Wei Jingsheng (Activist, writer) Li Yizhe (Pen name)
118-489: Chinese Communist Party Deng Xiaoping Hong Kong (pro-democracy) Hong Kong (centrist) Hong Kong (pro-ROC) Hong Kong (localist) Macau Republic of China (Taiwan) (groups of pro-Chinese identity) Hong Kong (pro-democracy) Hong Kong (pro-ROC) Hong Kong (localist) Republic of China (Taiwan) (groups of pro-Chinese identity) Current Former From November 1978 to December 1979, thousands of people put up " big character posters " on
236-507: A wide range of serious social problems . To address these, Hu introduced two main ideological concepts: the " Scientific Outlook on Development " and " Harmonious Society ". Hu resigned from his post as CCP general secretary and Chairman of the CMC at the 18th National Congress held in 2012, and was succeeded in both posts by Xi Jinping. Since taking power, Xi has initiated a wide-reaching anti-corruption campaign , while centralizing powers in
354-566: A city controlled by communist militias. Although the communists welcomed Chiang's arrival, he turned on them, massacring 5,000 with the aid of the Green Gang . Chiang's army then marched on Wuhan but was prevented from taking the city by CCP General Ye Ting and his troops. Chiang's allies also attacked communists; for example, in Beijing, Li Dazhao and 19 other leading communists were executed by Zhang Zuolin . Angered by these events,
472-708: A letter penned to the Human Rights Council supporting the policies as an effort to combat terrorism in the region. Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the CCP's founding , one of the Two Centenaries , took place on 1 July 2021. In the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee in November 2021, CCP adopted a resolution on the Party's history , which for the first time credited Xi as being
590-621: A limited counteroffensive by the CCP. The objective was clearing "Central China, strengthening North China, and recovering Northeast China." This operation, coupled with military desertions from the KMT, resulted in the KMT losing 2 million of its 3 million troops by the spring of 1948, and saw a significant decline in support for KMT rule. The CCP was consequently able to cut off KMT garrisons in Manchuria and retake several territories. The last stage, lasting from September 1948 to December 1949, saw
708-585: A long brick wall of Xidan Street, Xicheng District of Beijing , to protest about the political and social issues of China ; the wall became known as the Democracy Wall ( Chinese : 西单民主墙 ; pinyin : Xīdān mínzhǔ qiáng ). Under acquiescence of the Chinese government, other kinds of protest activities, such as unofficial journals, petitions , and demonstrations, were also soon spreading out in major cities of China. This movement can be seen as
826-579: A minority. Thus, demands for "democracy" were frequent but without an agreed-upon meaning. Participants in the movement variously associated the concept of democracy with socialism, communism, liberal democracy, capitalism, and Christianity. They drew on a diverse range of intellectual resources "ranging from classical Marxist and socialist traditions to Enlightenment philosophers, [socialist] experiments in Yugoslavia, and Western liberal democracy." Unofficial "people's journals" published by activists were
944-463: A miracle. Western capitalism has suffered reversals, a financial crisis, a credit crisis, a crisis of confidence, and their self-conviction has wavered. Western countries have begun to reflect, and openly or secretively compare themselves against China's politics, economy and path." — Xi Jinping , on the inevitability of socialism The CCP views the world as organized into two opposing camps; socialist and capitalist. They insist that socialism, on
1062-683: A party journal, Theoretical Trends to publish the article "Pragmatism is the Only Standard in Measuring Truth" on May 10, 1978, which marked the key difference between Deng and Hua. This article was re-published in Guangming Daily , People's Daily , and People's Liberation Army Daily and soon caused a huge discussion movement in China, which was called The Discussion on Criteria of Truth . The Democracy Wall movement framed
1180-568: A policy of economic liberalization . The official explanation for these reforms was that China was still in the primary stage of socialism , a developmental stage similar to the capitalist mode of production . Since the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the CCP has focused on maintaining its relations with the ruling parties of the remaining socialist states and continues to participate in
1298-557: A public march to Tiananmen Square. Over 10,000 participants demanded democracy and human rights for China. This date marks the beginning of the Democracy Wall. Until this period, most of the big character posters were criticizing the Gang of Four, Mao Zedong, and Hua Guofeng, rather than Deng Xiaoping. So, Deng was still supporting the Democracy Wall movement, during this time, as he remarked to several leaders. On November 26, he told
