A source of strength: the inspiration and touchstone for founding, growing, and strengthening the Party
There is a famous myth from ancient Greece about a giant named Antaeus who drew strength from his mother earth, and was invincible while he was in contact with her. If he lost contact with her, however, he would immediately lose his power.
As the saying goes, a tree that towers into the sky must have roots. The relationship between the Party and the people is the same as that between Antaeus and mother earth; they cannot become separate from each other, even for a moment. Xi Jinping has explained, “The people are the skies above us and the earth below us. If we forget the people and become distanced from them, we will lose their support, like a river with no headwater or a tree with no roots, and achieve nothing.”
The people are the true heroes, for it is they who create history. Marxism holds that social history is composed of the actions of people following their own objectives, and that in this type of action, the people are never a negative or passive element, but rather play the main role. In The Holy Family, Marx and Engels wrote, “Together with the thoroughness of the historical action, the size of the mass whose action it is will therefore increase.” The magnificent history of the Chinese nation’s development was written by the Chinese people; China’s expansive and profound culture was created by the Chinese people; the unfading spirit of the Chinese nation was fostered by the Chinese people; and the Chinese nation’s tremendous leap from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong was made possible through the struggle of the Chinese people.
To quote Huang Zongxi, a scholar who lived between the Ming and Qing dynasties, “The order and disorder of the world does not correspond to the rise and fall of a dynasty under a certain family. It depends on whether the people are content with life.” The future of a political party or government ultimately rests on public support. The people represent the deepest foundation and the greatest source of confidence for our Party in governing the country. Our Party and people stand together through thick and thin while always maintaining the closest of ties; this is the fundamental guarantee for the Party in triumphing over all risks and challenges. The CPC draws strength from the support of the people. Though there are now over 95 million Party members, this is still a minority among the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. Without the support of the people, the grand goals of the CPC will never come to fruition. It is imperative that the Party relies closely on the people to bring about great and historic achievements. Speaking at a meeting to kick off a campaign promoting the study of Party history, Xi Jinping said, “The inspiration and touchstone for founding, growing, and strengthening the Party can be summed up as follows: the CPC is born of the people, invigorated by the people, stands with the people, and fights for the interests of the people.”
As an old Chinese saying goes, “Those who win the people’s hearts win the country, and those who lose the people’s hearts lose the country.” In the historical process from revolution, to reconstruction, to reform, it is precisely by relying closely on the people that the CPC has grown from small to big and from weak to strong, overcome?one obstacle after another and achieved victory after victory, developing?from a party that at first had just over 50 members into the world’s largest governing Party with tremendous global influence. After the failure of the Great Revolution, most of the more than 300,000 revolutionaries who laid down their lives were ordinary people following the Party on the path of revolution; during the Red Army period, the people served as the impregnable fortress of the Party and the people’s armed forces; during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our Party mobilized the people?and overwhelmed the aggressors with a people’s war; the Huai-Hai Campaign was won with the help of?ordinary people pushing wheelbarrows?sending supplies for the People’s Liberation Army, while the Yangtze River Crossing campaign was won by ordinary people steering boats; the success of socialist revolution and reconstruction was achieved through the people’s efforts; and millions upon millions of ordinary people played the starring role in the saga of reform and opening up. Xi Jinping has said, “If you open your heart to the people, the people will open their hearts to you.” The survival of the Party depends on the backing of the people. By earning the people’s trust and gaining their support, the Party can overcome any challenge and prevail in all endeavors.
The ancients used to say, “The person that knows a leaking roof is the one who is under that roof; the person that knows an error of the imperial court is one who is not in power.” In July 1945, Huang Yanpei visited Yan’an, where he spoke about the historical cycle of rapid rise and sudden demise. He expressed the hope that the CPC would find a new path and escape this cycle. Mao Zedong replied, “We have already found a new path; we can escape from this cycle. This new path is democracy. The only way for the government not to become complacent is for the people to oversee the government. If everyone takes responsibility, the political power we build can survive past our generation.” This is the famous “cave dialogue” to which Xi Jinping frequently refers. He?has said, “The times pose the test, we take the test, and the people mark the test.” Ours is a party that represents the fundamental interests of the broadest possible majority of the people, and therefore our aptitude and efficacy in governance is not something we can decide ourselves. It is the people who deliver the highest ruling and ultimate verdict on our Party’s work. In the end, it is up to the people to judge whether we are following the right values, whether we have chosen the right path, whether our service is solid, and whether the results we deliver are good. This judgment is weighed against the people’s level of satisfaction, based upon their sense of fulfillment, and determines whether or not they offer their support.
Mao Zedong said, “What is a true bastion of iron? It is the people, the millions upon millions of people who genuinely and sincerely support the revolution. That is the real iron bastion which no force can smash, no force whatsoever.” As long as we always stand firmly on the side of the people, uphold the principle status of the people, and win the wholehearted support of the vast majority of the people, we will be able to build such a “bastion of iron.” ??
