Tongfang Academy
Micro-Party Class · Issue 253
Why does our Party need to carry out self-revolution in the new era and on a new journey?
“Theoretical cultivation is the core of the comprehensive qualities of Party members and cadres. Theoretical maturity is the foundation for political maturity, and political steadfastness stems from theoretical clarity.” Currently, the entire Party is conducting a thematic education campaign to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. For Party members and cadres, how to carry forward fine scholarly traditions and strengthen theoretical training is both a fundamental requirement for cultivating Party spirit and an inescapable political responsibility.
Ren.
Tongfang Law Firm provides a learning platform for all its lawyers in the form of micro-party classes.
Enhance the ideological and political awareness as well as the spirit of learning and inquiry among all lawyers, establish a long-term educational mechanism, and build a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping has led the entire Party in advancing comprehensive and strict governance over the Party with unprecedented determination and intensity. He has creatively put forward a series of original, landmark new concepts, new ideas, and new strategies, thereby forming General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution. This important thought enriches and develops the Marxist theory of party building; it represents a profound summation of the Party’s historical experience, especially the fresh experiences gained since the 18th National Congress. It deepens our understanding of the laws governing Marxist party building and the rules of Communist Party governance, providing an action guide for further promoting the great new project of Party building in the new era and opening up a new realm for the self-revolution of this century-old Party. Clarifying the question of why the Party must carry out self-revolution in the new era and on the new journey is of great significance for unswervingly advancing comprehensive and strict governance over the Party and for consistently maintaining the Party’s advanced nature and purity.
Self-revolution is the application and development of Marxist thought on party building. Under the dual contradictions—between productive forces and relations of production, and between economic base and superstructure—human society has always been in a state of dynamic change. Such social evolution and transformation inevitably place demands for self-revolution upon the leading forces driving social development. To adapt to the tide of social progress, keep pace with the times, and steer the direction of social development, Marxist political parties must undergo self-transformation and self-renewal, thereby fulfilling the great mission entrusted to them by history. At the same time, the Communist Party has no special interests of its own—this is precisely dictated by the nature of the Party. However, after gaining执政 status, some individuals have developed impure motives, infiltrating the Party for personal gain and the private interests of small cliques, and using their public authority to pursue selfish ends. Marx and Engels pointed out: “Only through revolution can we cast off all the old, dirty things clinging to us and become capable of undertaking the task of rebuilding society.” Therefore, if Marxist political parties fail to proactively engage in self-purification during their time in power, they will allow stale and corrupt elements to accumulate. Over time, these accumulated ills will become deeply entrenched, causing the Party to lose its leadership and governing capacities and ultimately plunge into the quagmire of historical cyclical patterns.
Self-revolution is determined by the lofty ideals and glorious mission of our Party. Revolutionary ideals soar higher than the heavens; without lofty revolutionary ideals, we would lose our direction forward, forfeit our spiritual pillar, and fall prey to “soft-bone disease.” Even the tallest buildings begin with a single clod of earth. We must consciously become firm believers in and loyal practitioners of the grand ideal of communism and the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. If we fail to build socialism with Chinese characteristics down-to-earth, we will lose the very foundation upon which contemporary Chinese communists rely for their existence and standing, and we will degenerate into mere armchair theorists who indulge in empty rhetoric. To break the old world, build a new one, ultimately achieve human liberation and all-round free development, and realize communism—this is inevitably a long and tortuous historical process. At every stage of this historical journey, hardships, difficulties, failures, and setbacks are bound to occur. This calls upon communists to always maintain unwavering faith and to devote themselves to this great cause with immense courage and a spirit of self-sacrifice. As the boat reaches the middle of the stream, the currents grow fiercer; as people climb halfway up the mountain, the path becomes steeper. On this new journey toward building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation, confronted with profound and complex changes in both domestic and international situations, we must be constantly prepared to engage in a great struggle marked by many new historical features. We must, through self-revolution, eliminate those afflicted with “soft-bone disease”—those who have lost faith in communism and confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics—as well as formalistic “armchair theorists,” and thus consistently uphold the Party’s advanced nature and purity.
Self-revolution is a summation of the Party’s over-a-century-long experience in struggle. The Party’s advanced nature and purity are neither innate nor permanent; rather, they are honed through prolonged revolutionary struggles and refined via continuous self-revolution. To consistently maintain its own advanced nature, the Party must first bravely fight against its own mistakes. Over the course of more than a century of struggle, the Party has upheld truth and corrected errors in its guiding ideology—examples include rectifying Chen Duxiu’s right-leaning opportunist errors following the failure of the Great Revolution, correcting “leftist” impulsive errors and “leftist” adventurist errors during the Land Revolution War, and thoroughly correcting Wang Ming’s “leftist” dogmatism during the Yan’an period, among others. The Party has also courageously addressed prominent problems within the Party, such as ideological impurity, political impurity, organizational impurity, and style impurity—including the Yan’an Rectification Campaign, the Party-wide rectification and “Three Anti” Campaign conducted shortly after the founding of New China, and the comprehensive Party rectifications and a series of focused educational campaigns launched since the reform and opening-up. The Party has resolutely fought against corruption—for instance, by dealing with cases involving Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan shortly after the founding of New China—and since the reform and opening-up, it has consistently placed Party conduct and integrity building, as well as the fight against corruption, at the forefront of its priorities. It has proposed continuously enhancing its ability to resist corruption and prevent corruption, and has worked to establish and improve a comprehensive system for punishing and preventing corruption. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The greatness of our Party does not lie in never making mistakes, but in never shying away from admitting our shortcomings, daring to face problems head-on, and having the courage to carry out self-revolution.”