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#17327874406141416-531: A series of five-year plans , and eventually split with the Soviet Union . Although Mao attempted to purge the party of capitalist and reactionary elements during the Cultural Revolution , after his death, these policies were only briefly continued by the Gang of Four before a less radical faction seized control. During the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping directed the CCP away from Maoist orthodoxy and towards
1534-614: A wall in Guangdong Province . The 67 pages of the paper focused on: (1) Damage to the citizens caused by bureaucratic corruptions of the Chinese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution; and (2) the need to practice democracy and a legal system in China. This big character poster proved that people started to re-evaluate the Cultural Revolution and political system of China. The core of
1652-456: Is Xi Jinping , who was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee held on 15 November 2012 and has been reelected twice, on 25 October 2017 by the 19th Central Committee and on 10 October 2022 by the 20th Central Committee . The October Revolution and Marxist theory inspired the founding of the CCP. Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao were among the first to publicly support Leninism and world revolution . Both regarded
1770-742: Is "under the party's absolute, direct, comprehensive leadership". The membership of the CMC is appointed by the Central Committee . The CMC is responsible to the Party's Politburo and the Secretariat . Its main priority is to supervise party affairs within the VPA, from the very bottom to the top, which is represented by the General Political Department . The Commission publishes the People's Army Newspaper together with
1888-409: Is a largely separate group of professionalized military officers, serving under top CCP leadership largely through formal relationships within institutional channels. The CCP ratified Jiang's Three Represents concept for the 2003 revision of the party's constitution, as a "guiding ideology" to encourage the party to represent "advanced productive forces, the progressive course of China's culture, and
2006-415: Is considerable optimism within the CCP that despite the current capitalist dominance of globalization, globalization can be turned into a vehicle supporting socialism. While foreign analysts generally agree that the CCP has rejected orthodox Marxism–Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought (or at least basic thoughts within orthodox thinking), the CCP itself disagrees. Critics of the CCP argue that Jiang Zemin ended
2124-466: Is identified with a distinct extension of the ideology of the party. Historians have studied various periods in the development of the government of the People's Republic of China by reference to these "generations". Marxism–Leninism was the first official ideology of the CCP. According to the CCP, "Marxism–Leninism reveals the universal laws governing the development of history of human society ." To
2242-415: Is planning under capitalism; the market economy happens under socialism, too. Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity". Jiang Zemin supported Deng's thinking, and stated in a party gathering that it did not matter if a certain mechanism was capitalist or socialist, because the only thing that mattered was whether it worked. It was at this gathering that Jiang Zemin introduced
2360-525: Is the early or first stage of communism." Some have dismissed the concept of a primary stage of socialism as intellectual cynicism. For example, Robert Lawrence Kuhn , a former foreign adviser to the Chinese government, stated: "When I first heard this rationale, I thought it more comic than clever—a wry caricature of hack propagandists leaked by intellectual cynics. But the 100-year horizon comes from serious political theorists." American political scientist and sinologist David Shambaugh argues that before
2478-401: Is why we talk about a 'socialist market economy' with Chinese characteristics." The attainment of true "communism" is still described as the CCP's and China's "ultimate goal". While the CCP claims that China is in the primary stage of socialism , party theorists argue that the current development stage "looks a lot like capitalism". Alternatively, certain party theorists argue that "capitalism
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#17327874406142596-511: The 16th Central Committee conceived and formulated the ideology of the Scientific Outlook on Development (SOD). It is considered to be Hu Jintao's contribution to the official ideological discourse. The SOD incorporates scientific socialism , sustainable development , social welfare , a humanistic society, increased democracy, and, ultimately, the creation of a Socialist Harmonious Society . According to official statements by
2714-519: The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre . The protests having been crushed and the reformist party general secretary Zhao Ziyang under house arrest, Deng's economic policies resumed and by the early 1990s the concept of a socialist market economy had been introduced. In 1997, Deng's beliefs (officially called " Deng Xiaoping Theory ") were embedded into the CCP's constitution . CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin succeeded Deng as paramount leader in
