of religions. In our country, Buddhism
has a history of about 2,000 years, Taoism has a history of more than 1,700
years, Islamism has a history of more than 1,300 years and Catholicism and
Christianity have to a relatively great extent developed since the Opium War.
Among our people, especially the Han people, who constitute the majority of
the country's population, the number of those who believe in religion is not
great, but there are more than a dozen minority nationalities in which all
the people believe in religion. Compared with the initial period after
liberation, due to the increase in the minority nationality components of
our population, the number of the masses of people who believe in religion
has increased. However, their proportion to the whole population of the
country has decreased.
During the prolonged period of the feudal society and the over a century-
long period of the semifeudal and semicolonial society in our country, gen-
erally speaking, all the religions in our country were controlled and
exploited by the ruling class and made to play a major negative role. The
feudal landlord class, the class of feudal lords, the warlords and the
bureaucratic bourgeoisie at home mainly controlled Buddhism, Taoism and
Islamism, while the foreign colonialist and imperialist forces that came
later primarily controlled Catholic and Christian churches.
Since the founding of our country, religions in our country have undergone
a radical change because of the profound social reform and the reform of
the religious systems that we have carried out. Generally speaking, the
contradictions on religious questions have already been turned into the
contradictions among the working people. However, we should realize that
religious questions will exist for a long time to come in a certain
respect, will involve a certain section of the masses and will involve
nationality problems in many aspects. Furthermore, certain aspects of the
class struggle and certain complex international factors will also have a
bearing on these questions. Therefore, whether we handle religious questions
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properly is still of such great significance that it cannot be neglected for
our state's stability and national unity, for the development of inter-
national exchanges and the resistance of the penetration of hostile foreign
influences and for the construction of socialist material and spiritual
civilizations. It is precisely for this reason that during the socialist
period, we should adopt a "very prudent," "very serious" and "carefully
thoughtful" attitude--as was pointed out by Lenin--toward religious ques-
tions.
We are Marxists and we understand the social and historical factors in human
life that have given rise to religion. Religion is an inevitable phenomenon
at a certain stage of human history. This phenomenon has to undergo the
stages of emergence, development and withering away. Religious belief and
religious feeling along with religious ceremonies and organizations are all
a historical outcome of society. In a society of class antagonism, the
most profound social factor that gives rise to religion and enables it to
develop lies in people's apprehension of the tremendous pressure of the
system of exploitation, in the poverty and ignorance which people cannot
free themselves from because of the control of an alien force and in the
needs of the exploiting class to use religion as a narcotic and an impor-
tant spiritual means to control the masses of the people.
Under socialist conditions, along with the elimination of the system of
exploitation and the elimination of the exploiting class, the class factor
that has given rise to the existence of religion has already been basically
eliminated. However, because the development of people's ideology always
falls behind social existence, the old ideology and habits left by the old
society cannot be thoroughly eliminated in a short period of time. More-
over, because a prolonged struggle is necessary to greatly raise the social
productive force and highly develop culture, science and technology, it is
impossible to completely eliminate in a short time the various sufferings
resulting from the shortage of material wealth and the uncontrollable
natural disasters and manmade calamities. At the same time, there still
exists to a certain extent the class struggle and a complicated inter-
national environment. All these factors determine that it is inevitable
that religion will exist and have an impact on some people for a long time
in a socialist society.
All the comrades in our party should adequately and soberly understand that
under socialist conditions religious questions are prolonged in nature. It
is unrealistic to think that religion will soon wither away after the
socialist system has been established and the economy and culture has
developed to a certain extent. The idea and practice that treats religion
as something we can eliminate once and for all by administrative orders or
even by means of force, runs counter to the Marxist basic viewpoints on
religious questions and is completely wrong and very harmful.
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Correctly Sum Up Historical Experiences, Prevent the Erroneous Laissez-faire
Tendency and Oppose the Erroneous "Leftist" Tendency
Since the founding of the PRC, there have been twists and turns in our
party's religious work.
During the 17 years from the founding of new China to the beginning of the
"Great Cultural Revolution," despite a few major mistakes, generally speak-
ing, we did much work related to religion and achieved great results under
the guidance of the correct principles and policies of the CCP Central Com-
mittee. We eliminated the imperialist influence in our churches, imple-
mented the correct policy of running the churches independently and the
policy of "three selves" (preaching by ourselves, running the church by
ourselves and supporting the church by ourselves), thus we succeeded in
changing Catholicism and Christianity from being tools for aggression by
the imperialists into an independent religious undertaking of Chinese
believers. We abolished the feudal privileges of religion and the oppres-
sive and exploitative system of religion and exposed and cracked down on the
counterrevolutionaries and evildoers working under the cover of religion,
thus freeing Buddhism, Taoism and Islamism from the control and exploitation
of the reactionary classes. We carried out the policy of freedom of
religious belief and enabled the broad masses of religious believers to
begin to enjoy the right of freedom of religious belief as well as political
and economical emancipation along with people all over the country. We
carried out the policy of winning over, uniting and educating the per-
sonalities in religious circles and succeeded in uniting many patriotic
persons. Furthermore, we supported and assisted the religious circles in
developing friendly activities throughout the world, which played a posi-
tive role. All these tremendous achievements have been universally
acknowledged.
However, after 1957, the "leftist" mistakes in our religious work began to
aggravate and by the middle of the 1960's became more serious. They became
especially serious during the "Great Cultural Revolution" because the Lin
Biao and Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary cliques willfully exploited these
"leftist" mistakes and took them to the extreme. They recklessly trampled
on the scientific theory of Mao Zedong Thought on religious questions, com-
pletely negated the party's correct policies on religious work that had
been formulated since the founding of the PRC and entirely abolished the
party's religious work. They wrecked the religious organizations and the
ranks of activists of the religious circles that loved the country and
supported socialism and even forcefully banned the normal religious life of
the masses of religious believers and destroyed and closed down all places
of religious activities. They regarded patriots in religious circles and
even ordinary religious believers as "objects of dictatorship," and framed
up many wrong, false and misjudged cases. Moreover, they treated the customs
and habits of some minority nationalities as religious and superstitious
and forcefully banned these customs and habits, thus impairing national
unity. They used violence in solving religious problems. They provided
extremely favorable conditions for a few counterrevolutionaries and evil-
doers to carry out illegal and criminal activities and counterrevolutionary
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sabotage activities in a big way under the cover of carrying out religious
activities.
Since the smashing of the Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary clique and espe-
cially since the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee, the
party's correct principles and policies related to religious work have
gradually been restored. We have done much work and achieved remarkable
results in implementing our religious policies, opening up temples, churches
and other places of religious activities, restoring the activities of
patriotic religious organizations, winning over, uniting and educating the
masses of religious believers and the personalities of religious circles,
developing the friendly international activities of religious circles and
resisting the penetration of hostile foreign religious influence. During
the new historical period, our party's basic task toward religious work is
to resolutely implement the policy of freedom of religious belief, consoli-
date and expand the patriotic political union of religious circles of all
nationalities, strengthen their education in patriotism and socialism, give
play to their positive factors and mobilize them to strive along with us to
build a powerful socialist motherland, realize the great goal of the reuni-
fication of the motherland with Taiwan, oppose hegemonism and safeguard
peace.
Of course, in comprehensively and correctly implementing the party's poli-
cies on religion, we will encounter much resistance and many difficulties,
including the interference and sabotage of "leftism"? and "rightism." At
present, we should primarily oppose the erroneous "leftist" tendency and at
the same time, pay attention to preventing and overcoming the erroneous
laissez-faire tendency. However, it is beyond any doubt that so long as all
the comrades in our party, especially the party's leading organs and leading
cadres at all levels, are adept at summing up and conscientiously learn
the positive and negative historical experiences in the party's religious
work since the founding of the PRC, so long as we further understand and
master the objective law governing the emergence, development and withering
away of religion, and so long as we steadfastly follow the scientific line
of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought in carrying out the party's religious
work, we will certainly be able to overcome all difficulties and resistance
and fulfill this major task satisfactorily.
Respecting and Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief Is Our Party's Basic
Policy on Religious Questions During the Period of Socialism
By freedom of religious belief, we mean that every citizen enjoys the free-
dom to believe, or not believe, in religion, the freedom to choose any
religion, the freedom to believe any faction in a religion, the freedom to
convert oneself from a nonbeliever to a believer or from a believer to a
nonbeliever in religion. Respecting-and protecting freedom of religious
belief is a long-term policy of our party and is a basic policy that we
should always adhere to until the natural withering away of religion.
True, we communists are atheists and we advocate and will propagate atheism
among the masses of the people. However, we, at the same time, understand
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that it is not only ineffective but also very harmful to use simple and
forceful methods to handle the ideological problems of the people and prob-
lems concerning the spiritual world of the people, especially the problems
of religious belief. We also understand that in the present stage, if we
one-sidedly stress the disparity of ideological awareness between religious
believers and nonbelievers among the masses of the people, regard this
relatively secondary disparity as being of primary importance, discriminate
against and attack the religious believers among the masses of the people,
neglect and even deny the identity in the basic political and economic
interests of the religious believers and the nonbelievers and forget that
the party's basic task is to unite all the people (including the broad masses
of believers and nonbelievers of religion) to jointly strive for the con-
struction of a modern powerful socialist country, we will only widen the gap
between the believers and nonbelievers among the masses of the people, stir
up and aggravate religious fanaticism and seriously harm the socialist cause.
Therefore, the policy of freedom of religious belief is the only correct
religious policy that our party has formulated according to the theory of
Marxism-Leninism and is a policy that really conforms to the interests of
the people.
Naturally, we should also stress that we protect the people's freedom of
refusing to believe in religion, while implementing this policy and
stressing that we protect people's freedom of religious belief. These are
two indispensable aspects of the same problem. Forcing people to believe-
in religion in any manner, like forcing people to refuse to believe in
religion, is an infringement on the freedom of religious belief of other
people and is, therefore, extremely wrong and can never be allowed. We must
also stress that the essence of the policy of freedom of religious belief
is to make the question of religious belief one of personal choice for a
citizen and his private affair. It is precisely for this reason that we
must adhere to the principle of separating religion from politics, judica-
ture and education, and we must never allow religion to interfere in the
administration of the state and the law or in school or social public
education. It is precisely for this reason that we must never allow the
practice of forcing youngsters below the age of 18 to be converted to some
religion or to be sent to temples to be monks or to learn religious
scriptures. It is also for this reason that we must never allow the
abolished systems of feudal privilege of religion and religious exploita-
tion and oppression to be restored. Furthermore, we must in no way allow
anybody to use religion to oppose the party's leadership and the socialist
system or to use religion to carry out propaganda against Marxism-Leninism-
Mao Zedong Thought.
In short, uniting both the believers and the nonbelievers of religion
among the masses to jointly strive for the construction of a modern powerful
socialist country is the basic starting point and basic ground for us in
carrying out the policy of freedom of religious belief and in carrying out
all religious work. Any words or actions that are divorced from this basic
starting point and basic ground are wrong and should be resolutely resisted
and opposed by the whole party and all the people in our country.
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Winning Over, Uniting and Educating the Personalities in the Religious
Circles Is an Important Part of the Party's Religious Work
Although the personalities of the religious circles in our country, pri-
marily the professional religious personalities, differ in their family
backgrounds, life experiences, beliefs, political ideas and thoughts, gen-
erally speaking, most of them love our country, observe the law and support
socialism. The number of counterrevolutionaries and evildoers who oppose
the constitution and socialism or who even collude with foreigners is very
small. Many of the personalities of the religious circles and primarily
many of the professional religious personalities have not only close
spiritual contacts with the masses of believers but also an important
influence on their spiritual life which cannot be neglected. Moreover, in
the form of carrying out their religious duties, they have been carrying out
a large amount of work of social service and benefits. These include for
example: Looking after temples, churches and religious cultural relics,
farming, cultivating and protecting forests and carrying out religious
academic research. Therefore, we must attach due importance to all the
personalities of the religious circles and especially to various kinds of
professional religious personalities. We must unite them, show concern for
them and help them to make progress. We must steadfastly and patiently
teach them to love our country, observe the law and support socialism, the
cause of the reunification of the motherland and national unity. Among
Catholic and Christian personalities, we should intensify the education in
maintaining independence and running the church on their own. We must
satisfactorily arrange the lives of the professional religious personali-
ties and conscientiously implement relevant policies. This is especially
so for the well-known personalities and intellectuals among them and we
should even more vigorously speed up the implementation of the policies
related to them and grant them proper remuneration. In regard to the
wrong, false and misjudged cases that have involved personalities in the
religious circles and the masses of religious believers and that have not
yet been remedied, we should speed up the reexamination and reinvestigation
of these cases and rehabilitate them in the manner of seeking truth from
facts. We should fix a deadline for remedying these cases. We must pay
attention to training, supporting and giving play to the positive role of
the newly emerged representative personalities who love the motherland, obey
the leadership of the party and the government, adhere to the socialist path,
safeguard the reunification of the motherland and national unity, are
accomplished in religious learning and can maintain contacts with the masses
of religious believers. We must organize all personalities in the religious
circles according to their different conditions and abilities to take part
in the productive labor that they can do and in social service work,
religious academic research, patriotic social and political activities and
international friendly exchanges so as to give play to their positive fac-
tors and make them serve the cause of socialist modernization. We should
not only.continue to win over, unite and educate all the existing personali-
ties of the religious circles, but should also help the various religious
organizations to do a good job of establishing and managing religious
colleges and training new professional religious personalities. Religious
colleges should recruit students from those young people who are honest,
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patriotic, willing to go in for a religious profession and are educated to
a certain degree. The task of the religious colleges is to vigorously
train and form a rank of young professional religious workers who polit-
ically love the motherland and support the party's leadership and the
socialist system and who are to a certain extent accomplished in religious
learning and can maintain close contacts with the masses of believers.
Combined with the existing patriotic and progressive elements in the
religious circles, this rank of young patriotic professional religious
workers will become the backbone force to ensure that the various religions
in our country will develop their activities in a correct direction.
Our comrades must understand that though in terms of world outlook Marxism
runs counter to any theism, in terms of political actions, Marxists defi-
nitely can and must form a united front with religious believers to jointly
strive for socialist modernization. This united front should become a very
important part of the broad patriotic united front that is led by the party
during the period of socialism.
Give Full Play to the Role of the Patriotic Religious Organizations and
Organize and Guide the Broad Masses. of Religious Believers in Carrying Out
Normal Religious Activities
Now there are eight national patriotic religious organizations, namely:
the Chinese Buddhist Association, the Chinese Taoist Association, the
Chinese Islamic Association, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association,
the National Administrative Commission of the Chinese Catholic Church, the
Chinese Catholic Bishops College, the Three Self Patriotic Movement Com-
mittee of Protestant Churches of China and the Christian Council of China.
Besides, there are some social bodies of a religious nature and some local
religious organizations. The basic task of the patriotic religious
organizations at all levels is to assist the party and government in carry-
ing out the policy of freedom of religious belief, to help the broad masses
of religious believers and the personalities of the religious circles to
continuously raise their patriotic and socialist awareness, to represent
the legitimate rights and interests of religious believers, to organize and
lead the masses of religious believers to carry out normal religious activ-
ities and to satisfactorily do all the work related to religion. All the
patriotic religious organizations should obey the leadership of the party
and the government. The cadres of the party and the government should be
good at consulting and cooperating with the religious organizations and the
religious personalities and support and help them to solve their own prob-
lems. They should not take on what ought to be done by these organizations
and personalities. Only by so doing can we give full play to the initiative
and proper role of the patriotic religious organizations. Only by so doing
can we enable them to develop useful work on their own initiative within
the scope of the constitution and the law, to become the religious organiza-
tions that exert a positive influence and to become the bridge for winning
over, uniting and educating religious personalities and the masses of
religious believers.
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The problem facing us at present is that we must rationally arrange places
for carrying out religious activities and provide for the material needs
in order to ensure that religious activities can be carried out normally.
All the normal religious activities that are carried out in the places for
religious activities, such as worshipping Buddhas, chanting scriptures,
burning incense, holding religious services, praying, explaining scriptures,
preaching, holding masses, baptizing, granting full status to nuns and
monks, giving last sacraments and celebrating religious festivals and all
the customary religious activities that are usually carried out at home,
such as practicing abstinence from meat and chanting requiems, should be
managed by religious organizations and religious believers on their own.
They are protected by law and thus no one is allowed to interfere in these
activities. All the.places of religious activities should be managed by
religious organizations and professional religious personnel under the
administrative leadership of the religious affairs department of the govern-
ment. In principle, in carrying out all religious activities, we should
avoid hampering social, production or work order. No one is allowed to
propagate atheism at religious places or stir up debates about the existence
of the gods among the masses of religious believers. However, in places
other than religious places, no religious organizations or believers should
preach, propagate theism or distribute religious pamphlets or religious
books, permission for publication of which has not been granted by the
responsible department of the government. We should take prudent care of
the important temples and churches at well-known mountainous and scenic
spots because they are not only places of religious activities, but also
cultural facilities of significant historical and cultural value. We
should take good care of the cultural relics in these temples and churches
an$ maintain these temples and churches in good repair in order to turn
them into clean, quiet and beautiful places for sight-seeing.
We should make a clear distinction between normal religious activities and
the illegal and criminal activities under the cover of religion. The
resolute protection of all normal religious activities itself, calls for
the resolute cracking down on all illegal, criminal and counterrevolu-
tionary sabotage activities under the cover of religion. We should
severely punish according to the law the counterrevolutionaries and
criminals who act under the cover of religion. Those professional religious
workers who have been released from the prison and who continue to carry out
sabotage activities should be punished as severely as possible according to
the law. At the same time, we should make a clear distinction between
normal religious activities and. feudal superstitious activities. We should
not allow those reactionary superstitious sects and secret societies and
'those sorcerers and sorceresses that we have banned to resume their activ-
ities. We should ban and severely punish all those who carryout super-
stitious activities to lure the people and defraud them of their money and
property. We should even more severely punish the party members and party
cadres who exploit these superstitious activities to make profits. We
should realize that in cracking down on all illegal and criminal activities
under the cover of religion and in banning all feudal superstitious activ-
ities we are precisely aiming at protecting normal religious activities.
This is because only by so doing can we more satisfactorily win over, unite
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and educate the broad masses of religious.believers and ensure that their
religious activities can be carried out in a normal manner.
At present, along with the daily increase in our international exchanges,
the external contacts of the religious circles will also develop in a daily
increasing manner and play an important role in raising our country's
political influence. However, at the.same time, the reactionary religious
forces in the world, especially the imperialist religious forces will also
attempt to exploit religious exchanges to carry out penetration activities
in order to "stage a return to China." Our policy.should be resolutely
resisting the penetration of any hostile foreign religious forces as well as
vigorously developing the international friendly exchanges in the religious
field. In carrying out international exchanges, our religious circles must
adhere to the principle of maintaining our independence and running the
churches by ourselves. They should resolutely combat the attempt by reac-
tionary international religious forces to resume the control of our country's
religion. They must resolutely reject the interference of'any foreign
churches or foreign religious personalities in the religious affairs of our
country. They must never allow any foreign religious organizations (includ-
ing the organs controlled by these organizations) to preach in any form in
our country, or to smuggle religious propaganda materials into our country
and distribute them in our country. We should maintain a high vigilance and
a close lookout on the underground churches and other illegal organizations
that the reactionary foreign religious forces have set up and will try to
set up in our country in order to carry out espionage and sabotage activ-
ities in our country under the cover of religion. Whenever we find any, we
should resolutely crack down on them.
Developing friendly external relations in the religious field on an inde-
pendent basis is a new problem facing us. The key to doing this work well
is to conscientiously do a good job of the religious work at home in
accordance with the CCP Central Committee's correct principles and poli-
cies. Facts have proved that when we have done the religious work at home
satisfactorily, there will be no or very few loopholes for hostile foreign
religious forces to take advantage of and the international exchanges in
the religious field will be able to healthily and smoothly develop and play
their due role.
Strengthening the Party's Leadership Is the Basic Guarantee for Doing the
Religious Work Satisfactorily
Religious work is an important part of the party's mass work and
involves many fields. Therefore, our party organizations at all levels
must unify their thinking, understanding and policies and must resolutely
take this important task in their hands and steadfastly and conscientiously
fulfill this task in a satisfactory manner.
We should emphatically point out that using a Marxist stand, viewpoints and
methods to carry out scientific research on religious problems is an impor-
tant part of the party's theoretical work. Criticizing idealism (including
theism) by Marxist philosophy and educating the masses of the people,
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especially the broad masses of youngsters in the scientific world outlook
(including atheism) is an important task of the party on the theoretical
and propaganda front. Building up a contingent of religious theory research
workers who are armed with the weapon of Marxism is an indispensable part
of the construction of the party's theoretical ranks. While we encourage
the academic circles to respect the ideology and beliefs of the religious
.circles, our religious circles should also respect the activities of
research on and propaganda of Marxist religious theory by our academic
circles.
