Tongfang Academy
Micro Party Class · Issue 276
Strengthen the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work.
“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive quality of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” For Party members and cadres, fostering a fine academic style and strengthening theoretical education are both fundamental requirements for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.
Tongfang Law Firm provides all its lawyers with learning opportunities in the form of micro-party classes, thereby enhancing their ideological and political awareness as well as their spirit of learning and inquiry. By establishing a long-term educational mechanism, the firm has created a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.
Upholding the Party’s leadership in culture is the concentrated embodiment of the Party’s comprehensive leadership on the front of propaganda, ideology, and culture. From General Secretary Xi Jinping’s proposal of the concept of “the Communist Party of China’s cultural leadership” at the symposium on the inheritance and development of culture, to his emphasis—in his important instructions on propaganda, ideology, and cultural work—that “strengthening the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work” should be given top priority among the “seven key areas of focus”—all underscore the paramount importance of upholding Party leadership as a central tenet of Xi Jinping’s thought on culture. “Mastering ideological leadership is the foremost prerequisite for mastering all forms of leadership.” Only by deeply grasping the essence and practical requirements of strengthening the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work can we more consciously and confidently shoulder our new cultural mission in the new era.
Uphold the unity of Party spirit and the people’s character. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Party spirit and the people’s character have always been consistent and unified.” Party spirit is embedded in the people’s character; there is no Party spirit divorced from the people’s character, nor is there a people’s character divorced from Party spirit. The Communist Party of China’s cultural leadership is neither self-proclaimed nor imposed—it is the choice of history and the choice of the people, with its intrinsic foundation rooted in the indivisibility and unity of Party spirit and the people’s character. In the organic unity of Party spirit and the people’s character, upholding the principle of Party spirit essentially means adhering to the correct direction, firmly holding one’s political stance, steadfastly promoting the Party’s theories, lines, principles, and policies, and resolutely maintaining high consistency with the Party Central Committee. Upholding the people’s character means taking the realization, safeguarding, and development of the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as both the starting point and the ultimate goal, establishing a work orientation centered on the people, continuously enriching the spiritual world of the people, enhancing their spiritual strength, and satisfying their spiritual needs. The key to the unity of Party spirit and the people’s character lies in the fact that the Communist Party of China takes serving the people wholeheartedly as its fundamental purpose, has no special interests of its own, embeds Party spirit within the people’s character, and inscribes ideas and wills that conform to and reflect the interests of the overwhelming majority on its banner, ensuring that the Party’s propositions become the strongest voice of our times and continuously transforming these propositions into the common will and conscious actions of the masses. As Comrade Mao Zedong said at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, “What truly belongs to the people must now be led by the proletariat.” To embody the Party’s will is to embody the will of the people; to promote the Party’s propositions is to promote the people’s propositions; and to uphold Party spirit is to uphold the people’s character. In carrying out propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, we must closely integrate upholding Party leadership with respecting the people’s status as the main body. We should adopt methods and approaches that are popular and appealing to specific groups, and propagate the Party’s cultural propositions accordingly. At the same time, we must respect the people’s role as the main body in cultural development, combine serving the people with educating and guiding them, match meeting their needs with improving their cultural literacy, and use the latest theoretical achievements of Marxism adapted to Chinese conditions and the contemporary era to arm the entire Party and educate the people.