Self-revolution is a necessity for the Party to continuously remove impurities, strengthen its immune system, and fortify its core strength. As we enter a new era, the Party faces long-term tests of governance, reform and opening-up, market economy, and the external environment. It also confronts four major dangers: spiritual laxity, insufficient capability, detachment from the masses, and negative corruption. Some of these “four tests” and “four dangers” have existed all along, and the Party has long been aware of them and has taken steps to address them. In March 1949, just as the Chinese revolution was about to achieve nationwide victory, when the Party Central Committee left Xibaipo for Beiping, Mao Zedong famously remarked, “Today is the day we’re heading to Beijing to take an exam.” He added, “We must never become like Li Zicheng; we all hope to do well on this exam.” With these words, he warned the entire Party to remain vigilant even in times of peace, to persistently uphold the style of humility, prudence, modesty, and composure, and to keep up the spirit of hard work and struggle. Since then, the Party has repeatedly used the metaphor of “taking an exam” to remind all Party members that we should always remember that we are born out of adversity and perish in comfort, that we must always think ahead and stay alert even in times of stability, constantly overcome our own shortcomings, and enhance our capacity for governance. Since entering the new era, the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party has achieved remarkable results, and the situation of lax and weak Party management has greatly improved. However, there are still many weak links in the Party’s political development, ideological development, organizational development, work style development, disciplinary development, and institutional development. Various factors that weaken the Party’s advanced nature and compromise its purity are ever-present. Dangers that betray the Party’s original aspirations and mission and undermine its very foundations are everywhere, and small problems and minor cracks frequently emerge. These problems do not come from external sources; rather, they originate within the Party itself. If left unresolved for too long, they could lead to catastrophic, systemic, and even subversive consequences. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “As the world’s largest ruling party, no external force can defeat us—only we ourselves can bring about our downfall.” Therefore, the Party must courageously face its own problems, dare to examine itself critically, vigorously promote self-revolution, and strengthen its capacity for long-term governance, its advanced nature, and its purity. Only then can we maintain the vigorous and fresh image of a Marxist ruling party.
Self-revolution is a practical requirement for the Party to achieve its second centenary goal. The comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society and the realization of the first centenary goal have been an arduous and extraordinary journey. Today, we have embarked on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country and marching toward the second centenary goal. The achievement of the first centenary goal has laid a solid material foundation and accumulated rich governance experience for realizing the second centenary goal. However, the second centenary goal is even more ambitious than the first, and the domestic and international environment we face is far more complex. The risks and challenges—both foreseeable and unforeseeable—are now more severe than ever before. To lead the Chinese people to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035 and fully build a great modern socialist country by 2050, the Party faces an extremely tight timeline and an exceptionally heavy task. As the saying goes, “To forge iron, one must be strong oneself.” In such a short historical period and under such daunting circumstances, the Communist Party of China must remain highly vigilant and self-aware, continuously strengthening its own immunity, combat effectiveness, cohesion, and leadership through self-revolution. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Comprehensively and strictly governing the Party is the only path for the Party to maintain its vitality and vigor and to successfully navigate the new ‘exam’ ahead. To do well in China’s affairs, the key lies in the Party itself—and crucially, in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. As long as we vigorously carry forward the great spirit of Party building, stay true to our original aspiration and mission, courageously undertake self-revolution, constantly remove all harmful factors that undermine the Party’s advanced nature and purity, and continually eliminate all pathogens eroding the Party’s healthy body, we will surely ensure that the Party remains unchanged in its essence, color, and flavor.”
Self-revolution is the answer to the epochal question of “What kind of long-term ruling Marxist party should we build, and how should we build it?” After long-term efforts, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, during which both the internal conditions for the Party’s governance and the external environment have undergone profound changes. From an internal perspective: First, compared with the period before the new era, there have been significant shifts in the number, scale, age structure, occupational composition, and growth experiences of Party members; second, under the conditions of the socialist market economy, the resources, means, approaches, and methods available for Party organizations—especially grassroots Party organizations—to play their roles have changed; third, while the Party has accumulated rich experience and enhanced its governance capacity over the long term, negative tendencies such as empiricism, arrogance, and self-satisfaction have also begun to take root. Thus, the fine traditions of remaining vigilant in times of peace, striving hard, being unafraid of sacrifice, and maintaining close ties with the masses still need further inheritance and promotion. From an external perspective, the world is undergoing a major shift unseen in a century, and China’s economic and social development faces an increasingly complex and volatile external environment, with both predictable and unpredictable risks growing ever greater. Against this backdrop, the question of “What kind of long-term ruling Marxist party should we build, and how should we build it?” has become the defining question of our times posed to the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution provides a scientific answer to this question of our times.
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on the Party’s self-revolution is a manifestation of the political consciousness of Chinese Communists. It represents both an inheritance and an advancement of Marxist thought on Party building, a summation of the Party’s historical experiences, and a response to the challenges faced in the practice of comprehensively enforcing strict Party governance. It is an essential component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, embodying the confidence and courage of contemporary Chinese Communists and charting the course for building a Marxist political party that can maintain long-term governance.
Source | People's Daily Online, Official Website for Party History Study and Education
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 254: Educating and Guiding Party Members and Cadres to Learn, Understand, Clarify, and Uphold Discipline
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Tongfang Academy Micro-Party Class, Issue 252: Firmly Establish the Correct View of Power, Performance, and Career