By declaring and carrying out the policy of freedom of religious belief, our
party does not mean that the party members are allowed to believe in
religion as they please. The party's policy of freedom of religious belief
is only for ordinary citizens and not for party members. A party member
differs from an ordinary citizen and is the member of a Marxist political
party. Therefore, he undoubtedly should be an atheist and should not be
a theist. Our party has time and again clearly stipulated that CCP members
are not allowed to believe in religion or to take part in religious activ-
ities and that if a C.CP member clings to believing in religion and to taking
part in religious activities and refuses to mend his ways, he should be
persuaded to quit the party. This stipulation is entirely correct and
taking the party as a whole, we should continue to resolutely carry out
this stipulation in the future.
The problem now is that, among the people of the minority nationalities
who nearly all believe in religion, we should adopt measures to implement
this policy step by step in the light of the actual conditions and should
not do this in a hurried way. We must see that there is still quite a
large part of the CCP members among these minority nationalities who have
been loyally carrying out the party's line, conscientiously working for the
party and observing party discipline, but cannot completely be free from
religious feelings. Regarding these comrades, the party organizations
should not simply turn them out, but should, while giving full play to
their political initiative, carry out patient and careful ideological work
in order to gradually help them fix in their minds a Marxist world outlook
and break away from the fetters of religious feelings. A small number of
party members have acted in an extremely harmful manner by not only
believing in religion, but also taking part in stirring up religious
fanaticism, or even using religious fanaticism to oppose the four basic
principles and the party's line, principles and policies. These people have
already completely lost the basic stand of party members and, if after
criticism and education they still refuse to correct their mistakes or
feign willingness to but covertly refuse to correct their mistakes, they
should be resolutely expelled from the party.
Among the minority nationalities, all the people of which believe in
religion, the party members who live at that grassroots should not refuse
to take part in the traditional wedding and funeral ceremonies and mass
festive activities that are to some extent religious in nature, even if
they have already abandoned their previous religious beliefs. For if they
refuse, they will be divorced from the masses and become isolated. Although
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there is something of a religious nature and tradition in many traditional
wedding and funeral ceremonies and mass festival activities, in essence,
this religious nature and tradition has already become a component of the
nationality's conventions and.customs. Our comrades, especially the party
members living at the grassroots,. should not only thoroughly abandon
religious beliefs in their minds, but should also respect and observe the
conventions and customs of their nationality in their lives. It is
inappropriate to confuse the conventions and customs of a nationality with
religious activities without making an analysis. This will be unfavorable
to correctly handling religious problems and to strengthening national
unity.
All the comrades in our party should deeply understand that ours is a great
socialist country with many nationalities. As nationalities and religions
differ, so do the relationships between religions and the people of the
nationalities. In regard to some minority nationalities, nearly all the
people of a nationality believe in one religion, for example, Islam or
Lamaism. For these nationalities, the religious problems often intertwine
with nationality problems. However, this is not the case for the Han
nationality, the people of which believe in Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism
or Christianity and the religious problems of the Han people are not
related to nationality problems. Therefore, we must be good at making
concrete analysis of the different conditions of various nationalities and
different religions and at understanding the distinction and relationships
between nationality and religious problems. Moreover, we must know how to
handle these problems correctly. If our party cannot soberly and reso-
lutely master these problems in leading China, a country with so many
nationalities, in carrying out the magnificent struggle for socialist
modernization, we will not be able to satisfactorily unite the people of
all nationalities to jointly forge ahead.
All the comrades in our party must soberly understand that the party's
current religious policy is by no means a make-shift policy. On the con-
trary, this policy is formulated on the scientific theoretical basis of
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought and is a strategic stipulation that is
aimed at uniting the people of all nationalities throughout the nation to
jointly build up a powerful modern socialist country. Under the socialist
conditions, the only correct way to solve the religious problem is that,
under the premise of protecting the freedom of religious belief, we greatly
develop the socialist economy, culture, science and technology and achieve
great progress in developing socialist material and spiritual civilizations
so as to gradually eliminate the social and cognitive sources that have
given rise to religion and enables it to exist. Of course, it is impossi-
ble to achieve success in such a great cause in a short period of time nor
in the time of one, two or three generations. This means that only after
a very long historical period and only after the joint struggle of many
generations of the masses of people including both believers and non-
believers can we achieve this. Then, the Chinese people and the land of
China will be thoroughly free from any poverty, ignorance and spiritual
barrenness and the Chinese people will have created a bright world with
highly developed material and spiritual civilizations and rank the foremost
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among human beings. At that time, most of the citizens in our country will
be able to consciously adopt a scientific attitude toward the world and life
will no longer need to look for spiritual sustenance in the illusory world
of gods. That will be the times that Marx and Engels described as when all
the social life is put under people's conscious and planned control and that
Comrade Mao Zedong described as the times when people consciously reform
themselves as well as the world. Only when we have entered these times
will the various religious expressions of the actual world finally dis-
appear. Our whole party should strive hard generation after generation
in order to achieve this magnificent goal.
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CONSOLIDATE AND STRENGTHEN THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC. DICTATORSHIP
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 9-12
[Article by Yang Yifan [2799 0001 0416]]
[Text] Article 1 of the "Draft of the Revised PRC Constitution" stipu-
lates: "The PRC is a socialist state of the people's democratic dictator-
ship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and
peasants." This explains the nature, that is, the state system, of our
country. State system refers to the class nature of the state, that is,
the positions of all classes in the society. An instrument of class domi-
nation, a state is the dictatorship of a certain class. As an instrument
with which the exploiters oppress the broad masses of laboring people, a
state of the exploiting class is the dictatorship of the minority over the
majority. Our state power is completely different in nature from all the
states of the exploiting classes. It is the people's democratic dictator-
ship which practices democracy toward the broad masses of the laboring
people and exercises dictatorship over a small number of enemies.
The "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the
Founding of the PRC" approved at the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th CCP
Central Committee specifically pointed out: "A fundamental task of the
socialist revolution is to gradually establish a highly democratic socialist
political system." The preamble of the draft of the revised constitution
also regards the establishment of a high degree of democracy as an important
component of the future tasks of the people of the whole country. A high
degree of socialist democracy has two implications: one is the ruling
position of the whole people in the state, or their position of being the
masters of the country, and the other is a high degree of development of
the democratic system. The first, which is also the most fundamental
implication, is a state system of the people's democratic dictatorship as
stipulated in the draft of the revised constitution.
Our people's democratic dictatorship is a form of the dictatorship of the
proletariat. It has been explicitly pointed out in the preamble of the
draft of the revised constitution that "the people's democratic dictator-
ship is the dictatorship of the proletariat." This is because: First, this
dictatorship is led by the working class as well as its political party, the
CCP, which is precisely the basic indication of the dictatorship of the
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proletariat. Second, this dictatorship undertakes the historical mission of
the dictatorship of the proletariat. It'will not only abolish all exploitive
systems, the bourgeoisie and all other exploitive classes, but will also
greatly develop social productive forces, improve and develop the socialist
relations of production and the superstructure and, on this basis, gradually
eliminate all class differences and all major social differences and social
inequality brought about mainly by inadequate social productive forces.,
until the realization of communism. Third, this dictatorship is based on
the alliance of workers and peasants, which is the basic principle of the
dictatorship of the proletariat. Fourth, this dictatorship should not only
suppress the sabotage activities of the extremely few internal enemies; it
also has the function of guarding against subversion and possible aggres-
sion by external enemies. All of these, particularly the leadership of
the proletariat and its political party and the historical mission under-
taken by this dictatorship, determine that the people's democratic dictator-
ship of our country is in essence the dictatorship of the proletariat.
With respect to the class nature of our political power, there were two
formulations in the constitutions previously promulgated. The 1954 consti-
tution made it clear in the preamble that we "have founded the People's
Republic of China of the people's democratic dictatorship." It was also
stipulated in the general principle that our country is a people's demo-
cratic state led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers
and peasants. The two constitutions promulgated later stipulated that our
country is a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The present
draft of the revised constitution for discussion among the people of the
whole country has restored the formulation in the 1954 constitution. Since
the two formulations are essentially the same, why is it necessary for the
draft of the revised constitution to adopt the formulation of the people's
democratic dictatorship?
This revision has not been made at will. It has been affirmed in the form
of a fundamental law under the guidance of the basic principle of Marxist
theory on the dictatorship of the proletariat in the light of the specific
historical and national conditions in our country and with the aim of
expressing more clearly and explicitly the nature, content and functions
of our political power. After leading the revolutionary people in smashing
the old state apparatus and seizing the state power, the proletariat became
the ruling class and established the dictatorship of the proletariat. This
is undoubtedly the fundamental and primary indication of the victory of the
proletarian revolution. "The continued advancement of the revolutionary
cause of the proletariat, i.e., development toward communism, proceeds
through the dictatorship of the proletariat, and cannot do otherwise."
("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 25, p 448) This is also a truth that has
been repeatedly proved in history. However, due to different national
conditions in various countries and the different revolutionary paths the
proletariat and laboring people in various countries have taken in winning
liberation, there are bound to be various different political forms by
which to achieve the dictatorship of the proletariat. The form of the dic-
tatorship of the proletariat a country adopts can only be determined in the
light of the specific national conditions in each country and not according
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to a fixed, unchangeable pattern. The specific social and historical con-
ditions in our country are greatly different from those in the relatively
developed capitalist countries of Europe and America; they are also differ-
ent from the conditions evident when Lenin and Stalin led the Soviet
socialist revolution. The proletariat in our country launched proletarian
revolution in a semicolonial and semifeudal country where the economy and
culture were very backward; it has launched socialist revolution and the
cause of socialist construction in a great country where the peasants make
up the great majority of the people. It is precisely in the light of the
specific social and historical conditions and the actual situation in our
country and because of the following reasons that we have adopted the form
of the people's democratic dictatorship as the dictatorship of the prole-
tariat in our country.
First, the people's democratic dictatorship of our country is an objective
historical fact which has been formed in the protracted revolutionary
struggle and which has been accepted by the people of the whole country.
The people's democratic dictatorship of our country has gone through the
new democratic and the socialist periods. On the question of the Chinese
revolution, our party and Comrade Mao Zedong, by integrating the universal
principle of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese
revolution, determined the strategic tasks of the new democratic revolution
and socialist revolution in the course of the Chinese revolution, clearly
pointed out the correct path for achieving the victory of the Chinese revo-
lution and gradually formed the concept of the people's democratic dictator-
ship. During the war period Comrade Mao Zedong proposed that the new China
should be a new type of political power of the people's democratic dictator-
ship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and
peasants. On the eve of national liberation he again pointed out in his
article "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship": "To sum up our experi-
ence and concentrate it into one point, it is: the people's democratic
dictatorship under the leadership of the working class (through the
Communist Party) and based upon the alliance of workers and peasants. This
dictatorship must unite as one with the international revolutionary forces.
This is our formula, our principal experience, our main program."
("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 4, p 1417) When new China was founded,
our state power was organized precisely according to the principle of the
people's democratic dictatorship. It was led by the working class, was
based on the alliance of workers and peasants and recruited the petit
bourgeoisie and national bourgeoisie as well as the representatives of
other patriotic and democratic elements. We put the principle of the
people's democratic dictatorship into the 1949 "Common Program" which
served as a provisional constitution, and into the.1954 constitution.
After the founding of new China, we entered the period of transformation
from the new democratic revolution to the socialist revolution and we
accomplished the transformation in 1956. By that time, the people's
democratic dictatorship also became a state power of socialist character
on the national scale. In the struggle to achieve this great transforma-
tion, the party and Comrade Mao Zedong further enriched and developed the
concept of the people's democratic dictatorship. The national bourgeoisie
in our country was different from the bureaucrat-capitalist class and the
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landlord class in that on the one hand it exploited the working class to
gain profit and on the other hand it supported the constitution and was
willing to accept socialist transformation. Therefore, the class struggle
between the national bourgeoisie and the working class generally came within
.class struggle among the people. For this reason, during the transition
period, we closely relied on the broad masses of workers and peasants,
correctly handled the contradictions between the working class and the
national bourgeoisie, victoriously accomplished socialist transformation
of the private ownership of the means of production by peaceful means and
abolished the system of exploitation of man by man. Either before or after
socialist transformation, our state power was organized according to the
principle of the people's democratic dictatorship. As a matter of fact,
this situation has been prevailing in the normal conditions of our state
life since our country entered the period of full-scale socialist construc-
tion. All this has convincingly proved that the form of the people's demo-
cratic dictatorship is suitable to our country not only during the new
democratic period but also during the socialist period.
Second, the adoption of the form of the people's democratic dictatorship for
our state power is suited to the class and national conditions of our coun-
try in the present period and is necessary for exercising the leadership of
the working class over state life. Ours is a country where the peasants
make up the great majority of the people. Since the founding of the PRC,
the ranks of the working class have grown rapidly, but they still account
for a very small percentage of the whole population. Without the peasants
and other-laboring people, it is impossible for the working class to exer-
cise a strong rule of the majority over the minority and it is impossible to
firmly maintain the leadership of the working class over state life. Lenin
said: "The dictatorship of the proletariat is the direction of policy by
the proletariat." ("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 32, p 332) In order to
exercise this leadership, it is imperative for the working class to form a
close alliance with the vast numbers of peasants and other laboring people.
Now, after the exploiting class has been eliminated as a class, most of the
people among the exploiting class have been transformed into laborers who
support themselves through their own labor. The targets of dictatorship
have been greatly reduced while the ranks of the people who enjoy demo-
cratic rights have correspondingly expanded. With the exception of the
extremely few reactionaries who are hostile to and sabotage the socialist
revolution and socialist construction, all the people in our country are
masters of our country. Naturally, there are still certain contradictions
between the two laboring classes of the workers and peasants, between the
various strata of the masses of people and between one group of people and
another group of people. These contradictions include the contradictions
between the interests of the state and the interests of the collective on
the one hand and the interests of the individual on the other, and the con-
tradictions arising from the bureaucratic style of work of some state
personnel in their relations with the masses. These are contradictions
among the people. Generally speaking, the fundamental identity of the
people's interests underlies the contradictions among the people. There-
fore, under the socialist conditions, the leadership of the working class
over the peasants and other masses of the people cannot be achieved through
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the method of dictatorship, but through the guidance of Marxism-Leninism-
Mao Zedong Thought, through its correct principle and policies, through the
methods of conducting ideological education among the masses and coming
into close contact with the masses and through the method of correctly
handling the contradictions among the people. The formulation of the
people's democratic dictatorship in the draft of the. revised constitution
will not weaken the leading role of the-working class over state life, but
will better conform to our national conditions and more explicitly reflect
the position of the whole people as the masters of the country in state
life.
Third, the adoption of the people's democratic dictatorship for our state
power of the dictatorship of the proletariat can reflect more clearly and
more explicitly its nature, content and functions. In classical Marxist
works, the content and functions of the dictatorship of the proletariat
originally included the two aspects of democracy and dictatorship, that
is, the practice of democracy among the people and the exercise of dicta-
torship over the enemies of the people. Lenin explicitly pointed out that
the dictatorship of the proletariat "must inevitably be a state that is
democratic in a new way (for the proletariat and the propertyless in
general) and dictatorial in a new way (against the bourgeoisie)."
("Selected Works of Lenin," Vol 3, p 200) In light of the practical sit-
uation in our country, the formulation of the people's democratic dictator-
ship can directly indicate the two aspects of democracy and dictatorship it
contains. This has the advantage of being explicit and clear in expression
and can prevent some people from abusing the dictatorship of the proletariat.
People still clearly remember that during the decade of civil disturbance,
the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary cliques, put into motion by
the need to usurp the leadership of the party and power, deliberately dis-
torted the content and nature of the dictatorship of the proletariat. They
isolated democracy from dictatorship, abolished socialist democracy and
exercised "all-round dictatorship" of the feudal-fascist type over the
numerous cadres and the broad masses with the result that the state and the
people suffered from an unheard-of calamity. Naturally, the ugly per-
formances of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary cliques were
not in the least related to the formulation of the dictatorship of the
proletariat. However, in view of the historical lessons and experiences
and in order to prevent conspirators from engaging in counterrevolutionary
activities with the trick of stripping the revolutionary theory of its
essence, it is quite necessary for the draft of the revised constitution to
adopt the formulation of the people's democratic dictatorship which directly
indicates the implications of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
It should be emphatically pointed out here that the adoption of the people's
democratic dictatorship in the draft of the revised constitution published
on this occasion also reflects the increased function of the people's demo-
cratic dictatorship in maintaining socialist democracy during the new
historical period. The chief contradiction in the present stage of our
country is no longer the contradiction between the working class and the
bourgeoisie but the contradiction between the people's need for speedily
developing economy and culture and the inability of the present economy and
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culture to meet the needs of the people. The fundamental task of our coun-
try is to concentrate our forces in the socialist modernization drive and
gradually build our country into a socialist state with modern industry,
modern agriculture, modern science and technology and modern national
defense, and with a highly developed democracy and civilization. This
determines that the fundamental task of the people's democratic dictator-
ship is to protect social productive forces under the new relations of
production and to ensure that the people enjoy a high degree of democratic
rights in the state's political life and economic construction. In order
to develop social productive forces at a high speed, it is imperative for
us to develop socialist democracy and ensure that the broad masses of
people take an active part in socialist construction with the attitude of
being masters of the country. In order to establish a socialist political
system with a highly developed democracy, we should, with the development
of socialist economic construction, constantly expand the people's demo-
cratic rights, particularly the people's rights to manage state affairs.
The principal character of the people's democratic dictatorship of our
.country is extensive democracy. Therefore, the adoption of the formulation
of the people's democratic dictatorship in the draft of the revised consti-
tution has correctly reflected the functions of our state power and the
socialist nature of our country.
Our party and Comrade Mao Zedong have enriched the Marxist-Leninist theory
of the state with the theory and practice of establishing the people's
democratic dictatorship. This constitutes a major contribution to the
international communist movement. In this respect, the "Resolution on
Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the
PRC" has made a positive confirmation. Taking the people's democratic
dictatorship as a form of the dictatorship, of the proletariat is an out-
standing indication that the party and Comrade Mao Zedong have creatively
applied the universal principle of Marxism-Leninism in the practice of
Chinese revolution. When setting forth and expounding the theory on the
forms of the dictatorship of the proletariat, Marx and Engels set forth,
in the light of the different social and historical conditions in capitalist
countries such as Britain, France and Germany at that time, the concept that
these countries may "directly or indirectly establish the political domina-
tion of the proletariat" after the victory of the proletarian revolution.
Engels pointed out: "In Britain this domination can be directly established
because the proletariat there is now made up by the majority of the people;
in France and Germany this domination can be indirectly established because
the majority of the people in these two countries include not only the
proletarians but also small farmers and small urban capitalists." ("Selected
Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 1, p 219) This shows that, in judging the
question of whether a state power is the dictatorship of the proletariat, we
should chiefly see whether the country has established the political domina-
tion of the proletariat, that is, whether the proletariat has taken the
leadership of the state into its hands. As to the forms of the dictator-
ship of the proletariat, whether it is a direct domination of the prole-
tariat or an indirect role, that is, the exercise of political domination
by means of establishing an alliance with the peasants and other laboring
masses, they are all permissible. Therefore, the formulation of the
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people's democratic dictatorship adopted in the draft of the revised consti-
tution does not deviate from the Marxist-Leninist theory on the dictator-
ship of the proletariat, nor has it changed the nature of the dictatorship
of the proletariat in our country. It is precisely an expression of uphold-
ing in a better way the dictatorship of the proletariat in light of our
national conditions.
Upholding the people's democratic dictatorship is a fundamental guarantee
for the victory of the cause of our socialist revolution and construction.
The reason why it is necessary for us to continuously consolidate and
strengthen the people's democratic dictatorship is that the historical
'mission undertaken by this dictatorship is still far from being accomplished.
We have abolished the system of exploitation and the exploiting classes in
our country, but owing to the internal factors and international influence,
class struggle will still exist in a certain scope for a long time. It may
even intensify under some circumstances. In order to defend the socialist
system, ensure the smooth progress of the four modernizations drive and
ensure that the people of our country will enjoy a high degree of demo-
cratic rights in a stable social environment, it is imperative for us to
employ the force of the state power to strengthen the suppression on the
extremely few enemies who resist and disrupt socialism, guard against sub-
versive activities and possible aggression by antagonistic external forces,
eliminate all class differences and accomplish the historical mission of
transition to communism. This is a more difficult, arduous and protracted
fighting task. Therefore, so long as class struggle and class differences
exist, the function of the people's democratic dictatorship will not wither
away. The historical experience in the 30-odd years since the founding of
the PRC has told us that without the people's democratic dictatorship
socialism is empty talk. Only if the people of the whole country closely
rally around the working class and its vanguard, the CCP, and persistently
strive to uphold the people's democratic dictatorship will it be possible
.for the cause of our revolution and construction to smoothly advance.
