Reflections on the Communist Party of China’s Centenary
Illustration by Tings Chak
On the occasion of the 100 year anniversary of the Communist Party of China’s founding, we share comments solicited from our Weibo followers reflecting on the historic juncture.
The centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China marks a historic juncture for the Chinese nation and its pursuit of a modern socialist society. 100 years since its founding, the CPC counts more than 90 million members and is embedded in every layer of Chinese social and political life—including a party branch in space—realizing Mao Zedong’s pronouncement that “communists are like seeds and the people are like the soil. Wherever we go, we must unite with the people, take root and blossom among them.”
Yet this milestone comes at a time when Western powers are attempting to divide China’s people and its government, preaching “solidarity” with the Chinese people while advancing geopolitical aggression on the CPC and its program of socialist construction. This rhetoric undermines the deep linkages between a party oriented “from the masses, to the masses” and Chinese people of all walks of life who have channeled their efforts towards common pursuit of China’s development as an anti-imperialist, socialist nation. A solipsistic inheritance of the colonial “white man’s burden,” Western liberalism renders the Chinese people an inert, passive force awaiting Western “liberation” from an authoritarian regime, rather than an agent of history and the constitutive force of the party’s coordinated pursuit of a Chinese dream. Unsurprisingly, Western media has used the occasion of the party’s centenary to hammer this narrative home, opining on the party’s “iron grip” and “legacy of subjugation” and depicting national festivities and President Xi Jinping’s commemorative remarks as a “pugnacious” display of authoritarian excess.
In this ideological context, we solicited comments from our Weibo followers, asking them what they might share with our (largely Western) readership on the occasion of the CPC’s centenary. These excerpted comments, brief and assorted as they are, provide a small window into the conversations, family stories, and aspirations circulating amongst Chinese people from all walks of life at this historic juncture.
All comments have been anonymized and translated into English from the original Chinese.
“To the U.S.—
China has a long and complicated history. In the modern era, with the nation’s survival on the line, we have tried all sorts of approaches to governance. But in the end, only the Communist Party has brought us prosperity and independence. During peaceful times, the Communist Party has changed and evolved, reaching a level unimaginable by the West. Today, trying to prove the feasibility of capitalism or other alternative ideologies is meaningless, for the forebears of China have proven with their own lives the futility of such choices.”
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“Despite the West’s numerous slanders, I always believed in our party and look forward to its success. Because of the situation our country is in, this is our best choice. I have also always stood with my country and party, and look to a brighter, better future.”
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“I originally planned to talk about how my family forebears fought bandits in Guangxi, but as Zhang Fuqing came to my mind, I realized that they were only performing a normal task assigned by our party.”
Editor’s note: Zhang Fuqing was a veteran of the war of liberation (Chinese Civil War) who was awarded the Medal of the Republic, China’s highest order of honor, for his service. He kept his award hidden from his family and village for 70 years until it was discovered during a local governmental survey of military veterans. Zhang’s story captured the public imagination and became a national story, and Zhang was commended as a model for all by President Xi Jinping.
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“In the early 90s, while I lived next to Shanghai’s West Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s busiest commercial street, I saw a BMW drive by. “Wow, so that’s a luxury BMW,” said the Shanghainese aunties and uncles, eying the car enviously. 30 years have passed, and yesterday I checked out a BMW 4S, finding the price reasonable. The scene of the BMW driving past West Nanjing Road appeared vividly in my mind.”
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“CPC members did not fear death when rushing to the front lines during the pandemic. During a flood, they do not fear death when diving into rushing waters during rescue missions. After an earthquake, they run to the epicenter and rescue those trapped. During war, they are the first in line to fight. Joining the party itself is an extremely difficult process. It means accepting sacrifice and preparing to give up one’s own life for the people and the nation. Western democracies have no such political parties.”
“Joining the party…means accepting sacrifice and preparing to give up one’s own life for the people and the nation. Western democracies have no such political parties.”
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“The CPC took 28 years to wrestle political power, then 30 years to establish the foundations of industrialization, experiencing numerous twists and turns in experimentation before finally. After 40 more years, the CPC has soared, setting an incomparably high bar.”
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“Because this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the CPC, this year we’ve seen a flurry of content surrounding the Party’s history in China’s domestic film and television media. TV shows that discuss revolutionary history, such as Awakening Age and Glory and Dreams have received wide acclaim. Additionally, I expect that the Museum of the Communist Party, which just opened this past June in Beijing, will help everyone better understand the history of the CPC.