Ensure that the Party’s leadership is implemented and reflected in every aspect and every stage of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Strengthening the Party’s leadership over all work is not an empty or abstract requirement; rather, it must be put into practice and reflected in every aspect and every stage.” The Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work is comprehensive, systematic, and holistic, covering all aspects and the entire process of such work—including theoretical discourse, public opinion, culture and arts, internal and external publicity, online and offline media, and more. Once we depart from these concrete domains and real-world platforms, the Party’s cultural leadership risks becoming hollow and weakened, even running the risk of being reduced to mere abstraction and devoid of substance. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized from multiple angles the need to integrate the Party’s leadership throughout all aspects and stages of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. He convened the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work twice, stressing that “to do a good job in propaganda and ideological work, the whole Party must take action”; at the Symposium on Literary and Artistic Work, he noted that “the Party’s leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the development of socialist literature and art”; at the Symposium on the Party’s News and Public Opinion Work, he emphasized that “media sponsored by the Party and the government are the Party and the government’s propaganda front, and they must remain firmly under Party leadership”; at the Symposium on Cybersecurity and Informatization, he called for “wherever the masses are, there our leading cadres must go”; at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences, he pointed out that “strengthening and improving the Party’s leadership over philosophy and social sciences is the fundamental guarantee for the prosperity and development of China’s philosophical and social science endeavors”; and at the National Conference on Ideological and Political Work in Colleges and Universities, he stressed that “we must firmly grasp the Party’s leadership over university work.” It is particularly important to note that as an extremely important task of the Party, ideological work has always been a key element on the propaganda, ideological, and cultural front. Firmly grasping the leadership, management, and discourse power in ideological work is both the fundamental requirement and the concentrated embodiment of strengthening the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. As Marx pointed out, “If we examine ideology from the perspective of ideas alone, the disintegration of a particular ideology can be enough to bring down an entire era.” General Secretary Xi Jinping cautioned all Party members: “In the struggle in the ideological field, we have absolutely no room for compromise or retreat—we must achieve complete victory.” Precisely based on a profound understanding of the crucial role played by ideology in social transformation and development, and in light of the basic characteristics and patterns of ideological risks, our Party has clearly proposed upholding the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological field, building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, consolidating the common ideological foundation for the unity and concerted efforts of all Party members and people of all ethnic groups across the country, and continuously providing powerful spiritual strength for advancing Chinese-style modernization and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Actively respond to the new situation and new tasks in propaganda, ideological, and cultural work by strengthening the foundations and cultivating the roots while getting to the bottom of the issues and clearing away the sources. In his discussions on propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must uphold the unity of constructiveness and criticality, transmit the mainstream ideology, and confront squarely various erroneous views and trends of thought.” Today, the world is undergoing a major shift unseen in a century at an accelerated pace, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical period, during which strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges. To strengthen the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, we must not only seize the fundamental aspect of constructiveness—the transmission of the mainstream ideology—but also vigorously promote the thorough spirit of critique that is intrinsic to Marxism. By simultaneously reinforcing the foundations and purifying the sources, we can proactively address the new situations and new tasks facing propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. Specifically, upholding constructiveness means striving for the organic integration of the “soul’s vein” and the “root’s vein.” The Communist Party of China is both a firm believer in and practitioner of Marxism, as well as a loyal inheritor and promoter of China’s outstanding traditional culture. It possesses a high degree of historical, theoretical, and cultural consciousness. We should firmly uphold cultural confidence, embrace openness and inclusiveness, adhere to upholding the correct principles while promoting innovation, deeply grasp the laws governing the development of Chinese civilization, and draw upon the historical experience of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the times. In this way, Marxism will become truly Chinese, and China’s outstanding traditional culture will become modern. As we forge a new cultural entity, we must assume our important roles as leaders and organizers. Upholding criticality means that, against the backdrop of ever-changing and insidious attempts by Western erroneous ideologies to spread subtly, and amid an international public opinion landscape still characterized by “the West strong, we weak,” the Party’s propaganda, ideological, and cultural work must remain keenly aware of its strategic positions, constantly maintain a fighting spirit and combat readiness, enhance political judgment and political sensitivity, improve our capacity for risk anticipation, response, and handling, and gain strategic initiative. On major issues concerning the future and destiny of the socialist cultural cause with Chinese characteristics, we must remain steadfast and unwavering; when it comes to safeguarding national cultural security and interests, we must dare to take a firm stand; and in the tenacious struggle against and resistance to all kinds of erroneous ideologies, we must courageously draw swords and blaze new trails, continuously opening up new horizons for the Party’s leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work in the new era.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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