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STRENGTHEN THE BUILDING OF POLITICAL POWER IN GRASSROOTS UNITS
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp- 13-15
[Article by Zhang Qingfu [1728 1987 4395]]
[Text] Compared with the existing constitution, the "Draft of the Revised
Constitution of the People's Republic of China" promulgated by the NPC
Standing Committee has made important reforms in some of the stipulations,
in the political power sector in urban and rural grassroots units. This
draft of the revised constitution has changed the present integrated manage-
ment system of people's communes, has stipulated the setting up of rural
political power as an organization of rural grassroots political power and
has retained the people's commune as a simple organization of collective
economy no longer possessing political power and functions. This has made
the functions of organs of state power and administration in urban and
rural grassroots units more rational and clearly divided. Apart from this,
it has also written the neighborhood committees and villagers' committees
into the constitution. These stipulations provide constitutional safe-
guards for improving and strengthening the work of our urban and rural
grassroots political power and are important measures enabling the people
to exercise the rights of being their own master and building a highly
democratic socialist political system.
In China, the content of the people's socialist democratic rights is very
extensive and involves every sphere of the political life of the state and
social life. However, its most vital and essential aspect is the active
participation of the masses in managing the various affairs of the state
and society and becoming genuine masters of the state. Lenin said: "It is
important for us to draw literally all working people into the government of
the state. It is a task of tremendous difficulty." ("Collected Works of
Lenin," Vol 27, p 123) Lenin also said: "The people need a republic in
order to educate the masses in the methods of democracy. We need not only
representation along democratic lines, but also the building of the entire
.state administration from the bottom up by the masses themselves, their
effective participation in all of life's steps, and their active role in
the administration." ("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 24, pp 153-154)
Strengthening the building of political power in urban and rural grassroots
units is precisely for the sake of drawing the working people by the
millions from the bottom up to participate in administering the affairs
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of the state. Only if the political power in urban and rural grassroots
units is really produced as a result of direct election by the people and
directly supervised and removed by them in accordance with the stipulations
of the constitution can it become an authoritative organ of political power.
in the,hands of the people and perform various functions stipulated by the
constitution, and can the people bring their role into play in administer-
ing the affairs of the state and society and exercise the rights of being
their own master.
The organ of political power at the urban and rural grassroots level is a
basic organization of state power of the people's democratic dictatorship
and an organic component of the whole state power system. It is directly
responsible for the difficult task of mobilizing and organizing the masses
to carry out the various construction assignments of the state and its own
locality, and is an important base for various work of the state. At the
same time, it is an organ of political power in direct contact with the
masses and is the link between the party, the state and the people. The
voices and demands of the people must also be reflected through it to state
organs at various higher levels and directly to the central authorities.
Strengthening the building of organs of political power at the grassroots
level will bring the party and the state closer to the people and they will
subject themselves to supervision by the people. Improving the work style
of state organs will enable the state power of the people's democratic
dictatorship to be established on a solid foundation and develop along the
path of socialist democracy.
In this country of ours which has 800 million peasants, making a success
of the building of political power in grassroots units is of especially
important significance. Based on the past experiences of China in building
rural political power, the draft of the revised constitution, in accordance
with the principle of separating government administration from commune
management, stipulates establishing rural political power while retaining
the people's communes as collective economic organizations. This stipula-
tion is helpful to improving and strengthening the work of organs of polit-
ical power in rural grassroots units. Separating government administration
from commune management will define the responsibilities of the party, the
government and the enterprise so that each can attend to its own duties.
This will prevent the concentration in the commune.of party, government,
financial and cultural powers in the hands of a few people. This will also
help the organs of political power in grassroots units to cast off concrete
production tasks and concentrate their energy in making a success of build-
ing political power, independently exercising their functions and power, and
conscientiously performing their duties. At the same time, because the
organs of political power in rural grassroots units are directly elected,
supervised and removed by rural voters, this will contribute to their main-
taining close ties with the masses of peasants and people and extensively
listening to their views and demands. As a result of the effectiveness of
their work, they will be able to: guarantee the observance and implementa-
tion of the constitution, laws and decrees as well as administrative laws
and regulations in their own administrative district; decide on such major
issues as economic construction, cultural construction and public works of
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their own locality in accordance with the authority prescribed by law;
supervise in their own administrative district such administrative work as
economy, education, science, culture, public health and physical culture
as well as finance, public security, civil administration and family plan-
ning so that various work of the state will be concretely carried out in
the vast countryside and so that they can really become people's organs of
political power representing the interests of the people, safeguarding the
people's democratic rights and working for the masses.
Will the separation of political power in rural grassroots units from com-
mune management weaken the leadership of the party? No, it will not. China
is a socialist country of the people's democratic dictatorship led by the
working class and based on the worker-peasant alliance. The Communist Party
is the core of leadership of the whole state power system. All state
organs must carry out activities and develop work under the leadership of
the party. This is a general principle of the activities carried out by
socialist state organs. If we deviate from this principle, political work
would lose its bearings and forfeit the quality of proletarian political
power. However, the leadership of the party over state power definitely
cannot be described as the amalgamation of party and state power, or that
the party can take the place of the government. The leadership of the party
over state power is mainly to exercise political leadership and not to
monopolize concrete administrative and management work. The separation of
government administration from commune management will enable party organi-
zations in rural grassroots units to free themselves from tedious, trifling,
routine matters so that they can go deep into reality for investigation and
study, more effectively strengthen leadership in ideology and theory as well
as in line, policies and principles over the organs of political power,
intensify inspection and supervision over their work to enable them to
advance along the correct orientation charted by the party and ensure the
correct and concrete enforcement of the line, policies and principles of
the party in every rural grassroots unit. At the same time, the separation
of government administration from commune management will also help the party
organizations in rural grassroots units make room for properly carrying out
their own construction, strengthen education and supervision over the party
members and enable the party organizations to really become the core and
stronghold for rallying the masses in their advance so that the party mem-
bers will truly play the exemplary role of vanguards at their respective
stations.
The separation of government administration from commune management will
also help perfect the rural collective economic organizations and promote
the development of the. national economy. As economic organizations, the
people's communes are of a collective ownership nature. Their means of
production and products are collectively owned, and the state as well as
all other units cannot make gratuitous transfers but can only carry out
exchange based on the principles of voluntary participation and mutual
benefit. The separation of government administration from commune manage-
ment will prevent state organs at higher levels from making gratuitous
transfer of the manpower and material and financial resources of production
teams. It will also help prevent the organs of political power from
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excessively controlling production and livelihood by means of administrative
orders and fostering such bureaucratic phenomena as resorting to coercion
and commandeering and giving arbitrary and impracticable directions. It
will help to safeguard the ownership as well as the administration and
management decisionmaking power of commune collective economic organizations
and also mobilize the socialist enthusiasm of the broad masses of peasants
and people. At the same time, the separation of government administration
from commune management can break the framework of administrative district
restrictions. Based on the organic connections in socialist economy,
division of labor and cooperation can be carried out beyond the districts
and trades and among different ownership systems. In communes, production
teams and various economic organizations can also establish genuine relations
of cooperation on the basis of voluntary participation and mutual benefit.
This will help agriculture to develop in a direction favorable to specializa-
tion and socialization and will cater to the needs of agricultural moderni-
zation.
The separation of government administration from commune management is the
general trend and popular feeling. It reflects the needs of our rural and
economic development. However, this reform is an important change.
involving the political and economic life of 800 million peasants. This is
a very complicated and meticulous work and there is absolutely no room for
carelessness or hasty changes. Work must be carried out in an orderly manner
in accordance with the dispositions of the CCP Central Committee and the
State Council, and there must be leadership, preparations, plans and pro-
cedures and there must not be "across-the-board measures." At present and
in the next few years after the formal adoption of the constitution, all
localities should maintain the present system and continue to perfect vari-
ous responsibility systems and readjust various grassroots organizations in
accordance with the stipulations of the "Minutes of the National Conference
on Rural Work" approved and transmitted by the Central Committee. However,
we can first conduct tests at selected points based on unified planning and
sum up experiences. Then on the basis of summing up experiences and after
ample preparations and overall arrangements, we can gradually make changes
by stages and in groups under guidance in accordance with specific condi-
tions in various localities. At present, enterprises run by communes and
production brigades are still led and managed by them. Even after the
separation of government administration from commune management in the
future, the enterprises run by the communes, production brigades or produc-
tion teams and their property still belong to them and will not change as
a result of the separation of government administration from commune manage-
ment. This point must be made clear to all the commune members and commune
cadres in order to avoid unnecessary ideological confusion which might
result in economic and production losses. At present, the administration,
management and organization of the agrotechnique popularization stations
and agricultural machinery stations belonging to the communes are still
under their responsibility and leadership. Such enterprises and units as
supply and marketing cooperatives and credit cooperatives set up at the
commune level are still managed and led under the existing system. Unless
a decision is made specifying so by a department in charge at a higher
level, this cannot be changed at will. Before the formal establishment and
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operation of rural organs of state power in the future, the work of various
organs of political power in the rural areas at present is still managed
respectively by the communes and the production brigades, and the responsi-
bilities of the production team will continue to be in force. We must also
continue to strengthen the work of party and league organizations. We must
understand the important significance of the future separation of govern-
ment administration from commune management to strengthening the building
of political power in rural grassroots units and to developing rural collec-
tive economy. We must strengthen discipline, stand fast at our posts, con-
scientiously implement the various policies of the party and the state, and.
make a success of various work tasks.
In order to strengthen the work of organs of political power in our urban
and rural grassroots units, the draft of the revised constitution makes the
stipulations more explicit and rational than before in defining the func-
tions of organs of state power and administrative organs in grassroots units.
The differentiation made in the present constitution is not very explicit in
this respect, and the functions of some administrative organs such as the
planning of economic, cultural construction and public undertakings, the
safeguarding of public property and the upholding of public order have been
.stipulated as the functions of organs of state power. The relevant stipula-
tions in the draft of the revised constitution have remedied this defect.
Not only this, but the draft of the revised constitution also makes more
explicit and concrete than the present constitution the extent of the
authority of local state administrative organs (including state administra-
tive organs at grassroots level), and points out the limits of the authority
of people's governments at various local levels, the management of the
economy, education, science, culture, public health, physical culture and
urban and rural construction in their own administrative district, as well
as such administrative work as finance, public health, civil administration
and family planning, the promulgation of decisions and orders and the
appointment, dismissal, training and examination as well as the reward and
punishment of administrative personnel. These stipulations in the draft
of the revised constitution play an important role in enforcing the work
responsibility system, raising work efficiency in state organs and getting
rid of bureaucracy.
In order to strengthen the work of organs of political power in our urban
and rural grassroots units and the masses, the draft of the revised con-
stitution has also added the neighborhood committees and the villagers'
committees into its content. Neighborhood committees and villagers' com-
mittees are important forms of organizations that have long proved effec-
tive in China. Although they are not a form of. state power organs, they are
important channels for organs of political power in grassroots units to
maintain ties with the masses. According to the stipulations of the draft
of the revised constitution, neighborhood committees and villagers' commit-
tees are mass organizations of self-government set up in cities and rural
areas where people live in a community. The neighborhood committees and
villagers' committees set up subcommittees for mediating disputes among the
people and to help maintain public order. They also reflect the views and
demands of the masses to the people's government, offer suggestions and
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carry out supervision. This not only will enable the urban and rural resi-
dents, based on the principle "everybody's business should be handled by
everybody," to solve problems in their own livelihood, production and study
by means of the neighborhood committees and villagers' committees, and to
strengthen unity among the people, but the organs of political power in
urban and rural grassroots units can also, by means of such residents' self-
government organizations, acquaint themselves with the views and demands of
the masses, maintain close ties with the masses and guarantee the implemen-
tation of the line, policies and principles of the party as well as the
laws and decrees of the state.
The stipulations in the draft of the revised constitution concerning the
strengthening of organs of political power in grassroots units are a summa-
tion of the experiences in the building of political power carried out for a
long time in our country. It can be affirmed that these stipulations will
play an important role in persuading the masses to take part in the manage-
ment of the state, guaranteeing the democratic rights of the people and
promoting the four modernizations. Now the 23d Session of the 5th NPC
Standing Committee will submit the draft of the revised constitution to the
whole people for discussion, an important event in the political life of our
country. All our citizens must actively take part in the discussion and
conscientiously submit amendment suggestions so that our constitution will
become more perfect and complete and the stipulations of the constitution
concerning organs of political power in grassroots units will be more suited
to our national conditions.
CSO: 4004/40
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SELECT AND APPOINT PERSONS OF ABILITY
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 16-19
[Article by Yang Fengchun [2799 6646 2504]]
[Text] "Selecting and appointing persons of ability" is a strategic task
in carrying forward the proletarian revolutionary cause. It is also one of
the major tasks in the present restructuring of government organizations and
reform of the cadre system. It is aimed at vigorously developing the great
socialist and communist cause pioneered by the proletarian revolutionaries
of the older generation and ensuring the successful realization of the con-
struction of the socialist modernizations.
The restructuring of government organizations is being carried out smoothly.
The organs directly under the CCP Central Committee and the State Council
have been doing a good job in carrying out the party's line of "appointing
people on their merits," paying serious attention to selecting outstanding
young and middle-aged cadres for. the leading bodies and enabling them to
take part in or to take charge of the leadership work. What they have done
enjoys warm support from the broad masses of cadres and people and has set
a good example for the reform of party and government organizations at
various levels.
The comrades who have been newly promoted to the leading bodies can cer-
tainly open up a new prospect in their work if they resolutely carry out
the party's line, policies and principles, abide by party discipline, main-
tain close ties with the masses, are capable of independent work, active
and resolute in doing their work, never seek private interests and dare to
overcome difficulties. The old comrades who have left the leading posts
will then feel relieved when they see with their own eyes that a large
number of talented people have come forth from the contingent of the prole-
tarian successors and that there is no lack of successors to carry on the
proletarian revolutionary cause. It is necessary to help and support the
younger comrades to take charge of the leadership work and do a good job
in handling and taking over the work when the old comrades are still in good
health. It is necessary to foster the revolutionary atmosphere in which
every younger cadre at a leading post is working hard for the party and the
people with a high sense of responsibility and every older comrade who has
left his post is continuing to concern himself with the party's cause with
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high revolutionary enthusiasm and is keeping up the good qualities of a
party member. Thus, our purpose of abolishing the lifelong tenure of lead-
ing posts, which has really been existing, and preventing the aging of the
leading bodies will be achieved. Besides, this is also an essential condi-
tion for ensuring the continuity of our party's line, policies and princi-
ples and for ensuring that our revolutionary cause is developed continuously
toward prosperity. Therefore, "selecting and appointing persons of ability"
is of far-reaching significance.
We have fulfilled the task of setting to rights things which have been
thrown into disorder in the guiding ideology and have a ,correct political
line. However, in order to implement the party's correct ideology and
realize the party's political line, there must also be a correct organiza-
tional line. Therefore, the cadres' quality, their steadfastness and
loyalty toward the revolutionary cause, and whether they are capable,
energetic and vigorous are of decisive importance. Without tens of thou-
sands of leading cadres and backbone forces who have both ability and polit-
ical integrity and are in their prime, it is impossible to complete the
great historical task of leading the socialist modernization drive in a
country with a population of 1 billion.
The old cadres must take on the responsibility of selecting and training
their successors. .This is the crux of "selecting and appointing people of
ability," and is also the most glorious and sacred duty of the old cadres in
the new historical period. In this respect, the proletarian revolutionaries
of the older generation have set the whole party a brilliant example. Stand-
ing on a high plane and being farsighted, they have taken the interests of
the party and the state as the supreme guiding principle for their ideology
and action. They have conscientiously fostered and supported the younger
comrades, who are not so capable, so experienced and qualified as them-
selves, to take charge of the important leading posts so that a new genera-
tion of leadership core can be shaped and our cause can be carried on and
be uninterruptedly pushed forward. What they have done, which is good for
the people and is enjoying the ardent support of the people, will always
be spoken of highly by the masses of people and will thus go down in
history to educate our descendants.
Many old comrades have voluntarily withdrawn from the front-line leading
posts and "made way" for the younger and middle-aged cadres. They are
naturally spoken of highly by the party and the people. Under the education
of the party, our veteran comrades have always lived and fought together
with the party and the people, whether in the war-ridden years or in the
sun-scorched and rain-drenched days of construction. They have acquired
good habits of diligently working and making revolution. Now, since they
have become old and their energy and vigor have failed them in doing such
intense and onerous work as they did when they were young, they have to
leave their familiar environment. Some of them will retire and some will
leave their posts for convalescence. It is natural that they feel reluctant
to leave. We must understand their feelings and show every consideration
for them. There are also a large number of old cadres who regained their
posts after the smashing of the "gang of four" or after the party's cadre
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policy was implemented. Although their prime of life for working for the
party and the people was lost due to the persecution by Lin Biao and the
"gang of four," they have never become despondent. They are capable,
enthusiastic and are in good health. They are eager to work for more years
for the party and the people so as to make up for the lost time. But pro-
ceeding from the long-term interests of the party and the state, they have
voluntarily withdrawn from their posts so that the younger and middle-aged
cadres can have more opportunity to take up the leading posts and give
better play to their prime of life. We must learn from and develop this
noble quality. At this juncture, the veteran comrades cannot but have
mixed feelings. They are recalling the past, thinking of the future and
caring for the present. They are concerning themselves with affairs of the
party and the.people, just like "an old steed in the stable aspiring to
gallop a thousand li, and an.old warrior cherishing high aspirations."
Every one of us, working at our posts, must have a full understanding of all
this, show every consideration for the ardent revolutionary feelings of the
old comrades and never hurt their feelings. As to those who spread rumors
and slander and say things that hurt the feelings of the old comrades and
are harmful to the unity between old and young cadres, it is necessary to
.stop them from doing so and educate them. We must fully respect our
veterans politically and take good care of them in their daily life. It is
especially important for us to do a good job in the work our veterans have
handed over to us. We must respect our veterans, earnestly learn from them,
ask them for help and listen to their opinions and criticisms with an open
mind.
There have always been obstructions to the selection and promotion of young
cadres. This is not a question of whether one is enlightened or not but an
expression of backward social habits and an erroneous conventional concept.
According to these outworn concepts and habits, the maintenance of adminis-
trative power is a symbol of honor, position and material gains. These
erroneous concepts and habits have now penetrated into the routine work of
our party and government and have given shape to the lifelong tenure system,
which was regarded and propagated as "carrying out revolution all one's
life." Under this system, the comrades who had power in their hands were
taken very good care of in a hundred ways while the retired old comrades
were seldom thought of. Thus, various absurd remarks emerged, such as
"power means truth" and "power means gains," and some vulgar and erroneous
ideas such as leaving the leading post means being nonrevolutionary or
committing mistakes, even such harmful and corrosive ideas as "using the
power as much as possible before it is forfeited" have emerged. They have
run completely counter to the Marxist revolutionary viewpoint of "public
servants." If these erroneous conventional concepts and habits are not
exposed, our reform will be seriously obstructed.
In this connection there is also a.question of recognition. In the eyes of
some comrades, young and middle-aged cadres are always immature, so they
cannot be trusted to carry the heavy loads. This is certainly reasonable
in some aspects, for young comrades are generally not so experienced as the
old comrades and their understanding of party spirit and ability to take
their bearings are not as good as the latter. But, on the other hand, since
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they are younger, and are in the prime of life, just like the old comrades
were when they were young, they are more eager to learn, more sensitive to
fresh happenings and more diligent and indomitable in doing solid work.
They also have closer ties with the masses. So, with the help of the old
comrades, they will be able to grow rapidly and become successors to the
proletarian revolutionary cause. "Real knowledge comes from direct
experience." Leaders can only acquire their knowledge, ability and methods
by actually taking part in leadership work. At the actual leadership posts,
the young cadres will be able to enhance their abilities, acquire experi-
ences and become mature more rapidly and give better play to their role.
Did our veterans not grow up in this way?
Some other comrades are apprehensive that the young and middle-aged cadres
are not prestigious enough to lead the. work. Analysis must be made on this
question of qualifications and record of service. The qualifications and
record of service reflect, to a certain extent, one's work experience.
Having little experience and without a period of practical training, it is
certainly difficult for one to do leadership work. However, by stressing
one's revolutionary qualifications, we do not mean "judging one's ability
merely according to one's qualifications and records of service." This is
a wrong principle in cadre work. Some people always believe that they are
better than the others and have thus adopted an uncooperative attitude
toward the young and middle-aged cadres who have been promoted to the lead-
ing posts. Such an individualist attitude is certainly incorrect. Some
people have advocated "being even with one another." Do they mean that a
leadership post should be taken by everybody? There.is nothing absolutely
"even" in the world. The earth itself is uneven, too. To "judge people
merely according to their qualifications and record of service" has never
been the proletarian boldness of vision. What we must do is "select and
appoint persons of ability." Anyone who has common political knowledge can
understand this. However, this shows how the young and middle-aged cadres
need the help and support of the veterans. In short, we must, proceeding
from the whole situation and with a proletarian breadth of vision, take a
broad and long-term view and select and train the successors. Otherwise,
we shall commit an unforgivable historical error due to overcaution,
indecision and hesitation.