The next 100 years will be less involuted, and the people will have greater choice. Recently China is increasingly focusing its attention on vocational education, which if successfully developed, may really alleviate involution. In my opinion, vocational education is but one step in expanding educational resources. Increasing the status of newly-employed vocational school graduates should also be on the agenda.
For the people abroad, I hope that they understand the CPC’s dedication towards economic development, poverty elimination, and especially foreign aid given to fight the pandemic. We believe that “true prosperity is when everyone is prosperous.” Additionally, we would like to introduce the struggle of our revolutionary icons throughout the course of the Party’s history to the foreign public, just like how we learn the struggles of their own.”
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“From the people, strength in the people, serving the people!”
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“What does the Party’s centenary meant to me?
One hundred years of the great party, the party of humble, arduous origins. To be able to accomplish what it has today, the Party has gone through a lot, and the people have gone through a lot. Although I’m a member of neither the Party nor any offshoot organization, I believe a party that always centers the will of the people and undergoes ceaseless self criticism has the power and ability to lead the people in their pursuit of a prosperous life. As an ordinary person, I myself am not that capable, nor am I particularly ambitious. But I know that one needs a country to have a home, and only when governance is stable are ordinary people able to live happily. To me, the Party’s centenary is a turning point, reminding me that it is enough just to take every step mindfully, and to live a resolute, steadfast life. I congratulate the party on remaining true to its original aspirations, sticking to its mission, and giving the Chinese people two one hundred-year goals of struggle [to achieve a moderately prosperous society by 2021 and become a developed socialist nation by 2049]. For these goals, I hope that in my work, I can contribute as well.
I believe a party that always centers the will of the people and undergoes ceaseless self criticism has the power and ability to lead the people in their pursuit of a prosperous life.
What do I hope for the next 100 years of the Party?
I hope that the Party can strengthen its internal governance, and properly manage and control the two-faced, fence sitters, the black-hearted, and the fake leftist within the party. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, grasp the Party’s ideology firmly.
Share a family story about the Party from any historical period
Actually, as someone from a family that is both religious and that has had historical connections to the KMT, my family doesn’t really bring up the idea of joining the party. However, during every family reunion, the older generations will express their gratitude for the ever-improving lives. My grandmother was born during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (WWII, Second Sino-Japanese War) and lived through the Defense of Hengyang [longest defense of a single city of the entire Second Sino-Japanese War]. She later married my grandfather, a soldier, and ended up in a small remote city in China’s interior during the Third Front [The Third Front Movement was a massive industrial development by China in its interior starting in 1964]. However, she never saw herself as having lived a bad life, only that people must live; that life is good so long as each day is better than the last. If the country is good, then the government is good, then life is good. During the early days of the pandemic, my entire family was in Hubei, and my mother was stuck in Wuhan. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, my grandmother cried in despair. But upon seeing the People’s Liberation Army enter Wuhan and the entire country rallying behind Hubei, my grandmother grabbed my hand and said, “the central government has come, the People’s Liberation Army has come, so I can relax.” Later on I served as a volunteer fighting the pandemic, and my father worked hard to donate supplies to hospitals. As a family, we fought and beat the pandemic in peace.
“As an ordinary person living in a socialist country, I don’t expect you to support how our Party, our country, or our people go about their business. But much like how you revere liberal democracy, our party and country respect and protect each citizen’s legal right to be free from harm.”
What would you like to tell Americans about the communist party?
Frankly, sometimes, people in the same family don’t understand or support one another, so never mind reconciling the opposing ideologies of capitalism and socialism. As an ordinary person living in a socialist country, I don’t expect you to support how our Party, our country, or our people go about their business. But much like how you revere liberal democracy, our party and country respect and protect each citizen’s legal right to be free from harm. We also believe in supporting a healthy economy. China has a huge population, and we live in complex circumstances. Very few matters can be illustrated truthfully with just a few pictures and sentences. If you want to criticize a party or a country, please do so with respect, and try to at least understand first before expressing your views. This way, we will accept your critique, continue to improve, and become better versions of ourselves. As an ordinary person, I think that the political system and political party that brings the most people a happy, prosperous life is the most suitable for this country, is it not?”
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