In selecting and appointing young and middle-aged cadres, we must adhere to
the criterion of having both ability and political integrity. There are
different political criterions for different classes. For the proletariat,
it means a, firm proletarian class stated, high socialist consciousness and
good political quality. As to ability, it means professional knowledge,
work experience, being capable of solving problems and capable of imple-
menting
the party's
line, policies and principles mapped out since
the
3d
Plenary
Session of
the 11th CCP Central Committee in the light of
the
actual
conditions.
To judge whether one is of good political integrity, we
must not merely judge it from one's temporary behavior, but mainly from
one's political attitude since the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CCP
Central Committee. It is necessary to see whether one supports the party's
political line, reaches political identity with the CCP Central Committee,
adheres to the four basic principles, works hard and is ready to devote
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one's self in the construction of the four modernizations. Those proven
smash-and-grabbers, those who made their fortune through rebellion and those
who have been seriously influenced by factionalism should never be allowed
to enter the leading bodies at various levels. These people, as well as
those who have seriously violated the law and discipline in the political
and economic fields and those who have stubbornly rejected the implementa-
tion of the party's line, policies and principles mapped out since the 3d
Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee must resolutely be trans-
ferred from the leadership posts if they are still in power. Those who are
lazy, dispirited and selfish and who indulge in idle talk without doing
concrete work should not be permitted into the leading bodies either. More,
attention should be paid to preventing those who are always inactive,
unprincipled, deceitful, double-faced, fond of talking big, flattering,
framing others and forming factional cliques and who enjoy no support from
the masses from entering the leading bodies. Such political double-dealers
are not only unreliable but also very dangerous. They have corrupted the
party's work style, injured its relations with the masses and damaged its
unity. They are careerists hidden in the revolutionary ranks. Those people
who have only ability but are without good political integrity should not be
admitted to the leading bodies. But to those comrades who have really
corrected their past mistakes, we must not seize on their mistakes. If they
must be transferred to important positions, we must not hesitate to do so.
It is necessary to give first priority to the political. criterion in the
training and selection of successors. This principle is not only adopted
by the proletariat but was also adopted by all people of insight in the
feudal society. Sima Guang, a feudal politician, said: "A man of moral
character is respected, and a man of ability is loved. People usually keep
a distance from the respected and are on intimate terms with the loved.
For this reason, one can discover the ability of other people more easily
than to know their moral characters. Since ancient times, prodigals of
a family or treacherous court officials and arch careerists of a country
were usually those who had ability but lacked moral integrity. Many coun-
tries and families were then subverted by such people. Therefore, if the
leaders of a country or a family can draw a distinction between ability and
moral character and know pretty well which is more important, then there
will be no need to worry." ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian": "The Records of Zhou, the
Twenty-Third Year of King Wei Lie") So, "when we select and promote cadres,
it is necessary to find out whether they adhere to the socialist path. If a
cadre does not adhere to the socialist path, he must be educated and trans-
ferred to another post." (Deng Xiaoping: "The Present Situation and Our
Tasks") Secondly, an important condition for the selection and promotion of
cadres is whether they possess scientific and professional knowledge. Under
the present circumstances, anyone who does not possess scientific, techno-
logical and cultural knowledge will be unable to lead the construction of
the four modernizations and shoulder the heavy'loads of building the
socialist material and spiritual civilizations. Therefore, "no matter at
what post one is working, one should acquire professional knowledge and be
vocationally proficient. Those who have not acquired professional knowledge
should start learning, and those who already have professional knowledge
should continue learning. Anyone who is unable or reluctant to learn should
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be transferred to another post. We must organize our leading bodies accord-
ing to the demands of various professions, give full play to the role of
professional cadres and help the broad masses of people in their study and
work according to the demands of various professions." (Deng Xiaoping:
"The Present Situation and Our Tasks") On the premise of combining both
political integrity with ability, whether one is in the prime of one's life
must also be taken into serious consideration today. In selecting cadres,
it is necessary to be selfless, to take the whole situation into account,
and proceed in all cases from the interests of the party and the state.
Such practices as "judging cadres. merely according to one's own judgment,"
and "arousing factionalism" are very harmful. In order to do a good job in
this respect, it is necessary to follow the mass line and combine personal
recommendation with organizational investigation as well as combine organi-
zational investigation with soliciting opinions from the general public.
In other words, it is necessary to select the comrades who meet the three
requirements as cadres for the leading bodies so that the leadership power
at various levels can be grasped by the active elements of the proletariat.
This restructuring of government organizations and the reform of our cadre
system, including "selecting and appointing persons of ability," are a deep-
going revolution. It is a great self-revolution of the proletariat after
summing up historical experiences and lessons to overcome its own short-
comings. It is also an organizational preparation made through consolidating
organizations for the great socialist construction. This is why when it was
waged, it soon became a central task in the political life of the whole
country. Having the destiny of the party and the state in mind, the broad
masses of people, party members and cadres sincerely hope that this reform
will be carried out successfully and that it will be carried out resolutely
and through to the end. Some comrades are apprehensive that this great
action cannot be finished since there are various obstructions and deep-
rooted habits which are difficult to get rid of. Some other comrades, who
are selfish and have proceeded from their private interests, are preoccupied
with their personal gains and losses or are even full of grievances. Those
who oppose us, including the remnants of the "gang of four," are looking on
unconcerned with cold eyes. Some of them have even seized the opportunity
to stir things up and tried to shake the will of the people, desiring to see
the world plunged into chaos. In short, the restructuring of government
organizations and the reform of our cadre system have found an echo in
various social strata and there are various views and comments on them.
However, the Chinese Communist Party, which takes the people's will and
interests as its own, must do as the masses of people require.. We have no
reason to stop doing what the masses of people require us to do. There do
exist difficulties, but we are full of confidence that we will win. We have
already made the first step toward victory. We must continue to advance and
never turn back or stop on the road of ictory. We are sure to win successes
if we are determined, firm and resolute and overcome all obstructions.
CSO: 4004/40
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Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 20-25
[Investigation report by joint. investigation team comprising members of the
Henan Provincial CCP Committee, Xinxiang Prefectural CCP Committee and
Xinxiang County CCP Committee]
[Text] Qiliying commune's Liuzhuang brigade in Xinxiang County, Henan
Province is located on the north Henan plains' old course of the Huanghe
River. There are 207 households in the village [as published] with a popu-
lation of 1,230. The village has a total cultivated area of 1,904 mu. As
an advanced unit, it was well-known throughout the country as early as the
1950's. Over the past more than 20 years, members of the brigade have
overcome all kinds of obstructions and have consistently persisted in,
steadily advancing along the socialist road. Following the 3d Plenary
Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee, this brigade has achieved a big
increase in production every year. In 1981, the brigade's per-mu grain
yield reached 1,700 jin, its per-mu yield of ginned cotton reached 175 jin
after encountering a natural disaster, its total collective income reached
2.52 million yuan, its per-capita income reached 2,050 yuan, and on the
average, each person received 600 yuan through collective distribution. In
1981, the brigade sold 142,000 jin of grain, 170,000 jin of cotton and over
10,000 jin of oil to the state. In 1981, its public accumulation increased
by 510,000 yuan, thus having an accumulative total of 5.3 million yuan. The
accumulative total of 5.3 million yuan represents an average of 25,600 yuan
per household. Every household in the brigade has surplus grain and bank
savings. In 1981, the total amount of bank savings of all members of the
brigade exceeded 800,000 yuan. This total amount means that on the average,
each household has deposited over 3,800 yuan in the bank. The collective
[as published] has built 41 two-story buildings and all members of the
brigade have moved into new houses. The brigade's average housing space per
person is 23 square meters. The village has 197 television sets, 315 radios,
265 electric fans, 609 wristwatches, 310 bicycles and 217 sewing machines.
Some households in the brigade have also bought washing machines, cameras
and motorcycles. The brigade also provides for its members free housing,
free water and electricity supply, free medical care, free schooling, free
nursery service, free hairdressing, free bathing facilities and free
movies.
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How did the party branch of Liuzhuang brigade lead the masses to build a
new socialist village?
1. Proceed From Reality, Correctly Implement the Party's Policies, and Lead
the Masses To Work Steadily and Make Solid Progress in Promoting Production
and Construction
Comrades of the Liuzhuang brigade party branch always said: "What is our
party's purpose,in leading the masses to make revolution? The party simply
wants to develop production and let the masses become well-off. We should
proceed from this realistic point and try in every possible way to quicken
the pace of developing production and construction, to increase the income
of the masses of commune members and to make greater contributions to the
state." Members of the party branch call this strong faith the pillar.
With this pillar, they have persisted in proceeding from reality and cor-
rectly implemented the party's policies over the previous years. With this
pillar, when they were kept waiting a long time for assignments, they were
not downhearted or nervous; when they were given important assignments, they
did not overdo their roles nor did they take a haughty attitude. In par-
ticular, the realistic spirit they showed when work involving the overall
situation went wrong is really commendable.
In establishing advanced agricultural producers' cooperatives in 1956, some
comrades thought that advanced cooperatives should be established on the
largest possible scale and that some 20 elementary cooperatives in 7 natural
villages should be integrated into one advanced cooperative. However, after
consulting members throughout the village, the Liuzhuang party branch
unanimously held that integrating over 1,000 households into an advanced
cooperative would create production headaches due to the lack of management
experience. Members of the party branch decided to integrate the village's
three elementary cooperatives into one advanced cooperative. Higher
authorities then did not recognize the Liuzhuang advanced cooperative. As
a result, the Liuzhuang advanced cooperative was kept waiting for 6 months
for assignments. After being put into practice for a year, the large-scale
cooperative system got nowhere. Consequently, cooperatives established on a
small scale in natural villages were restored while Liuzhuangpromoted pro-
duction.
In 1958, the rural areas engaged in grand large-scale battle tactics. The
Liuzhuang party branch could only helplessly watch these tactics producing
adverse effects on production. The strength of a single brigade was unable
to stand up against this current. Consequently, the Liuzhuang party branch
organized weak and female workers into a labor force for "supporting work
in other localities" and reserved 100 strong workers to promote the brigade's
production, thus reducing the brigade's production losses.
During the 10 years of upheaval, Lin Biao and the "gang of four" ener-
getically criticized the "theory of productive forces," and preached
fallacies such as "rather have socialist weeds than capitalist seedlings"
and "poverty leads to revolution and prosperity leads to revisionism." None
of these things shook the Liuzhuang party branch's will to grasp production.
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No matter how chaotic the outside situation was, all trades and professions
in Liuzhuang carried on as usual.
The Liuzhuang party branch upheld the Marxist-Leninist principle of seeking
truth from facts. Not only did it not waver or vacillate during political
storms, but it strictly carried out production and construction tasks in
accordance with objective laws'. At every stage, the party branch formulated
feasible and realistic production plans and led the masses to work steadily
and to make solid progress in developing the range and quality of produc-
tion.
What history had left for the Liuzhuang people was a piece of barren saline-
alkali land crisscrossed by ravines. Before liberation, it was said that,
"In this area which has a circumference of 10 li, the poorest village is
Liuzhuang village." In 1949, Liuzhuang's per-mu yield of grain barely
exceeded 100 jin, its per-mu yield of ginned cotton was around 20 jin, the
whole village's total income was between 30,000 and 40,000 yuan and its
per-capita income was around 20 yuan. In face of this reality, the
Liuzhuang party branch raised a loud and clear point: "To enable everyone
to eat one's fill, it is imperative to change conditions." The party branch
led members throughout the village to fight for 4 whole years. During the 4
years, they leveled land, dug irrigation ditches, sank wells, diverted water
from the Huanghe River to their land, improved their saline-alkali soil, and
turned the village's 750 low yielding plots into a large piece of open and
flat land. In 1957, the village's per-mu yield of grain reached 430 jin and
its total grain output reached 280,000 jin. This meant its grain output
increased more than five times. In the same year, the village exceeded 100
jin in per-mu yield of ginned cotton and its total ginned cotton output
increased more than 10 times. The village's 1957 per-capita income from
distribution reached 79 yuan. The village's problem in finding enough to eat
and wear was then solved. Comrades in Liuzhuang described this stage as a
stage for turning low yield into high yield. They also described it as a
stage to lay foundations for eliminating poverty and achieving prosperity.
What did they do after turning low yield into high yield? On the basis of
summing up experiences, the Liuzhuang party branch led the masses to further
level their land. To provide "double insurance" against drought, they car-
ried out both well irrigation and canal irrigation. They developed fine
varieties by selection, improved cultivation techniques, gradually carried
out mechanization of farm work, and established farmland with high, stable
yields. In 1968, the village's per-mu yield of grain exceeded 1,000 jin and
its per-mu yield of ginned cotton reached 176 jin.
Looking back on the 10-year course of the production development, the
Liuzhuang party branch discovered that the growth rate of agricultural income
was far lower than that of agricultural investment. During the 10 years,
the village's per-capita income from distribution was always between 130
and 150 yuan. At the same time, with the further and continuous improvement
in production conditions and management standards, and with the development
of scientific farming and the increase in the number of farm machines, it
was discovered that there were too many people and very few farm tasks in the
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village. Through summing up experiences, the Liuzhuang party branch
achieved a new leap in ideological understanding. Members of the party
branch said: "If we do not develop a diversified economy, we will not be
well-off in 100 years' time." From 1969-1975, while further grasping the
promotion of grain and cotton production, they organized surplus labor
forces to actively develop animal husbandry and forestry. The development
of forestry and animal husbandry not only increased income and accumulated
funds for promoting expanded reproduction but also.supplied agriculture with
a large amount of organic fertilizer, improved soil and promoted grain and
cotton production. With a continued increase in funds, the village bought
more farm machines, thus saving agricultural labor. As the labor.and funds
were available, the village successively set up a flour mill, a machinery
plant, an ice cream factory and a cottonseed oil processing factory.
Liuzhuang's total income in 1975 reached 540,000 yuan, compared with only
320,000 yuan in 1969. Its income from industrial and sideline production
in-1975 accounted for 42 percent of its total income, compared with only
7.7 percent in 1969. The Liuzhuang party branch described this stage as a
stage of all-round development. They also described it as a stage for
achieving prosperity.
Following the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee, the
Liuzhuang party branch further emancipated its mind and led the masses of
cadres and people to enter a new stage for promoting the integrated manage-
ment of agriculture, industry and commerce and all-round development. The
party branch proceeded from Liuzhuang's reality and formulated two measures:
1) Setting up on a trial basis an integrated agriculture, industry and com-
merce undertaking and striving to increase economic returns. Under the
guidance of higher authorities, they set up a shop, a business canteen and
a food processing factory, expanded their paper mill, developed their breed-
ing trade, and initially made production, supply and marketing a coordinated
process. 2) Further perfecting the production responsibility system. The
whole brigade was divided into six specialized departments, namely, agri-
culture, industrial and sideline production, animal husbandry, forestry and
vegetable production, building construction, and machinery. The brigade's
12 production units carried out specialization in production, promoted
business management, and established the production responsibility system
which is characterized by "unified management, specialized production,
division of labor and cooperation, and linking rewards and penalties to
output." This gave better expression to the principle of distribution
according to work, gave full play to the superiority of the collective
economy, and mobilized village members' enthusiasm for promoting production.
With the implementation of the two measures, Liuzhuang made three big steps
in 3 years' time: the total income of the brigade's collective economy
increased from 1.26 million yuan in 1978 to 2.51million yuan in 1981, thus
achieving an average increase of 26.1 percent; the brigade's per-capita
income from collective distribution increased at an average rate of 26.3
percent; the brigade's grain, cotton and oil contributed to the state
showed a yearly average increase of 4.8 percent; and the collective's
public accumulation showed a yearly average increase of 11.2 percent. The
.development pace achieved since the third plenary session was unprecedented
since the founding of the PRC.
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Members of the Liuzhuang party branch who fight in the agricultural fore-
front the year round understand that going in for agriculture requires much
study. To work in agriculture, one must not only have the courage to do so,
but also have a good grasp of agriculture. Without raising scientific and
technological standards, production cannot be developed in an all-round way.
Over the past 20 years and more, members of the Liuzhuang party branch con-
sistently have taken the lead in studying science and technology and
strived to turn themselves into experts in various production trades. As
early as 1956, they had organized a scientific research group, carried out
various experiments in grain and cotton production, insisted that "experi-
ments should first be carried out in small plots prior to spreading success-
ful experimental experiences over a large piece of land for growing field
crops," solved knotty problems, set good examples, promoted production and
served production units. Shi Laihe and Li Anren, respectively secretary and
deputy secretary of the party branch, lived near the experimental plots with
members of the brigade, observed the growth of their cotton day and night,
the situation of plant diseases and insect pests and the results of various
experiments; tried to learn the secret of cotton cultivation techniques, and
summed up their experience in mastering high-yield cotton cultivation tech-
niques: "Cotton seedlings should be managed in a timely manner; strong
sprouts grow quickly; seedlings should be managed in accordance with the
way they are growing; the growth of budded cotton can be stabilized by
building racks; water and fertilizer should be applied ingeniously to pro-
mote the stable growth of cotton; and a high yield can be achieved by making
unremitting efforts to promote cottonfield management." During the late
1960's, withering disease spread and cotton production was seriously threat-
`.ened. They introduced disease-resistant varieties of cotton, promoted cotton
variety development by systematic selection and through hybridization,
developed over 10,000 single plants and several hundred hybrid combinations,
and successively bred three types of disease-resistant and high-yield cotton
varieties, namely, "Liuzhuang No I," "Liuzhuang No 2" and "Liuzhuang No 3."
These varieties of cotton have been demonstrated and popularized in this
province and also in fraternal provinces. Through long-term practice,
cadres of this brigade have turned themselves into experts in cotton pro-
duction. Of the 17 members of.the brigade party branch, 15 have been
assessed as qualified technicians and some of them have become noted local
experts in cotton production. The Liuzhuang Scientific Research Center has
now become a scientific research organization engaged in the synthetic study
of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production and indus-
try. The brigade now has a total of 107 qualified peasant technicians. The
brigade has technical personnel engaged in various specialized trades and
professions such as grain and cotton production, plant and crop protection,
meteorology, pedology, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agricultural
machinery, machinery, papermaking and food industry. The brigade party
branch has also carried out technical training for members of the brigade
through various forms and made great efforts to train and foster a genera-
tion of a new type of peasants with political consciousness, culture and
technical capability.
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To raise the scientific and technical standards for promoting production,
there must be scientific management corresponding to the raising of the
standards. With the development of production, the Liuzhuang brigade party
branch has paid great attention to improving management work and tried in
every possible way to increase economic returns. The party branch has
divided members of the party branch and cadres of the brigade into three
groups: the first group is in charge of grasping party building and the
party's ideological and political work; the second group is in charge of
the management of production and construction; and the third group is in
charge of day-to-day administrative affairs. Every specialized department
of the brigade has a leading group which is in charge of organizing produc-
tion and management work. The brigade has a set of methods to manage
production, marketing and distribution. With regard to labor management,
the party branch has sent the brigade's 580 workers to various production
units in accordance with their specialties and production needs. The party
branch has carried out a careful calculation, clearly defined every worker's
responsibility, adopted a quota management system and implemented the system
of linking rewards and punishments with production output so as to give full
play to every worker's special skill, to tap labor potentials and to make
the.best use of every worker. With regard to the management of industrial
and sideline production, the party branch has stressed that brigade-run
enterprises will not vie with state-run factories in purchasing raw mate-
rials; that brigade-run enterprises will just use local materials; that
brigade-run enterprises will start with producing those products that only
require a small investment but produce quick desired results and have a good
market; and that brigade-run enterprises should adopt the "snowball" method
of progressively developing their enterprises. The party branch has also
stressed that brigade-run enterprises must pay attention to economic
returns, avoid participating in losing ventures and avoid adopting dis-
honest practices. With regard to property management, the party branch
stressed that it is imperative to uphold careful calculation and strict
budgeting and to be industrious and thrifty in managing property. This
system and these management methods organically integrate responsibility
with power and profit, organically integrate political work with economic
work and organically integrate centralized leadership with democratic
management. They are advantageous to the building of our socialist mate-
rial civilization and spiritual civilization.
2. Linking the Hearts of the Cadres and the Masses Together With Socialist
Ideology Is an Important Social, Political and Ideological Condition for
Liuzhuang's Incessant Progress
The Liuzhuang party branch persists in educating the commune members with
socialist ideology so that, even though they are in Liuzhuang, the cadres
and the masses have the whole country in mind, are united as one and are
doing their utmost in building socialism.
In the practice of continuously educating the masses with socialism, it has
acquired a set of methods and styles welcomed by the masses'for carrying out
lively and concrete ideological and political work and it has gradually
regularized and systematized work in this respect. One thing it does is to
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integrate political work with economic work and to carry out ideological
work in every link of production. In each stage, it often helps the masses
to understand what, how and why they should do something. It links each
item of work with the interests of the state, the collective and the indi-
vidual and asks the masses to participate in making plans and to put forth
suggestions so that the masses can really become masters of the collective.
Before doing anything, it first mobilizes the masses. Then, it checks the
work while it is being done. Finally, it sums up the work when it is com-
pleted. It persists in selecting and commending the advanced, setting up
typical exemplary examples and relying on the role played by the advanced
to push forward work that affects the overall situation. Last year, the
brigade set up 8 red-banners, selected 12 advanced collectives, 120 model
cadres, 71 model CYL members, 228 model commune members and 45 model
families. Secondly, it adheres to the principle of giving guidance.
Timely help is given instead of belated advice. Investigation is conducted
before any problem crops up and the thoughts of the masses are well-
understood. The Liuzhuang party branch watches out for symptoms of
unhealthy tendencies and carries out timely education so that problems will
not pile up before they are tackled. It carries out specific ideological
work in accordance with the specific conditions of different individuals.
If a problem cannot be solved right away, it waits patiently and in the
meantime, creates conditions for solving it instead of making rash criticism.
Thirdly, it helps the masses solve concrete problems while carrying out
ideological work. It becomes a bosom friend of the commune members. When
a commune member is ill or when he attends to a wedding or funeral ceremony,
the cadres will visit them and help them solve concrete problems. Before
each Spring Festival, the brigade has various kinds of goods provided for
.the occasion. Shortly before the busy farming season, the brigade arranges
holidays for the commune members to visit their relatives, gather pig feed
and attend to their private affairs. In the winter, the cadres send coal
to the commune members and so on. Through the work mentioned above, the
hearts of the commune members are closely linked with the collective
economy. Fourthly, an exemplary role is played by party and CYL members
and cadres and all party, CYL, women and militia organizations grasp
ideological and political work. In Liuzhuang, the masses dare to criticize
and check anything which is harmful to the collective and any words or deeds
which are harmful to socialism. A new social practice of cadres supervising
commune members, commune members supervising cadres and commune members
supervising commune members has been formed. Fifth, it has formulated a
set of feasible popular rules, welcomed by the masses, which are gradually
changing into a new socialist moral code.
With the ever-deepening socialist education, profound changes have taken
place in habits, customs and ideology which have lasted for several
thousand years. New socialist relationships among men have appeared.
People, are united, help each other and love each other. Selflessness,
putting other people's interests ahead of one's own, loving the collective
and loving the country have become virtues treasured by Liuzhuang's commune
members, while corruption, theft, speculation, profiteering, extravagance,
waste and feudal superstition find no support. All the people of the
village pay attention to civility and politeness, respect the old and take
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care of the young and help and accommodate each other. In the past few
years, no civil lawsuits have been filed. No one has applied for an
audience with the higher authorities to appeal for help and no fighting
has been reported. A new mood of socialist civilization is prevailing
everywhere.
The people of Liuzhuang are united as one in building socialism. The lofty
ideal of taking the socialist road is remarkably expressed in their cor-
rectly handling the relationship between the interests of the state, the
collectives and individuals. Liuzhuang is located in an area where grain
and cotton are the main crops. According to the state's planting plan, it
is to plant 1,000 mu of cotton and 800 mu of grain crops each year. In
order to ensure fulfillment of the state purchasing plan, it did not reduce
even 1 mu of land to plant cotton when the people there had difficulties in
their livelihood; and after the price of cotton was raised, it did not
reduce even 1 mu of land to plant grain crops either. The comrades of the
party branch said: The tasks of selling grain and cotton assigned by the
higher authorities are based on the needs of the overall situation. We
cannot care only about our own interests at present and disregard the needs
of the state. Our small family--Liuzhuang--cannot be separated from the big
family--the state. In selling agricultural and sideline products to the
state over the past 20 years or more, the Liuzhuang brigade has sold a large
amount of surplus grain, cotton, oil, meat, eggs and other agricultural and
sideline products in addition to fulfilling the state purchasing tasks. It
has never sold its cotton or grain to brokers.
The noble socialist virtues of the people of Liuzhuang are also concen-
tratedly expressed in their upholding and developing the revolutionary
spirit of self-reliance and hard struggle. In the course of developing
production, their foothold has always been their own strength. The com-
rades of Liuzhuang said: "We can only depend on our own hands to get rich.
If we depend on outside help to become rich, our wealth will not last long.
The more we depend on outside help, the lazier we will become and the more
we depend on outside help, the less aspirations we will have. A lazy person
cannot be a pioneer!" As early as in 1956 when the advanced agricultural
producers' cooperatives were formed, Liuzhuang suffered from a serious
flood. The wheat decayed and the output of autumn grain dropped. While
summing up experiences and lessons, the Liuzhuang party branch organized
the commune members to provide for and help themselves by engaging in pro-
duction, to plant vegetables, to develop sideline production and to gather
grass in order to provide food for the people and the horses. This set the
people's minds at rest and helped the commune members see the strength of
the collective and the superiority of socialism. After production was
developed and their livelihood became well-off, they still depended on the _
spirit of self-reliance and hard struggle in doing pioneering work and
blazing new trails. When they developed. animal husbandry in 1964, they
endeavored to get more done with less money. They spent 90 yuan to buy
3 milk cows and increased the number mainly by breeding their own animals.
At present, the number has increased to 110 and the value of their cows
amounts to 130,000 yuan. Later, they bought 27 mares from Xinjiang and
also increased their number by breeding their own animals. At present, the
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number of livestock is 320, and the annual income from animal husbandry
alone may reach over 200,000 yuan. The cadres and the masses of Liuzhuang
also display a valuable spirit of assiduity in developing industry and side-
line production. In 1975, the horn of Liuzhuang's tractor broke and they
were not able to buy a new one. The brigade repair plant set out to make a
horn themselves. They removed the old horn, dismantled it and put it
together again and again in order to study it. They continued to improve
their process and after half a year's efforts, they finally succeeded in
producing a horn on a trial basis. Later, they not only were able to
satisfy their own needs but also were able to produce horns in large quan-
tities and to supply markets in 20 provinces. This kind of product alone
brings in an annual income of 400,000 to 500,000 yuan. The production of
horns has greatly enhanced the development of industry and sideline produc-
tion in Liuzhuang. In developing production, Liuzhuang does not depend on
outside help. In improving the living conditions and in building a new
countryside, it depends even more on the people's own hands to do difficult
pioneering work. To build residential houses, Liuzhuang needed over 10
million bricks, 2,400 cubic meters of wood, an investment of 1.5 million
yuan and over 300,000 work days. It resolutely refused to ask the state
for help. It did not depend on the help of others. Nor did it ask the
commune members to bear the expenses. The people of Liuzhuang made bricks,
gathered materials and constructed doors and windows themselves. They did
not have enough people skilled in house building; so, people improved their
skills and trained others while they worked. In 50 days' time, they com-
pleted the first house. In the beginning, only 1.5 men were skilled at
brick laying, tiling and plastering. Later, 150. persons were able to do so,
of which 90 were women. The number of carpenters was increased from 6 to
30. In this way, a new residential area was built within 6 years. This has
not only created material wealth for Liuzhuang's future generations but also
left behind for them.the valuable spirit of struggling hard in doing pioneer-
ing work.
3. Strengthening the Party's Own Building and Giving Full Play to the Role
of a Fighting Bastion of the Party Branch Is a Fundamental Guarantee to
Liuzhuang's Incessant Progress
The comrades of the Liuzhuang party branch said: "If one is not really up
to the mark, nobody will listen to him." In the course of continuously
strengthening the party branch, they have set up and amplified seven sys-
tems step by step: One is the system of democratic life meetings. Each
month, the party groups hold one democratic life meeting to carry out
criticism and self-criticism, and members of the branch committee lead dual
organizational lines. Within the party, they set high and strict political
and ideological demands for party members. They frequently check the sit-
uation of the party members and give them as much help as possible. Second
is the system for study and party lecture education. Each month, the party
branch holds one meeting of all its members at which it gives party lectures,
helps its members to study current affairs and policies and educate them
with the party's basic knowledge and the party's fine traditions. Third is
the system of having heart-to-heart talks. The secretary, committee mem-
bers and party members often have heart-to-heart talks to exchange views and
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to reflect the demands of the masses. Fourth is the system of party mem-
bers forming ties with households. Besides doing a good job in the
ideological and political work of their own families, each of the 68 party
members have.formed ties with 2 to 3 households of commune members in
order to publicize to them the party's principles and policies and to help
the commune members manage their families democratically and carry out
family ideological work properly. The party groups and branch committee
regularly listen to party members' reports on their mass work. Fifth is
the system of assessing party members and the party branch twice a year.
Sixth is the system of examining party members. This is linked with
activities of striving to become advanced and fine party members. A pre-
liminary examination is made in the middle of the year and a final one at
yearend. This is for summing up advanced experiences and for commending
the advanced. Seventh is the system of reelecting the party branch regu-
larly. The party branch is reelected once a year. Among the 17 party
branch committee members at present are former cadres from the land reform
period who have rich experience, middle-aged cadres who were already cadres
when the agricultural cooperatives or the people's communes were set up and
young cadres who have been trained in the past few years. The oldest is
over 50 years old. Most of them are 30-40. The youngest is 27.
The members of the party branch consciously accept supervision by party
members and the masses, set strict demands on themselves in line with
criterion of party members and set an example in all respects. They have
made a few simple rules to be observed by all concerned, namely, not seek-
ing privileges, taking the lead in work, linking their hearts with those of
the masses and uniting with them in one mind. Old secretary Shi Laihe of
this party branch set an example for the rank and file. After being secre-
tary of the county and even the prefectural CCP committee, he still con-
tinues to work and always has the well-being of the masses at heart. There
are six big elm trees in his courtyard. One woodworking team of another
brigade offered him 2,700 yuan for them, but he refused. Instead, he sold
them to his own brigade for 1,500 yuan to be used for house building.
Deputy secretary Li Anren, known as a willing ox among the masses, takes
the initiative in all work and thinks of the masses at every crucial moment.
For years, no cadres have borrowed public grain or asked for allowances.
On rainy days or holidays, when commune members do not work, cadres do not
record workpoints. At the end of the year, the average distribution of
income for cadres is usually lower than that of corresponding workers by
5-10 percent. Cadres often take the lead in building new houses, but they
are always the last to move into these houses. To this, the masses said:
Cadres are racking their brains for us; we cannot help but work hard with
one heart and one mind. While all members of the party branch are setting
examples in all aspects, all ordinary members strive to be models. In
building the new village, at first there were no bricklayers. Female party
members Liu Quiying and Shi Shilan took the lead in climbing up the scaf-
folding to learn how to do it themselves. As a result, the first group of
female bricklayers appeared in the village. In order to learn how to
operate lathes well to improve the quality of products, young party member
Shi Shiling asked for advice with an open mind and made time for self-
study. He finished all his university courses within 3 years and has
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become an expert in both mechanical and electrical designing and operation.
At the end of last year, the party branch of the brigade called on the
masses to assess all party members. In the appraisal, 16 of 17 members of
the party branch were selected model cadres and 64 of 68 party members were
assessed as outstanding party members--the remaining 4 were old and weak or
had been temporarily transferred to work elsewhere. Eight party members
were also chosen as pacesetters on various fronts.
Over the past 30 years or more, the party branch of the Liuzhuang brigade
has stood relatively fast and firm because of its solid construction and
close unity with the masses. It has stood tests of political storms and
waves in society, but it also has time and again repelled attacks by evil
tendencies. Last summer, one purchaser bought 5 tons of rubber from the
south, which at that time was in short supply in Henan Province. If the 5
tons of rubber were sold to Henan, the collective immediately could make a
profit of 4,000 yuan. When the purchaser explained the situation to the
party branch, all members uniformly pointed out: Rubber is a state
monopoly purchase item. If we transport it. for sale for personal reasons,
this will be tantamount to undermining socialism. Liuzhuang will never take
this ill-gotten money. Consequently,. they made a decision to return all the
goods.
In spite of achievements, all members of the party branch of Liuzhuang
brigade still set high demands on themselves in line with party's require-
ments and the level of advanced units in the country. They do not think
that they have done enough, but think they still have far to go. In spite
of repeated commendations and encouragement from the superior levels, they
always believe that they have done what they should and all achievements
must be attributed to the party and the people. On the eve of the last
Spring Festival RENNIN RIBAO published the report on Liuzhuang brigade.
The masses of Liuzhuang were greatly inspired. Beginning on 3 January of
the lunar calendar the party branch held a series of consecutive meetings
among its members, ordinary party members, cadres and the masses in order
to determine where they have fallen short, even though they have achieved
success, and to try to tap their potentials. The cadres and the masses
held identical views: The economic results in production are not so satis-
factory; improvement is still needed in some spheres of management. More
potentials can be tapped in utilizing land and facilities. In particular,
the party organizational building as well as political and ideological work
cannot properly meet the needs of the general tasks in the new situation.
There is a big gap between the cultural life and technical level of commune
members as well as the demands, of building modernization of agriculture.
With this in mind, they immediately mapped out plans and adopted measures
with a resolution in response to the call of the party Central Committee in
order to achieve new victory in the building of material and spiritual
civilizations and to make greater contributions to the country.
The example of Liuzhuang shows that if our policies are correct and there is
a good leading group in the rural grassroots units, and if we really insist
on carrying out the production responsibility system according to local con-
ditions and do a solid job of grasping production planning, our agriculture
will indeed be full of vigor and have a bright future!
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EMANCIPATION OF PHILOSOPHY AND STUDY OF PHILOSOPHY
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 26-29
[Article by Liang Zhao [2733 6856] and Tan Sizhe [6223 1895 0772]]
[Text] Emancipation of philosophy is a correct thinking formulated by
Comrade Mao Zedong in the protracted revolutionary struggle. Since the
founding of the PRC, emancipation of philosophy has played an important
role in promoting the broad ranks of cadres and the masses to study
Marxist philosophy. However, there were deviations in practice. Under
the new historical conditions, there are different views on the study and
propaganda of philosophy and on whether or not we should uphold emancipa-
tion of philosophy. Regarding this question, we held that it is necessary
to carry out discussions in the manner of seeking truth from facts and
correctly sum up experiences so as to arrive at a unified understanding.
Generally speaking, there are two interpretations for emancipation of
philosophy. First, the emancipation from the yoke of the old system of
philosophical thought and the creation of a new philosophical thought.
Second, the emancipation from classrooms and textbooks, so that philosophy
will become a great tool for the broad masses of the people to understand
and transform the world. The emancipation of philosophy mentioned by Coin
rade Mao Zedong was of the latter type. Early in 1942, Comrade Mao Zedong
pointed out: "To oppose. subjectivism, we must advocate materialism and
dialectics." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 3, p 785) In 1957, at
the meeting of Communist Party and Workers' Party representatives in Moscow,
Comrade Mao Zedong said: "Dialectics must proceed from the circles of
philosophers to the broad masses.of the people." Later, he further pointed
out:. "Let philosophy be emancipated from the classrooms and textbooks of
philosophers and become the sharp weapon of the masses." This is an impor-
tant contribution of Comrade Mao Zedong to Marxist philosophy.
Originally, the emancipation of philosophy was in itself a requirement of
Marxist philosophy. Before the birth of Marxism, philosophy was separated
from the working people. However, since the proletariat became an inde-
pendent force.on the historical scene, in order to oppose the capitalist
system and fulfill the historical mission of emancipating the whole of man-
kind, it needed its own philosophy to serve as a weapon for understanding
and transforming the world. As Marx said: "Philosophy treats the
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proletariat as its material weapon, likewise, the proletariat treats
philosophy as its spiritual weapon." ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels,"
Vol 1, p 15) The birth of Marxist philosophy suits the proletariat's needs
of understanding and transforming the world. Its birth has realized the
great transformation of philosophy and put an end to the situation of
philosophy being opposed to the laboring masses.
Emancipation of philosophy is also demanded by the people of our country
for carrying out revolution and construction. After the victory of the
October Revolution, Marxism-Leninism spread to China.. The progressives
used dialectical materialism and historical materialism as tools to study
the fate of our country and our nation. They understood that we must
follow the path of the Russians. However, since the situation in our coun-
try was special, shortly after the founding of our party, the party led the
people to plunge into a protracted arduous armed struggle and in this situa-
tion, many comrades could not carry out in-depth and systematic studies of
Marxist theory. Therefore, they did not have sufficient understanding of
.theories and because of this, our party made several mistakes in guiding
ideology. There was the rightist capitulationism during the period of the
great revolution. During the second revolutionary civil war, we were bogged
down in "leftist" adventurism, in particular the errors of Wang Ming. We
nearly ruined the Chinese revolutionary cause. From the point of view of
understanding the root cause, these errors occurred mainly because subjec-
tive views deviated from the objective situation and our thinking did not
conform with the actual situation. At that time, many comrades of the
party did not realize these errors. On the contrary, they themselves also
committed the same mistake. The negative experiences of history have taught
us that if we do not study Marxist theory and understand Marxist philosophy,
we will not be able to guarantee that the revolutionary cause will advance
heroically along the correct path.
In view of the above situations, after the Red Army arrived in northern
Shaanxi on the Long March, Comrade Mao Zedong started to promote the study
of philosophy and mobilized the whole party to seriously sum up the his-
torical experiences. Comrade Mao Zedong himself organized philosophical
study groups and under his guidance, a new society of philosophy was estab-
lished. He also gave philosophical lessons in the Anti-Japanese Military
and Political University in Yanan and aroused the students to use philosophy
as a weapon to analyze the problems of the Chinese revolution. Under the
advocation of Comrade Mao Zedong, the study of philosophy became common
practice among the cadres, in particular, senior cadres in Yanan. In 1942,
Comrade Mao Zedong led the Yanan rectification movement. He used Marxism-
Leninism to teach the broad ranks of cadres to oppose subjectivism, fac-
tionalism and stereotyped party writing then prevailing inside the party,
and to expose and criticize the "leftist" or rightist errors in the history
of the party, in particular, the "leftist" adventurism of Wang Ming. As a
result, the thinking of the party was unprecedentedly unified and this laid
a firm ideological foundation for the final victory of the war of resistance
against Japan and for the establishment of new China. This rectification
movement was, in a sense, a profound emancipation of philosophy.
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Since the founding of the PRC, our country has made the transition from new
democratism to socialism. In an economically backward country like ours,
how to carry out socialist reform and construction in accordance with the
actual situation of our country is a new issue for the broad ranks of
cadres in terms of theory and practice. Although the theoretical level of
the cadres had improved, in general, they could not meet the demands of the
situation. In order to improve the theoretical standard of the cadres, the
CCP Central Committee and Comrade Mao Zedong stressed the study of Marxist
philosophy and demanded them to use the stand, viewpoints and methods of
dialectical materialism to analyze and sum up the new experiences of social-
ist revolution and construction. Comrade Mao Zedong said: "The basic thing
is Marxist philosophy. If we do not have a thorough understanding of Marxist
philosophy, we will not have any common language and methods. Then, we will
not be able to understand each other. If we have the thinking of dialecti-
cal materialism, we can save much effort and avoid many mistakes."
("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 5, p 145) At that time, the broad
ranks of cadres actively responded to the call of the CCP Central Committee
and Comrade Mao Zedong. They diligently studied Marxist philosophy and the
philosophical works of Comrade Mao Zedong. The study was also launched
among some workers, peasants and PLA fighters. In the course of the study,
the philosophical workers did a lot of work.
In retrospect, the achievement of the broad ranks of cadres and the masses
was primary and outstanding. Many cadres had studied the principal Marxist
philosophical works in a relatively systematic manner and had a preliminary
understanding of the basic principles of dialectical materialism and his-
torical materialism. In particular, many comrades had studied "On Practice"
and "On Contradiction" and used the basic viewpoints to analyze the prac-
tical problems of socialist construction in their local districts and units.
They used the viewpoint of the unity of opposites to observe and handle
various contradictions in their work. In practice, they continued to improve
their understanding of objective matters and scored very good results in
solving many difficult problems. In the course of the study, integrating
with their actual situations, some comrades wrote many vivid and impressive
articles to describe their personal experiences. All this played a positive
role in the socialist construction in our country.
We must point out that Comrade Mao Zedong took dialectical materialism as
the thinking and working method for practical work which should be compre-
hended by the broad ranks of cadres and the masses as a very important aspect
of the emancipation of philosophy. In accordance with the viewpoints of
dialectical materialism, he devised a system of scientific methods to ensure
the successful realization of all tasks, such as upholding the theory of two
points; looking at questions from an overall point of view; from the masses,
to the masses; distinguishing the principal aspects from secondary aspects;
walking on two legs; grasping the two ends to bring along the middle; dis-
secting a sparrow; learning how to play the piano; having a good idea of how
things stand; allowing for unforeseen circumstances and paying attention to
the fact that one tendency conceals another. Thus, the skills and standard
of leadership of our party's cadres were further promoted. This is what
Comrade Mao Zedong did to enrich and develop Marxist philosophy.
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It cannot be denied that there are deviations in the course of implementing
emancipation of philosophy and organizing study of philosophy. There are
many.complications. In our view, there are two major questions:
First, the tendency of formalism. At that time, people in some places dis-
regarded the existing conditions and the will of the masses, and compelled
everybody to study philosophy by hard and fast rules. The masses in some
places were gathered to study several philosophical quotations and philo-
sophical terms, and this was regarded as mass study of philosophy. People
in some places regarded the number of participants in philosophical classes
as the criteria to appraise the political understanding of the masses. Such
formalistic practice was in fact fraudulent practice which seriously under-
mined the reputation of the emancipation of philosophy.
Second, the tendency of simplification and vulgarization. At that time,
instead of carrying out scientific analysis and practically solving prac-
tical problems, some people treated philosophical concepts as labels and
stuck them everywhere without discrimination. Some of them rigidly asso-
ciated study of philosophy with some scientific and technological creations,
inventions and discoveries, and said that-they were achievements of Mao
Zedong philosophical thought 'in disregard of the actual situation. Others
mechanically applied strategic and tactical thinking to medical science
without specific analysis. Obviously, this is not genuine integration of
theory with practice, instead this is a manifestation of simplification and
vulgarization.
Why should there be the above-mentioned deviations? We must analyze them
in association with the historical background at the time. After socialist
reform has been basically completed, our party led the people of all
nationalities in our country to launch a large-scale socialist construc-
tion. Since we did not understand the law of economic development and the
basic situation.of the Chinese economy, and since we were conceited and
arrogant in face of victory, we were overanxious for success in economic
aspects and promoted the "Great Leap Forward" in disregard of the actual
situation in an attempt to change the impoverished and backward situation
in our country within a short period of time. Such thinking was also
reflected in the emancipation of philosophy. As we all know, Marxist
philosophy is a science. To grasp its essence, we must work very hard. In
particular, we must work arduously and carry out serious thinking by
adopting a philosophical viewpoint to analyze the actual situation and
solve practical problems. However, to some people, the study of philosophy
is an easy task, and achievements can be scored without much effort. Under
the influence of such thinking, some unhealthy phenomena emerged in the
course of studying philosophy. At that time, the relevant departments of
the 'CCP Central Committee recognized the above-mentioned deviations and.
issued documents to demand the cadres and the masses to correct their
incorrect methods of studying philosophy. However, during the "Great
Cultural Revolution," Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng and their cronies
turned things upside down and declared the criticism as a crime of "anti-
Mao Zedong Thought." In this way, not only were deviations in the study of
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philosophy not corrected, but they were taken to extremes by Lin Biao, Jiang
Qing, Kang Sheng and their cronies, to the extent of being absurd.
Do these deviations indicate that the orientation of emancipation of
philosophy is incorrect? Certainly, they do not. This can only indicate
that we have not done a good job of integrating philosophy with practice.
Such situations are very common in actual life: Although the policies and
principles of a certain project are correct, since we do not have a thorough
understanding of them, or because we do not have a thorough understanding of
the objective reality, or because of subjective, one-sided and superficial
thinking and working methods, we may achieve opposite results. Therefore,
we must make serious and specific analysis of the deviations in.our work.
We must make clear whether they are problems of policies and principles or
problems arising from errors during the execution of the policies and prin-
ciples. It is obvious that we must not simply put all the blame on the
orientation of the emancipation of philosophy when dealing with the devia-
tions of the cadres and the masses in the course of studying philosophy.
The orientation of the emancipation of philosophy must not be negated.
Otherwise, this will result in negating the historical mission of Marxist
philosophy and the use of Marxist philosophy as the sharp weapon for the
proletariat and the revolutionary people to understand and transform the
world.
At present, we are faced with the great task of building a modern, highly
democratic and civilized powerful socialist country. Due to. the 10 years of
internal disorder, the theoretical studies of the broad ranks of the masses
were stopped and many theories were confused. The young generation does not
have any understanding of Marxist theories. The dialectical materialist
work methods and work style of our party were sabotaged by Lin Biao and the
"gang of four." In order to shoulder the historical responsibility, we must
correctly sum up the past experiences, further study Marxist philosophy, Mao
Zedong Thought and have a genuine understanding of the sharp weapon of dia-
lectical materialism and historical materialism. We must uphold and
exemplify the past practice of integrating theory with practice, and do a
good job of preventing formalism, simplification and vulgarization, so that
everybody will seriously study theories from textbooks, comprehend the
stand, viewpoints and methods of dialectical materialism and historical
materialism, and integrate the actual situations of the local districts
and units to solve the new situations and problems in the course of the
four modernizations.
Some comrades say, "Since the current policies and principles of the party
are correct, it will be all right if we adhere to them. Why bother to study
philosophy?" This is obviously a confused idea. Since the 3d Plenary
Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee, that the party's line, principles
and policies are correct, that they conform to the actual situation of our
country and the will of the people and that they display great power, lie on
the fact that they are founded on the basis of dialectical materialism and
historical materialism. If we do not study philosophy, it is obvious that
we can neither have a profound understanding of it nor be able to correctly
implement it. If we can master philosophy and ponder problems from the
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world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism, we will be able to
get rid of some narrow views and grasp the essence of the party's policies
and principles from a unified subjective and objective point of view and
integrate them with the actual situation of the local districts and depart-
tnents, so as to score better achievements.
Some comrades held: Study of philosophy is too vague and general and
abstract. They would rather do some practical work than studying philosophy.
As a matter of fact, we must do. more practical work in the course of build-
ing the four modernizations. However,.to do a good job of practical work,
we must have a correct guiding ideology and a scientific working method.
Philosophy is precisely a learning that teaches us how to do a good job of
the practical work in the world outlook and methodological aspects. Seeking
truth from facts, proceeding from the actual situation, and integrating
theory with practice are the gist of Marxist. philosophy and a prerequisite
for doing well in all tasks. To succeed in any task, we must not deviate
from this basic thinking. If we do not proceed from the actual situation
of the local districts and units and randomly make suggestions in disregard
of the objective conditions, we are sure to run into a stone wall. There-
fore, if we do not study Marxist philosophy and do not understand its stand,
viewpoints and methods, we will not be able to achieve our aim although we
want to do some practical work. Frankly speaking, philosophical theories
are comparatively abstract and generalized. However, past experiences have
proven that if we work hard to understand the basic viewpoints of philosophy,
and use them to analyze the practical problems arising in the course of
socialist construction, philosophical theories are very concrete and prac-
tical. In other words, mastering philosophy is not something unattainable.
Some comrades are worried that upholding emancipation of philosophy will
hinder us from deepening our understanding and that the standard of academic
studies will be lowered. Such worries are unnecessary. The main tasks for
the study of philosophy are to integrate the current actual situation with
the study of new problems and new situations in the course of the socialist
movement and socialist modernization. In accordance with the basic theories
of Marxist philosophy, to give some scientific and simple explanations for
the actual current situations is an unshirkable duty of every professional
worker of philosophy. Real life poses many new problems for us; theoretical
workers are compelled to carry out in-depth analysis and give scientific
answers. However, we have not done enough in this respect. Up till now,
there are not too many articles and works that profoundly analyze and
explain the new situation and problems that emerge in the course of
building the four modernizations from the high plane of philosophy. This
shows that the study of philosophy does not conform with the requirement
of the four modernizations. Thus, we must work harder. This is the
requirement of the emancipation of philosophy and that of the study of
philosophy.
We do not have any experience in carrying out socialist modernization in our
country. It is necessary for us to understand the world outlook and
methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism so that
our understanding will conform with the objective reality and our cause will
effectively and steadily develop. Only if we do a practical hard job, will
we be able to score good results in the study of philosophy. Hence, we will
be able to make greater contributions to the socialist modernization.
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SHOUT ALOUD FOR THE WORK OF GATHERING MATERIALS--FOREWORD TO THE BOOK
'DISPUTED PROBLEMS IN SOCIALIST ECONOMIC THEORY'
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 30-31
[Article by Mao Zhongyang [7456 0112 225411
[Text] While publishing "Disputed Problems in Socialist Economic Theory"
as a reference book, apart from extending my respects to the comrades who
have put in a lot of work into gathering materials, editing and publishing
this reference book, I would like to say something which I have wanted to
say for a long time concerning the work of gathering materials. Since I
want to stress the work of gathering materials, I call it'shouting aloud.
One very important but also very weak link on our ideological and theoreti-
cal fronts is the work of gathering materials. Once we start with our
study, in whatever field or problem, the problem of material will confront
us in a glaring way. Marx said: "To study, we must fully possess mate-
rials, make an analysis of its various forms of development and probe the
internal relations of these forms. Only when this work has been completed,
can the actual movement be appropriately described." ("Collected Works of
Marx and Engels," Vol 23, p 23) Without materials or without possessing
large quantities of materials, how can we conduct our study and research?
How can we avoid indulging in empty talk? Materials are the basis for
scientific research and also the basis for propaganda work. They are the
indispensable raw and semifinished information for all intellectual
products. Intellectual products without raw or semifinished materials are
like water without a source; like a tree without roots. Although they bear
every conceivable name, they are nothing but castles in the air. In order
to really ensure that our ideological and theoretical fronts meet the
demands of the four modernizations program, it is necessary, first of all,
to do a solid and practical job in the work of gathering materials. This
work is not only the basis for research work and propaganda work but also
.the frontline and logistics of all struggles led by our party and also the
source and guide in carrying out the various aspects of our work. This
appropriately reflects the position and role of the work of gathering
materials, and is not just an exaggeration.
However, quite a few comrades in some of our scientific research and teach-
ing units and other units lack a proper understanding of the position and
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role of the work of gathering materials and as a result, they have adopted
inappropriate work styles. Some units put the work of gathering materials
in an unessential place. The setup of organizations and the assignment of
personnel are less than perfect and inappropriate. Some units only manage
to do some work of receiving and disseminating as well as preserving mate-
rials and they even fail to do a good job in this work. Some units also
regard those organs which gather materials as the collecting points for
housing idle personnel and let those who are not occupied "undergo a transi-
tion" there! Still other units use the money intended for subscribing to
newspapers and books and periodicals for other purposes in order to "prac-
tice thrift." This phenomena warrants serious attention. In order to
practically and effectively carry out the modernization program of our
motherland and build a highly developed material civilization and spiritual
civilization, it is vital to have reliable and sufficient materials as the
foundation. We have paid too high a price for this and have profound
lessons to draw from it. We must not commit such idealist follies any more
and must no longer tell lies, brag or indulge in empty talk. If no serious
changes are effected and no strong measures are adopted on this matter, how
then can we say that we are implementing the principle of seeking truth from
facts?
The work of gathering materials is a difficult job requiring arduous efforts.
It requires not only diligent and conscientious efforts but also firm and
indomitable willpower and the spirit of not minding the effort and gradually
accumulating materials for a long time and also the spirit of serving other
people enthusiastically and conscientiously on one's own initiative. Those
who drift along aimlessly, seek an idle life, are afraid of trivial matters
and impatient as well as crude and careless will be unable to gather mate-
rials well, and those who crave for fame and are pretentious and unwilling
to serve others will also be unable to do the work of gathering materials
well. The value in material lies in its ability to be accumulated, com-
plete and systematic. We must not go fishing for 3 days and dry the net for
2 and not be prompted by sudden impulses and do things as the heart desires.
Materials should be abundant and complete. Furthermore, they should be
gathered and explored selectively with a definite purpose and stress differ-
ent key points. At the same time, materials should be constantly processed,
sorted out and improved so as to make it convenient to use. In regard to the
use of materials, one must not imagine that every piece of material can be
put to instant use on finished products. The so-called shooting with
unfailing accuracy is not the goal and demand of the work of gathering mate-
rials. So long as some of the vast material we have gathered for along
time is useful, and even if specific pieces are useful, or useful for a
short while, our work can be regarded as successful. The work of gathering
materials is a kind of capital construction. Materials are the storage of
spiritual wealth. The work of gathering materials itself cannot determine
when or how much of the materials will be used. We must not approach this
matter in a shortsighted way.
The work of gathering materials requires being practical and realistic.
Gathering materials in a subjective and one-sided way will have extremely
harmful consequences. This problem remains fresh in our memory from
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experience. We must not repeat those mistakes. Of course, materials and
particularly social materials are always processed by people. Any
processing and sorting out of materials will bear the mark of the ideology
of the processors and the mark of our times. Thus, the original natural
appearance is lost and the materials cease to be an objective accumulation.
However, upholding the principle of seeking truth from facts and subjective
prejudice are two entirely different things. It is wrong to confuse them.
Some people do not understand the true relationship between the work of
gathering materials and research work and frequently underrate the former
and stress the latter. This is wrong. It is well known that in writing his
"Das Kapital," Marx read more than 1,500.books and extracts and the notes
he made on them equalled more than 100 books; in order to write his
"Imperialism Is the Highest Stage of Capitalism," Lenin gathered huge
amounts of materials and made a lot of notes. All this data was included
in the "Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 39. These facts prove that Marx and
Lenin were both models for research workers and also models for workers
engaged in the work of gathering materials.
Although some people have various misunderstandings about the work of gather-
ing materials, no one denies the extreme importance of materials to the
building of our material civilization and spiritual civilization. The com-
rades engaged in the work of gathering materials are indeed arduous workers,
unknown to the public. This is not an undertaking which amazes the world
with a single feat. People very often will admire how certain engineers
display their talents before a magnificent building, but few people care
who actually built it with their craftmanship and wisdom. On what buildings
on earth have the names of the builders ever been engraved? I have no
intention of belittling the role and position of the engineers and of ask-
ing that the workers and engineers be listed together as "starts" who are
treated equally by the people. What I hope is that while giving publicity
to the well-known heroes, we.never forget those unknown heroes!
At present, our work of gathering materials is still very weak. This is the
common feeling of every person who uses materials. Therefore, strengthening
the work of gathering materials has become a common demand of many comrades.
It is startling how few reference books and periodicals we have published.
This state of affairs must not be allowed to continue. Time means life.
One effective method for putting an end to the backwardness in our culture
and work is to start with the work of gathering materials. Being aware of
the importance of this matter to our ideological front, I have aired my
views. If they are wrong or. inaccurate, I look forward to your--fellow
comrades--criticism and corrections.
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DIMITROV AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 32-35
[Article by Ma Xipu]
[Text] This year will witness the 100th anniversary of the birth of Georgi
Dimitrov, outstanding activist of the international communist movement and
leader of the Bulgarian people. Dimitrov devoted his entire life to the
struggle for peace and the socialist cause, and thus won the love and
respect of the laboring people all over the world.
G
The Chinese people are familiar with and respect Dimitrov not only because
he exposed Nazi Germany's conspiracy of masterminding the Reichstag fire
and shifting the responsibility to communists in the world-renowned Leipzig
trial, but also because he showed deep sympathy and extended enthusiastic
support for the Chinese people's revolutionary struggle.
Dimitrov was born into an ordinary laboring family on 18 June 1882. He
became active in revolutionary activities when he was 15 years old. After
the defeat of the September armed uprising launched by the Bulgarian people
under his leadership, he was exiled from his country. He was active in the
international arena after that. Leading the life of a professional revolu-
tionary, he was engaged in labor movements under the Federation of the Com-
munists of Balkan Nations and the West European section of the Comintern.
The 1930's was a decade which people all over the world will never forget.
In 1933, Hitler established fascist dictatorial rule in Germany. During the
period from 1936-1937, Germany, Italy and Japan formed the fascist alliance.
They carried out even more wanton acts of aggression and expansion, and
eventually launched World War II, which brought about tremendous disasters
to the peoples throughout the world.
In 1931, the Japanese imperialists caused the "September 18th incident" and
forcibly occupied the four northeastern provinces of China. They stepped
up preparation for an overall aggressive war against China, and tried in
vain to turn all of China into a colony of Japan. In the face of imperial-
ist aggression, the Kuomintang government adopted the policy of non-
resistance and carried on the counterrevolutionary principle of expanding
civil war and slaughtering the Chinese corn u{iists and the Chinese people.
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Meanwhile, under the leadership of the CCP, the masses of people from all
levels of society in China called for stopping the civil war and uniting to
resist the Japanese invaders. In January 1933, the Soviet Provisional
Central Government of China and the Revolutionary Military Committee of the
Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army jointly published a manifesto,
offering to make an agreement with the Kuomintang troops of various fac-
tions on the resistance against Japan based on the following conditions:
stopping the attack on revolutionary bases; safeguarding the people's
democratic rights; and arming the people. In 1934, the CCP again put
forward the "Six Major Programs to Resist Japan and Save the Nation." On
1 August 1935, the CCP Central Committee issued a manifesto, appealing to
the compatriots of all strata and all parties throughout the country to
pull together all resources to carry out the movement of resisting Japan
and saving the nation. All these actions show that the CCP was beginning
to adopt the new policy of establishing an extensive anti-Japanese national
united front.
The anti-Japanese struggle of the Chinese people and the experiences
obtained by the CCP drew Dimitrov's close attention. After his victory over
Nazi Germany in Leipzig, Dimitrov was elected to the Presidium of the
Executive Committee of the Comintern in May 1934, and held the post of
secretary general of the Comintern during the period 1935-1943. While
engaged in international revolutionary activities, he always kept abreast
of the progress of the Chinese revolution through various channels, and
paid close attention to and enthusiastically supported the revolutionary
struggle of the Chinese people. Under his direction, the Presidium of the
Executive Committee of the Comintern often held meetings to study and dis-
cuss the problems concerning the Chinese revolution, and in particular the
Chinese people's struggle against the Japanese invaders. Dimitrov intro-
duced the experience of the Chinese revolution at the Comintern meetings,
cheered every success of the Chinese people, and appealed to the proletariat
and peoples of all countries to strongly support the Chinese revolution.
During the preparation for and in the course of the Seventh Congress of the
Comintern in 1935, Dimitrov summed up the experiences learned from the
activities of the French people's front, the Spanish revolution and the
labor movement in Western Europe, as well as the experience of the Chinese
people in their struggle against the Japanese invaders. Based on this
summation, he put forth the slogan of establishing a proletarian united
front and the people's antifascist front in imperialist and capitalist
countries, and an anti-imperialist united front in colonial and semi-
colonial countries.
When discussing the questions concerning the "anti-imperialist united front"
and "united front government" in his report made at the Seventh Congress of
the Comintern, Dimitrov repeatedly referred to the experience of the Chinese
revolution. He pointed out that the solution to the problem of establishing
a united front in Brazil was different from that in India, China and other
countries because the conditions for carrying out revolutionary struggles,
the degree of maturity of the national liberation movement, and the role
of communist parties in the revolutions were different in various colonial
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and semicolonial countries. The local characteristic in China was that the
national liberation movement was flourishing there, as soviet bases had
arisen in some parts of the territory, the powerful Workers' and Peasants'
Red Army had been organized, And the CCP had undertaken the establishment
of the anti-Japanese national united. front. ("Collected Works of Dimitrov,"
Sofia, 1954 edition, Vol 10, pp 99-100) Dimitrov commended the Chinese
revolution as having brought hope to the national liberation movement of
colonial and semicolonial countries. In his speech delivered at the close
of the congress, he said: "Today the peoples of all colonial and semi-
colonial countries no longer regard their struggle for liberation as a
hopeless cause. On the contrary, they are more and more resolutely engaged
in the struggle against the imperialist enslavers. The best proof of this
is the Chinese people's struggle and the Chinese Red Army's heroic deeds."
("Collected Works of Dimitrov," Sofia, 1954 edition, Vol 10, p 182)
Just for this reason, at this grand gathering of the Comintern, Dimitrov
declared on behalf of the revolutionary proletariats of all countries that
he wholeheartedly subscribed to the proposal of the CCP on establishing an
anti-Japanese national united front; he denounced the Japanese bandits'
savage invasion and the Kuomintang government's traitorous activities, and
appealed to the revolutionary peoples of all countries to provide the
Chinese people with moral and political support. He solemnly announced:
"We subscribe to the proposal by our courageous fraternal CCP on uniting
with all organized forces within the territory who are willing to join and
are actually engaged in the struggle of saving the country and the people
so as to form a most extensive anti-imperialist united front opposing
.Japanese imperialism and its Chinese agents." He also said: "We-extend
our warm and fraternal greetings to all soviets in China and to the revolu-
tionary Chinese people. We extend our warm and fraternal greetings to the
courageous and battle-tested Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. At
the same time, we assure the Chinese people that we resolutely support them
in their struggle to completely liberate themselves from the rule of all
imperialist bandits and their Chinese running dogs." ("Collected Works of
Dimitrov," Sofia, 1954 edution, Vol 10, pp 100-101) As soon as he paused,
the audience stood up and broke out into thunderous applause. Dimitrov's
speech profoundly embodied his own as well as all revolutionary peoples'
militant bonds of friendship with the Chinese people, which strongly
encouraged the CCP, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army under its
leadership, and the Chinese people, who were carrying out an extremely
arduous and difficult struggle.
On 9 December 1935, under the guidance of the party, students in Beijing
held a massive demonstration to resist the Japanese aggressors and save the
country. On 25 December, our party convened a meeting of the Political
.Bureau of the Central Committee in Wayaobao of Shaanxi Province and
adopted the "Resolution on the Present Political Situation and Our Party's
Tasks," in which the strategic guideline for the anti-Japanese national
united front was laid down. After the meeting, in elaborating this guide-
line, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that under certain conditions, the
left wing of the national bourgeoisie and some people in the Kuomintang
camp might unite with the workers and peasants in the struggle against
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the Japanese aggressors; therefore, "the task of the party is to form a
revolutionary national united front by.combining the activities of the Red
Army with all the activities of the workers, the peasants, the students,
the petit bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie throughout the country."
("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 1, p 137)
In June 1936, in an article which he wrote for the Comintern to commemorate
the 15th anniversary of the CCP, Dimitrov enthusiastically commented that
"the CCP is a real Bolshevik party." He pointed out that "the reason why
the CCP could have developed into a mighty political force" was because it
had maintained "deep-rooted ties" with the people. The party was devoting
all its efforts to making itself "the vanguard in establishing the anti-
Japanese national united front"; it was trying to unite with the people
throughout China, and to cooperate with various political groups and
military forces in the resistance against the Japanese aggressors.
Dimitrov anticipated that the CCP, in establishing the united front, would
encounter inside the party opposition from those "closed-doorists" and
those "opportunist capitulators" who "were ready to give up the political
and organizational independence of the party and the Red Army." He believed
that the Chinese party would surely be able to overcome these difficulties
inside the party. In conclusion, he appealed to the proletariats of all
countries to actively support "the Chinese people who were carrying out the
struggle for liberation," and to oppose the Japanese and German fascists who
were the common enemies of the Chinese people and the people throughout the
world. ("Selected Works of Dimitrov," Liberation Publishing House, 1949
edition, pp 241-244)
Those articles by Dimitrov on the Chinese revolution were compiled into a
book entitled "The Struggle for Establishing the Chinese Anti-Japanese
National United Front" which was published in 1937.
On 7-July 1937, the Japanese invaders launched an overall aggressive war in
China. The Chinese people rose against the enemy and thus started the
anti-Japanese war which lasted for the next 8 years. At home, while the
masses of people who were united within the anti-Japanese national united
front were undertaking the main tasks of resistance against the Japanese,
the Kuomintang intended to surrender to the enemy by carrying out the
policy of passively resisting the Japanese and actively opposing the CCP.
Abroad, Britain, the United States, France and some other countries were
encouraging Germany, Japan and Italy to do evil by continuing their appease-
ment policy toward the latter's invasion and expansion. Even inside the
Comintern, some people were pessimistic about the future of the Chinese
revolution. Facing such circumstances, Dimitrov resolutely stood on the
side of the Chinese people. In July 1938, on-behalf of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Comintern, he made the "Declaration To Give All-Out Support
to the Chinese People in Their Struggle Against the Japanese Aggressors,"
devoting his efforts to urging world opinion to support the Chinese people's
anti-Japanese war. ("The Comintern," Moscow edition, July 1938)
Dimitrov emphatically pointed out in his speeches and articles that both
Europe and the Far East were equally important sources of war. He warned
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in good time that the Japanese occupation of the four northeastern provinces
of China and the invasion of Abyssinia and Spain were steps taken by the
fascists toward new and massive plundering wars. He questioned those
Western countries which turned a blind eye to the Japanese bandits' invasion
of China, asking: "Does the appeasement attitude toward bandits who are
attacking the northern part of China not encourage the Japanese warlords,
who are arbitrarily trying to enslave the great Chinese people? Does such
encouragement not arouse our indignation?" ("Collected Works of Dimitrov,"
Sofia,'1954 edition, Vol 10, p 375)
As the fascists' offensive and the world war became more and more threaten-
ing, Dimitrov held that, in order to defend the world peace, "we first of
all have to defeat the fascists' invasion plans in Spain and China," and
defeat their conspiracy of launching a world war. And the task of top
priority was to mobilize all forces to "drive the fascist aggressors from
Spain and China as soon as possible." ("Collected Works of Dimitrov,".
Sofia, 1954 edition, Vol 10, pp 377-378)
Dimitrov set a high value on the Chinese people's anti-Japanese war. He
said: "The great Chinese people who are united within the national united
front are steadfast, brave and militant examples in the struggle against the
savage Japanese invaders." ("Collected Works of Dimitrov," Sofia, 1954
edition, Vol 10, p 415) "The national liberation war against the Japanese
imperialists carried out by the great Chinese people," he pointed out, "is
not only a struggle to defend China's independence and integrity, but is
also of tremendous help to the European people in their struggle against
imperialism." ("Collected Works of Dimitrov," Sofia, 1954 edition, Vol.11,
p 80)
Dimitrov had full confidence in the victory of the Chinese revolution. In
the latter half of 1939, when recuperating in Moscow, Comrade Zhou Enlai
elaborated to Dimitrov and the Executive Committee of the Comintern the
situation of the anti-Japanese war and the CCP's strategy and policies of
the anti-Japanese national united front. In February of the next year, on
the eve of the day when Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi, Deng Yingchao and other com-
rades left for home, Dimitrov gave a farewell banquet in their honor, and
requested Comrade Zhou Enlai to send his regards to the anti-Japanese
fighters on the battlefront and in the rear. He firmly declared: "I
believe the victory of the Chinese revolution is in sight!" ("Ren Bishi,"
Hunan Peoples Publishing House, 1979 edition, p 210)
Following the victory of the worldwide antifascist war, the Bulgarian people
overthrew the autocratic monarchy and established the. people's political
power on 9 September 1944. The Chinese people's anti-Japanese war also
ended triumphantly in August 1945. However, with the backing of the U.S.
imperialists, the Kuomintang reactionaries turned down the just demand for
peace and democracy made by the whole Chinese people and the CCP, and sub-
sequently launched the civil war against the people. In November 1945,,
Dimitrov returned to his motherland, Bulgaria, which he had left 22 years
ago. He was appointed general secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party
and chairman of the Council of Ministers. At that time, Dimitrov was
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occupied with a myriad of state affairs and was working hard for the
reconstruction of postwar Bulgaria. But he still showed great concern for
the Chinese revolution.
On 19 July 1947, Dimitrov received a Chinese trade union leader who was
visiting Bulgaria, and had a cordial and friendly conversation with him.
Being deeply concerned for the Chinese people's struggle, he asked about
the situation of the Chinese people's liberation war and the circumstances
in the liberation zones. When he learned that the PLA had shifted from
a strategic defensive to a strategic offensive and the party was trying
hard to consolidate the extensive national democratic united front, he
said: "The opinions of Comrade Mao Zedong are very correct. The peoples
of all countries must learn from him! Uniting with all forces of the
people to oppose the minority reactionaries has proved to be very correct!"
("Dimitrov, a Great Communist," Joint Publishing Company, 1950 edition,
p 152) He had firm faith that the Chinese people, relying on the great
patriotic unification, were bound to overthrow the reactionary rule of the
Kuomintang. At last, Dimitrov emphatically affirmed that China had bright
prospects; and that the victory of the Chinese revolution would add
strength to the people's democracy and socialism, contribute to the strug-
gles against imperialism and any new aggression, and have a great impact
on international politics in the future. ("In Memory of Dimitrov," (No.
Ganchovski) [0355 3927 0829 1133 2448 1015], Sofia, 1975 edition, Vol 1,
p 487)
At the end of 1948, Dimitrov once again affirmed the worldwide significance
of the Chinese revolution at the Fifth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist
Party. He pointed out in his speech that the brave struggle which the
Chinese people had carried out for years to attain independence and oppose
imperialism and its agents in China was "of extreme importance" to the
change in the balance of world power. "Under the strong and brilliant
leadership of the CCP, the more than 1 million-strong Chinese PLA has
already won a series of marvelous victories and defeated the Chinese
reactionary military forces armed and subsidized by the U.S. imperialists.
At present, this 1 million-strong army has already liberated the entire
northeastern and northern sections of China and Inner Mongolia. It is now
marching toward Chiang Kai-shek's capital Najing and will soon lay siege
to the city." China's democratic force has crushed the reactionary force,
"their final victory is a foregone conclusion, and it is only a question of
time before final victory is achieved." ("Collected Works of Dimitrov,"
Sofia, 1955 edition, Vol 14, pp 305-306)
Dimitrov's anticipation of the Chinese revolution was realized very soon.
Under the correct leadership of the CCP, new China eventually arose on the
east horizon of the world on 1 October 1949. However, it is really
regrettable that Dimitrov could never see or hear the victory of the
Chinese revolution since he had passed away on 2 July that year.
The Chinese people have always highly respected Dimitrov. In the period of
the anti-Japanese war, some works of Dimitrov had already been translated
into Chinese and published as documents to be studied by cadres. Both
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Comrade Mao Zed6ng and Comrade Liu Shaogi appealed to the vast number of
party members, especially the party's high-ranking cadres, io set the four
standards for cadres put forth by Dimitrov (absolute loyalty, close ties
with the masses, ability to work independently and observance of discipline)
as strict demands on themselves. After the founding of new China, we
trans'lated and published some of his major works and, some books on his
revo"lu{tiO thry d'eeds'.
Dimitto'v's' loyalty to the revolutionary cause of the international prole-
taria$', and his sympathy and support for the Chinese revolution, have pro-
fdun$'ly im'p'ress-6d the Chinese people. He was a faithful friend of the
Chinese people.
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CARRY OUT SYSTEMATIC THEORETICAL EDUCATION TO RAISE CADRES' POLITICAL
QUALITY
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 36-39
[Article by Commentator]
[Text] Marxism is a powerful ideological weapon for us_to understand the
world and change it. It is a guide for our party in formulating principles
and policies and a science that every cadre should study. In the new
historical period, we are confronted with the arduous task of building
socialist modernization. This requires that cadres be proficient in voca-
tional knowledge, otherwise they will not be able to work well. However,
while having a good command of professional work, cadres must be syste-
matically,educated with Marxist theory. Only by so doing, will it be
possible to raise the political quality of the cadre ranks so that all
cadres will be able to adhere to the orientation of socialism and maintain
the purity of communism in a complicated situation and will they be able to
consciously carry out the line, principles and policies formulated since the
third plenary session and to enhance their ability of analyzing the new
situation and tackling new problems. This is a task of strategic signifi-
cance.
At present, the theoretical level of cadres is rather inconsistent with the
missions they are undertaking in building modernization. According to
statistics, in some provinces and municipalities, only 18 percent of cadres
have relatively systematically studied the basic knowledge of Marxism, 56
percent of them have arrived at a general understanding of it, and there
are 26 percent of cadres who can be said to be lacking in understanding of
Marxism for the main. This means that there are more than 80 percent of
cadres who have no systematic and basic knowledge of Marxism.. Owing to
lack of fundamental theories of Marxism to arm their minds, some cadres
cannot understand well the essence of the party's principles and policies
so that they usually vacillate in implementing these principles and poli-
cies. In the face of the new situation and new problems, some cadres cannot
analyze and deal with them with the Marxist stand, viewpoint and method so
that they not only work at a low efficiency, but also often make deviations
in handling their work. Furthermore, not being equipped with the Marxist
world outlook on the whole, some cadres have no ability of resistance at
all when confronted with attacks by the ideological trend of bourgeois
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liberalization and even step on the road of breaching discipline and com-
mitting crimes.
Here is a well-known saying of Stalin: "In any state or party department,
the higher the political level and the Marxist-Leninist consciousness of its
staff are, the more efficient and effective their work will be. Conversely,
the lower the political level and the Marxist-Leninist consciousness of its
staff are, the more setbacks and failures there will be in their work, the
more likely the staff are to become vulgar and turn into shortsighted persons
bogged down in routine matters, and the more likely they are to degenerate
morally. This can be said to be a definition." Stalin also said that if
cadres in all departments could be turned into quite mature Marxist-
Leninists, then 90 percent of the problems could be solved. ("Selected
Works of Stalin," Vol 2, pp 461-462) Our party's history also proves that
the Marxist-Leninist level of cadres, especially of leading cadres deter-
mines the progress and the retrogression of our cause as well as its advance
or retreat. Comrade Mao Zedong, therefore, pointed out: "No political
party can possibly lead a revolutionary movement to victory unless it
possesses revolutionary theory and a knowledge of history and has a profound
grasp of the practical movement." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 2,
p 498)
Of the veteran cadres who joined the revolution during the anti-Japanese
war or before, many of them are now advanced in years. It is anticipated
that those who will still be working at their posts by 1990 will mostly be
cadres who took part in work after the founding of the PRC. The theoretical
level of this part of cadres is quite uneven. Generally speaking, those.. who
joined work before 1957 are much better in political level and those who
started working after 1966 are fairly poor in this field, most of them have
not been systematically educated with Marxist theory. This is a question of
prime importance. Here, we must get a move on and take measures to syste-
matically educate the middle-aged and young cadres with Marxist theory in
as short a period of time as possible so that we will be able to ensure that
our party continues to march forward along the line of Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Zedong Thought in 10 or 20 years' time.
Why should the theoretical education of Marxism for cadres be necessarily
carried out systematically? This has been put forward in line with the
requirements of the Marxist theoretical system itself and according to the
.positive and negative experiences we summed up from the past work of
educating cadres theoretically.
Marxism is a scientific theoretical system. It consists of three component
parts--philosophy, political economics and scientific socialism. We must
have a systematic study of them. Only when we attain a systematic under-
standing of the three component parts of Marxism and the practice of the
CCP in applying the fundamental tenets of Marxism-Leninism to tackle the
problems of the Chinese revolution, will it be possible for us to integrally
and accurately master the fundamental tenets, stand, viewpoint and method
of Marxism and foster a communist world outlook. The requirements of
mastering Marxism must differ for different kinds of cadres. Cadres who
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engage in party, government and mass work, especially leading cadres should
know much more Marxism than other comrades.
On the problem of educating cadres theoretically, our party has long pro-
moted the systematic study of Marxist theory. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed
out that it was necessary to imbue cadres with Marxism systematically,
not piecemeal, and to do with practice, not devoid of content. Comrade Liu
Shaoqi seriously criticized an erroneous statement of neglecting systematic
study of theory in arguing that those who bury themselves in books are
"academics." Both in the Yanan period and in the 1950's, our party accumu-
lated much experience in organizing cadres to systematically study theory.
But for a long period of time after that, this study was disturbed by. Lin
Biao, Kang Sheng and the "gang of four." Being obsessed with the ambition
of usurping the party and seizing power, they categorically opposed syste-
matic study of Marxist theory with the excuse of combating dogmatism. They
advocated the'so-called methods of,"taking a shortcut," "studying what is
urgently needed" and "getting instant results." This led to fragmentizing
Marxist theory into pieces and making arbitrary use of some quotations with
no interconnection at all. Such pragmatic practice completely changed the
systematic theoretical education for cadres and mentally disarmed them. To
.counter the influences of the pragmatic practice and the "leftist" errors
advocated by Lin Biao, Kang Sheng and the "gang of four" in the study of
Marxism, Comrade Deng Xiaoping specially emphasized the problem of
integrally and accurately studying Marxism, providing us with an ideologi-
cal weapon for criticizing pragmatism and dogmatism. We must continue to
sweep away the baneful influence left over by Lin Biao, Kang Sheng and the
"gang of four" and insist on systematically educating cadres with Marxist
theory.
Promoting the systematic study of Marxism is by no means to isolatedly and
statically study books without connecting the struggle with reality. Our
consistent policy just as recommended by Comrade Mao Zedong is "to focus
such education on the study of the practical problems of the Chinese revolu-
tion using the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism as the guide, and the
method of studying Marxism-Leninism statically and in isolation should be
discarded." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 3, p 760) Today, our
principle of theoretical education must still be applying theory to reality.
In building socialist modernization, we are confronted with a great deal of
problems. But owing to scant knowledge of basic Marxist theory, many
cadres are not able to judge and solve problems with the Marxist stand,
viewpoint and method. The aim of organizing cadres to systematically study
theory is, in the final analysis, to solve various practical problems
awaiting us by centering on the task of building socialist modernization.
The ultimate end of making our cadres systematically study theories is to
use the "arrow" of Marxism to shoot at the "target" of the socialist con-
struction in China.
In order to help all cadres study Marxist theory well and systematically,
it is necessary to have the study system reformed so as to make it a regular
practice taken step by step. To this end, we must seriously study the good
tradition and good experience in the theoretical education that our party
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carried out for cadres both in the Yanan period and in the 1950's. In line
with the practical situation in our country, we must work out a feasible
system and plan for carrying out theoretical education among cadres. Dif-
ferent requirements must meet with different types of cadres. Attention
must be focused on grasping theoretical education among leading cadres
between the ages of 30 and 50, leading cadres in reserve and cadres who
engage in party, government and mass work. We must fulfill the plan of
rotationally training cadres in a planned way through different channels
such as the party school, cadre school, or "calling together" a small num-
ber of cadres at work or self-study. We must strengthen the system of
checking on cadres' theoretical study, establish records and assess their
study while assigning, selecting and promoting cadres. With a view to
systematizing the theoretical education for cadres and making it a regular
and standard practice, we must vigorously create conditions to solve the
problems such as teaching materials, teachers, expenses and places. While
gaining a good grasp of the present theoretical study of cadres, we must
start in studying how to reform the system of theoretical education for
cadres, actively creating conditions and striving to regularize theoretical
education for cadres at an early date so as to meet the needs of building
socialist modernization.
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AT PRESENT, WE SHOULD EXPAND REPRODUCTION WITH EMPHASIS ON INTENSION
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 38-40
[Article by Lu Congming [7627 1783 2494]]
[Text] Enlarged reproduction is divided into two types: enlarged reproduc-
tion by extension and enlarged reproduction by intension. This is an impor-
tant principle of Marxist theory on reproduction. According to the explana-
tion of Marx in "Das Kapital," enlarged reproduction by extension generally
means "adding new factories to the old ones." In other words, it means
expanding reproduction by enlarging production sites and increasing man-
power and material resources. Enlarged reproduction by intension generally
means expanding reproduction by carrying out technical innovations in the
original enterprises and raising the quality of essential factors of pro-
duction and the use rate of funds. In the whole course of socialist
enlarged reproduction, enlarged reproduction by extension and enlarged
reproduction by intension are indispensable. They are interdependent and
promote each other. However, one of the two aspects may possibly become
more prominent than the other in a certain period of time. In a certain
.period of time after the founding of the People's Republic of China, in
order to lay a necessary foundation for industry, it was absolutely neces-
sary to carry out enlarged reproduction by extension by devoting our major
efforts to building a large number of factories. But when the material
technological foundation of the national economy reaches a certain scale,
we should gradually carry out enlarged reproduction with stress on intension.
In his government work report at the 4th Session of the 5th National
People's Congress, Premier Zhao Ziyang pointed out: "From now on we must
rely on technical innovations in the expansion of reproduction, and bring
into full play the role of our present enterprises." This means that from
now on there will be a strategic change in our socialist enlarged reproduc-
tion, a change from enlarged reproduction with stress on "extension" into
enlarged reproduction with stress on "intension.`
Why must we carry out this change?
First, this is the objective,demand of the development of social production
at a certain stage.
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Whether extension or intension is to be stressed in socialist enlarged
reproduction is mainly determined by the status of the material and tech-
nological foundation of the national economy. When we started our indus-
trialization on a poor and blank foundation left over from the old China,
it was obviously wrong not to carry out enlarged reproduction with stress
on extension. After 30-odd years of construction, our economic and tech-
nological levels have fundamentally changed. Now we have heavy and light
industries with comparatively consummate departments, and have built an
independent and integrated industrial system and national economic system.
In 1980, there were more than 370,000 industrial enterprises and 400 billion
yuan of industrial fixed assets, which was a 2,600 percent increase over
1952. The proportion of industrial output value in the total output value
of industry and agriculture rose from 30 percent in 1949 to 75 percent:in
1980. All this shows that China'.s present industry has reached a certain
scale, provided the material and technological foundation for the realiza-
tion of enlarged reproduction and built a reliable basis for our moderni-
zation.
Let us view this from the angle of funds. The proportion of funds of the
original enterprises in the total funds that have increased over the years
is becoming larger and larger following the development of social produc-
tion. For a long time to come, due to the.shortage-of funds and energy,
we will not be able to open up large numbers of new enterprises the way we
did in the past. Therefore, raising the use rate of funds of the original
enterprises through technical innovations will play an increasingly . impor-
tant .role in the development of the national economy. This is an evitabil-
ity that will emerge after social production develops to a certain stage.
After World War II, some economically developed countries did not use
their major investments for increasing the absoluteness of the means of
labor or for building new enterprises, but for renewing and innovating
their technology and raising the level and productivity of their equipment
and production technology. Take for example the machine building industry.
Eighty-four percent of the increase in machine tools from 1963 to 1973 in
Japan and 76 percent of the increase in machine tools from 1952 to 1972 in
the:United States were used for renewing their original machine tools. At
present, 80 percent of investments of Western developed countries is
applied to technical innovations, while the Soviet Union allots 70 percent
of all investments for technical innovations.
Second, the status of technology and equipment of our present enterprises
urgently requires us to place enlarged reproduction by intension in a major
position.
China's industry has reached a certain scale, but because we have been
longing for new projects and new enterprises for a long time to the neglect
of the renewal and innovation of the original equipment, the equipment of
many enterprises is obsolete, technology is outdated, products are backward,
consumption is too high and economic effect is low. At present, the
"enlistment age" of the equipment of the fixed assets of industrial and
communications enterprises throughout the country is as follows: enter-
prises with equipment more than 10 years old account for 52 percent,
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enterprises with equipment more than 15 years old account for 42 percent,
enterprises with equipment more than 20 years old account for 33 percent,
enterprises with equipment more than 25 years old account for 14 percent
and enterprises with equipment left over from the preliberation days
account for 7 percent. The technological level of the equipment is as
follows: about 20 percent of equipment is advanced or comparatively
advanced; about 20-25 percent is obsolete and can barely cope with present
production levels; and about 35 percent is quite old, outdated and requires
immediate renewal and innovation.
The equipment of enterprises is old, technology is outdated and the con-
sumption of raw materials and energy in production is high, therefore the
quality of products is low and the economic effect is bad. In 1980, 40
percent of the indices of the quality of major products of key enterprises
throughout the country and 65 percent of the indices of the consumption of
fuel, power and raw materials did not reach the best level in history.
According to statistics, the profits realized from each 100 yuan output
value by industrial enterprises under the ownership of the whole people in
1980 dropped by 10 percent as compared with 1957. Of course, there are
many reasons for such a phenomenon, but overlooking the renewals and inno-
vations of the equipment of enterprises over a long-period of time must be
regarded as an important reason. Marx said: "The greater part of the means
of labor constantly undergoes innovations due to the progress of the state.
Therefore, they carry out replacement in the form of innovation instead of
in the original form." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 24,
pp 190-191) Machinery and equipment are the skeletal system of modern
production. Whether they are advanced determines, to a very great extent,
the economic effect. Therefore, in order to change the backwardness of
China's present enterprises and raise the economic effect, it is necessary
to renew the equipment of our present enterprises and to carry out technical
innovations so as to realize enlarged reproduction with emphasis on inten-
sion.
Third, carrying out enlarged reproduction with emphasis on intension is an
important strategic measure for China's national economy to change from.
readjustment to overall development.
In the present period of readjustment of the national economy, on the one
hand, some heavy industrial projects and many machine building factories
"do not have enough to eat," and capital construction contingents are
seriously short of production tasks; on-the other hand, the equipment of
many industrial enterprises is old and their technology is backward. Many
products which are needed at home and abroad cannot be produced due to
limitations in technology and energy. Or even if they can be produced,
they cannot meet the demands. How should we overcome such a contradiction
so as to enliven the national economy in an overall manner? One important
strategic measure is to pay close attention to the technical innovations of
our present enterprises and to carry out enlarged reproduction with empha-
sis on intension.
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In the past, much was devoted to capital construction in the production of
the machine building industry, while little was devoted to technical inno-
vation; much was devoted to heavy industry, while little was devoted to
agriculture and light industry. Now due to the need for technical innova-
tion, various trades and undertakings have begun to place orders with the
machine building industry. In this way, the production capability of the
machine building industry can be brought into full play, its technical
innovations can be carried forward and its orientation of service readjusted.
The machine building industry occupies an important position in industry.
Before the readjustment principle was implemented, its output value accounted
for about 25 percent of the total industrial output value. The enlivening
of the machine building industry will give an impetus to the increase in
heavy industrial production such as metallurgical production and to its
technical innovations. And when the entire heavy industry is enlivened, it
can provide advanced equipment and superior quality materials for light
industrial and agricultural production and for their technical innovations.
In this way, the whole national economy will be enlivened in an all-round
way.
For a long time, energy has been in short supply in China, and it has been
unable to meet the demands of the national economic development. One of
the methods to solve this problem is to grasp firmly the technical innova-
tions with regard to the use of coal, petroleum and electric power in our
present enterprises. According to estimates, if we can reform high con-
sumption coal furnaces within 10 years, we will be able to save 50 million
tons of coal each year, and replace 40 million tons of superior quality
coal with low quality coal. This will create favorable conditions for
further growth of the national economy.
China is in a period of economic readjustment. Its financial situation is
comparatively difficult and its funds are not sufficient. Carrying out
technical innovation in our present enterprises will enable us to get
better economic effect with less investments. According to the estimates
of the departments concerned, in increasing the same production capability,
if we reform our old enterprises instead of building new ones, we can cut
our investments by two-thirds, equipment and materials by 60 percent and
shorten the production period by 50 percent. Following the gradual expan-
sion of technical innovations, the quality of products will increase, con-
sumption will decrease, the effect on the national economy will be greatly
raised and the conditions of the state's financial status and people's
livelihood will greatly improve.
The carrying out of enlarged reproduction with emphasis on intension is
designed for the national economy as a whole. It does not mean that we
cannot carry out enlarged reproduction with emphasis on extension in
certain fields. In addition, in carrying out enlarged reproduction with
emphasis on intension, we must start from our national condition and con-
sider that our large population will provide great employment tasks, and
according to the characteristics of different departments, different regions
and different enterprises, introduce a multistrata technological structure
and correctly combine the role of advanced science and technology with that
of rich labor resources to get the best economic effect.
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WHY DOES THE PRICE OF A COMMODITY RISE EVEN WHEN ITS VALUE DECREASES?
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 pp 41-42
[Article by Wei Xinghua [5898 5281 5478]]
[Text] In accordance with Marx' theory of the value of labor, the value
of commodities and the amount of labor which find expression in commodities
constitute a direct ratio while the value of commodities and labor produc-
tivity producing commodities constitute an inverse ratio; commodities are
exchanged according to or on the basis of their value, and prices are the
monetary expressions of values. In line with this principle, people will
easily think that with the gradual increase in social labor productivity,
there is a relevant decrease in the value of a commodity and there should
also be a relevant decrease in the price which is the monetary expression
of the value of a commodity. However, the phenomena existing in the real
economic life are very often not so. For 30-odd years in our country,
although there has been a decrease in the prices of a small section of
commodities, seen from the general level of commodity prices, there has
been a slight increase in the general level of commodity prices with the
improvement in labor productivity. Why is it so?
It must be pointed out that when labor productivity improves, the value of
a commodity decreases. This is one situation. Whether or not the price of
a commodity will drop in the same degree with the devaluation of the com-
modity is another situation. The movement of commodity value and that of
commodity prices are two processes which are both. interrelated and different.
True, prices are the monetary expression of value, but the orientation and
scope of the variations of value do not necessarily accurately find
expression in price variations. This is because what determines the value
of a commodity is not only the socially necessary work time consumed in
producing the commodity but also many other factors; besides the value of,
a.commodity, there are still the value of the money itself, the volume of
paper money in circulation, the relation between supply and demand, the
factor of distribution and so on.
Under circumstances where coins are used as a means of circulation, because
coins.have their own value also, if the value of a commodity and money
decreases in the same degree, prices will not change; if the scope of the
decrease in the value of a commodity is narrower than that in the value of
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money, prices will rise. This phenomenon in which the movement of value
and that of prices are not identical does not mean that the price of a
commodity and its value deviate from each other. While paper money is used
as a means of circulation, and particularly since paper money no longer has
a legal gold content, it is a common. occurrence that the decrease in the
value of a commodity and the increase in its price run parallel. This is
because paper money itself does not have any value. When it represents
coins, paper money only symbolizes value. In accordance with the laws
governing the circulation of paper money, when paper money is over-issued.
and exceeds the volume of currency needed in circulation, paper money will
"devalue" and the price of a commodity will rise, regardless of whether or
not the value of the commodity has decreased. This occurs in both capital-
ist and socialist countries.
Besides the factor of money, other factors such as distribution also have
an important bearing on the price of a commodity. Changes in a price are
often the result of the comprehensive action of the various factors. Judged
from the actual conditions of our country, over the last 30-odd years there
has been a slight increase in the general level of commodity prices, which
mainly accounts for the following things:
First, the influence of the increased prices for agricultural products. In
old China there existed very great "price cutters" between the prices for
industrial and agricultural products (that is, the prices for agricultural
products were lower than their value and those for industrial products were
higher than their value). After liberation, in order to boost the.income
.of the peasants and promote the development of agricultural production, the
CCP and the government raised the purchasing prices for agricultural products
many times and thus helped to gradually exchange agricultural products for
industrial products with the prices which approached their value and reduced
the "price cutters." This is precisely the demand of the law of value.
Of course, the fairly rapid increase in agricultural labor productivity and
the relevant decrease in the value of agricultural products will become a
factor which offsets the rise in the prices for agricultural products. How-
ever, the increase in labor productivity in our agriculture is, in fact,
very slow. Judged from the materials from a sample survey of some locali-
ties, there was even a certain decrease rather than an increase in our
agricultural labor productivity (this is related to the errors made in the
economic work in the past and the disproportions between agriculture and
light industry on the one hand and heavy industry on the other hand). In
addition, the supply of farm produce and sideline products of our country
has for many years failed to keep pace with the increase in the demand for
them. Therefore, price hikes in agricultural products have become an
objective inevitable trend.
Increased prices for agricultural products have exerted a great influence
on the increase in the general level of commodity prices. This is not only
because the total volume of the prices for farm produce and sideline
products constitutes a fairly great proportion in the total price volume
for consumer goods, but also because most raw and semifinished materials
of our light industry directly or indirectly come from agriculture. The
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raising of prices for agricultural products will cause a chain reaction and
a relevant increase (or will hamper the decrease) in the costs and prices
of many light industrial products.
Second, previous prices for such fuels as coal and for such industrial raw
materials as pig iron were on the low side. This was also a problem left
over from history. In order to advance production, it is necessary to raise
the prices for these products in a planned and appropriate way. But as a
result it will also have an impact on the relevant increase in the costs
and prices of a series of industrial products. This is also one of the
causes for the increase in the general level of commodity prices.
r~Y
Third, the influence of the accumulation rate. The price of every commodity
and the value of all social products can be distributed into two parts,
namely, the transfer of original value and the newly created value. The
former is used for making up the consumption of machines, raw and semi-
finished materials, fuels and so on, while the latter can be viewed as
accumulation funds and a means to increase consumption funds after deducting
labor costs, such as wages. The excessively rapid increase in accumulation
and excessively high accumulation rate will not only squeeze out the part
used to increase consumption funds but also cause an increase rather than
a decrease in the price of a commodity despite a drop in its value. The
balance between them will change over to accumulation through the price of
a commodity being higher than its value. In normal circumstances, increasing
some accumulation through the distribution of prices will be conducive to
promoting the development of the socialist construction cause. The problem
is that because of the influence of the "leftist" errors in economic work,
the accumulation rate was excessively .high in the past. This surpassed the
rational demarcation line in increasing accumulation through the distribu-
tion of prices. This is also one of the reasons why industrial labor pro-
ductivity increased but the prices for industrial products failed to cor-
respondingly decrease.
Fourth, the influence of wage increases. With the decrease in value, prices
fall. One of the reasons for this is that the scope of wage hikes must not
exceed the growth rate of labor productivity. If it is surpassed, the ratio
of accumulation in the newly created value has to be reduced; if the ratio
of accumulation remains unchanged, it will be possible to effect a fall in
prices with the decrease in value only when prices are kept unchanged or
even raised.
Over the last 30-odd years, China's average income has increased step by
step, and because more people are working, there has been a fairly big
increase in the total amount of wages for the staff and workers. Particu-
larly in the last few years, the party and the government have increased
the wage income of the staff and workers by a fairly large margin and, with
the solution to the employment problem for a total of 26 million people,
the total amount of wages in 1981 for the staff and workers throughout the
nation registered an increase of 43.3 percent over 1978. The average income
of the staff and workers employed in the units under the system of ownership
by the whole people in 1981 was 26 percent more than that in 1978.
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Furthermore, a fairly large number of bonuses were distributed. This
caused the.scope of wage hikes to outstrip the growth rate of labor pro-
ductivity, thus producing an impact on the increase in the general level
of commodity prices.
To sum up, although the variation of prices always takes value as the
foundation, it is still affected by other factors-and the two must not be
directly equated. The principle of basically stabilizing commodity prices
which we adopted is the use of the law of value. Owing to the errors in our
work, price hikes in a certain period outstripped the normal scope. How-
ever, this was only a transient phenomenon. With the further readjustment
of the national economy last year, the scope of price hikes has already
dropped markedly. With a further change for the better in economic and
financial affairs, the commodity prices of our country will surely become
stable with each passing day.
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IS THE SOCIALIST ECONOMY A PLANNED ECONOMY OR A COMMODITY ECONOMY?
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 p 43
[Article by Mao Gang [3029 6921]]
[Text] A planned economy and a commodity economy are not absolutely
antagonistic and neither are they two different stages of development of
the socialist economy. A commodity economy is the opposite of a natural
economy while a planned economy is the opposite of an unplanned economy.
In a socialist society where commodity production and commodity exchange
have still to be retained, practicing a planned economy means, in fact,
practicing planned commodity production and planned commodity exchange.
This is the objective reality of our socialist economic life. Since the
current economic life is so, therefore it is only natural for people to try
to. theoretically summarize it in terms which they consider relatively clear
and unambiguous. As a result, formulations of all kinds have emerged. For
instance, some people say that the socialist economy is a planned commodity
economy; some say that it is both a planned economy and a commodity economy
and there are still other people saying that it is a commodity economy with
the planned economy as the dominant factor. In my opinion, none of these
formulations can accurately mirror the essential feature of the socialist
economy.
The essential feature of the socialist economy is the planned economy.
Based on the system of public ownership of the means of production, the
planned economy forms a unitary whole and thereby enables the society to
ensure the proportionate development of the socialist reproduction process
and the various departments of the national economy through regulation by
planning mechanism. With a planned economy, the state can rationally
distribute manpower and financial and material resources among the various
localities and departments in light of the national condition, help balance
the movement between funds and material, regulate the distribution of con-
sumption funds on,a national scale in a unified way so as to basically
stabilize the market.and prices, achieve fairly great economic results in
social production and improve the well-being of the masses of the people
step by step. This was not inherent in previous social and economic
formations, is a major difference between the socialist system and previous
social systems and also an important aspect of the superiority of the
socialist system.
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The socialist planned economy does not exclude the market and does not
dispense with the regulatory role of the market. The socialist planned
economy develops the economy mainly in accordance with the objective
requirements of the law that the national economy is developed in a planned
way and, at the same time, applies the law of value to regulating commodity
production and commodity circulation. In his "New Problems Arising After
the Basic Completion of the Socialist Transformation," Comrade Chen Yun
said: "Planned production is the major part of industrial and agricultural
production while free production according to fluctuating market conditions
and within the limits allowed by state planning is a supplement to planned
production." "In the socialist unified market, the state market is domi-
nant, but a free market is attached to it, carried out within certain limits
and led by the state. This kind of free market is carried out under the
leadership of the state as a complement to the state market. Therefore, it
is a component part of the socialist unified market." This is China's
current concrete economic form. It is in this concrete economic form that
our planned economy is carried out. As Comrade Chen Yun said, the main
part of our industrial and agricultural products are produced in a planned
way and although the remaining part of the products are produced freely
according to fluctuating market conditions, that is free production con-
ducted within the limits allowed by the state plan. The state plan still
plays a leading role in free production and has a certain binding force
on it.
'Socialist society is not a self-sufficient natural economy. The social
products of a socialist society are basically commodities. In this sense,
it can be called a commodity economy. But this cannot show the nature and
properties of socialism, because there similarly exists commodity production
in the previous social formations and particularly in capitalist society.
In stressing that the socialist economy is a commodity economy, people may
give rise to the consideration that it is to correct such "leftist" views as
that in the past, the socialist planned economy was regarded as being
opposed to the commodity economy and as excluding commodity production.
If it gives rise to lack of such aspirations, it will only be all right if
the concrete contents of the planned economy at the present stage are
clearly explained. It is best not to substitute the concept of the com-
modity economy in place of the planned economy, because the latter displays
the properties of the socialist economy system.
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RECOMMENDING 'POPULAR PHILOSOPHY'
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 12, 16 Jun 82 inside back cover
[Book review by Sha Ying [3097 5391]]
[Text] The book "Popular Philosophy" [Tongsu Zhexue 6639 0198 0772 13311
(edited by Han Shuying) recently published by the China Youth Publishing
House is a comparatively outstanding book about popular philosophy.
The writers of this book said that it was "only a trial" to compile books
about popular philosophy. I think it is a significant as well as compara-
tively successful trial.
What are the features and advantages of this book?
First, it expounds Marxist philosophical principles quite accurately. All
philosophical principles are explained from the point of the whole system
of Marxist dialectical materialism so that each can be explained as accu-
rately as possible. For example, the explanation of the theory that matter
is primary, objectiveness of law, practice as the only criterion for testing
truth and the two basically opposite historical outlooks, is all made on the
basis of world matter and on the fact that the world is an entity of the
world of matter. The writers explicitly point out that if this basis is
taken out, no principle of dialectical materialism or historical materialism
can be formed. In expounding the basic philosophical question of the
relationship between matter and ideology, the book criticizes the "theory
of all-powerful spirit" and the "theory of useless spirit." In the past,
in expounding the law of dialectics, some philosophical books and articles
only dealt with the law of the unity of opposites and stressed the struggle
of contradictions; they did not deal, or dealt very little, with the unity
of contradictions. But this book follows the three basic laws of dialectics
that were expounded by Engels.and explains in an overall way the contents of
dialectics. At the same time, this book puts the three basic laws in the
same position and mainly explains the law of the unity of opposites and
points out the nature and core of dialectics.
Second, the book deals quite well with combining theory with practice. The
writers followed the principle of seeking truth from facts, proceeded from
reality and explained the line, principles and policies of the 3d Plenary
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Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee on the background of the experi-
ences and lessons in the practice of socialist construction in our country
since the founding of new China. They also explained the spirit and nature
of the resolution of the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Com-
mittee in their efforts to lead readers to profoundly understand the new
road for socialist construction put forth by the Central Committee and is
in line with national conditions. They talked about the problems that
exist in work by cadres and pointed out the importance of cadres correcting
their ideological line and improving their methods and style of work. In
particular, with regard to ideological conditions of youths, the writers
enlightened them on how to get out of individualist small circles and how
to distinguish socialism from capitalism and genuine beauty from falsifica-
tion and ugliness so that they can form the correct ideology of loving
their motherland, the party and socialism. The development of modern
production and natural sciences has exposed many new natural phenomena and
raised many new questions. The writers have also made an effort to explain
all this on the basis of Marxist philosophical principles. For example,
the book has properly reflected such things as the theory of information,
cybernetics, the theory of systems and their relations with philosophy.
Third, "Popular Philosophy" is worthy of the name. This book is really very
popular and easy to understand, with vivid wording and food for thought. It
pays considerable attention to knowledge. In expounding philosophical
principles, the writers introduce some knowledge about history, geography,
culture, art and natural sciences so as to help readers improve their
knowledge in these respects and develop their scientific and cultural level.
The book is also delightful as the writers refer to interesting things,
domestic and foreign and ancient and modern, scientific and historical
stories, anecdotes of celebrities, poems and maxims. The book also uses
simple language that makes it accessible to and well received by readers.
What is particularly interesting is that the book also carries 20
philosophical cartoons by Comrade Fang Cheng.
Of course, this book has some shortcomings. I hope that the writers will
solicit the opinions of readers and make amendments and improvements before
the second edition of this book comes off the press. I also hope that
philosophy circles will-be able to publish more popular philosophical books,
so that our philosophy will become more rich and varied, and daily more
prosperous.
CSO: 4004/40 END
Approved For Release 2008/03/19: CIA-RDP04-0146OR000100320001-2