2832-567: The Central People's Government . From this time through the 1980s, top leaders of the CCP (such as Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping) were largely the same military leaders prior to the PRC's founding. As a result, informal personal ties between political and military leaders dominated civil-military relations. Stalin proposed a one-party constitution when Liu Shaoqi visited
2950-615: The Chinese Communist Party . But, in 1969, after using students in restoring the social order, Mao launched the " Down to the Countryside Movement " to exile the student "Red Guards" to rural areas. This movement caused a lot of red guards to feel purposely abandoned by Mao. In 1971, Lin Biao's attempted coup and death deeply shook the collective peoples' faith on Mao and the Cultural Revolution's ideology. On November 19, 1974, Li Yizhe 's paper appeared on
3068-638: The Communist Party of China ( CPC ), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong , the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang . In 1949, Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China . Since then, the CCP has governed China and has had sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Successive leaders of
3186-563: The Great Chinese Famine , which resulted in an estimated 15 to 45 million deaths, making it the largest famine in recorded history. During the 1960s and 1970s, the CCP experienced a significant ideological separation from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which was going through a period of " de-Stalinization " under Nikita Khrushchev . By that time, Mao had begun saying that the "continued revolution under
3304-661: The International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties each year. The CCP has also established relations with several non-communist parties, including dominant nationalist parties of many developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as social democratic parties in Europe. The Chinese Communist Party is organized based on democratic centralism , a principle that entails open policy discussion on
3422-487: The Jinggang Mountains of Jiangxi . The near destruction of the CCP's urban organizational apparatus led to institutional changes within the party. The party adopted democratic centralism , a way to organize revolutionary parties, and established a politburo to function as the standing committee of the central committee. The result was increased centralization of power within the party. At every level of
3540-441: The dictatorship of the proletariat " stipulated that class enemies continued to exist even though the socialist revolution seemed to be complete, leading to the Cultural Revolution in which millions were persecuted and killed. During the Cultural Revolution, party leaders such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping , Peng Dehuai , and He Long were purged or exiled, and the Gang of Four , led by Mao's wife Jiang Qing , emerged to fill in
3658-660: The " Practice Is the Sole Criterion for the Truth " campaign, the relationship between ideology and decision making was a deductive one, meaning that policy-making was derived from ideological knowledge. However, under Deng's leadership this relationship was turned upside down, with decision making justifying ideology. Chinese policy-makers have described the Soviet Union's state ideology as "rigid, unimaginative, ossified, and disconnected from reality", believing that this
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3776-475: The " Two Whatevers " policy. The new ideology, however, was contested on both sides of the spectrum, by Maoists to the left of the CCP's leadership, as well as by those supporting political liberalization. In 1981, the Party adopted a historical resolution , which assessed the historical legacy of the Mao Zedong era and the future priorities of the CCP. With other social factors, the conflicts culminated in
3894-476: The " Two Whatevers ". Hua claimed that they would honor Mao's policy and his instruction to the full extent. On the other hand, on July 21, 1977, during the 3rd Plenary Session of the CCP's 10th Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping resumed his positions as Prime Minister of the State Council and Vice-Chairman of the CCP. After Deng came back to work, he started to fix some political decisions of Mao's era. During
4012-522: The "main innovator" of Xi Jinping Thought while also declaring Xi's leadership as being "the key to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation ". In comparison with the other historical resolutions, Xi's one did not herald a major change in how the CCP evaluated its history. On 6 July 2021, Xi chaired the Communist Party of China and World Political Parties Summit , which involved representatives from 500 political parties across 160 countries. Xi urged
4130-433: The 1990s and continued most of his policies. In the 1990s, the CCP transformed from a veteran revolutionary leadership that was both leading militarily and politically, to a political elite increasingly renewed according to institutionalized norms in the civil bureaucracy. Leadership was largely selected based on rules and norms on promotion and retirement, educational background, and managerial and technical expertise. There
4248-475: The 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee , when it was amended to "let market forces play a decisive role in resource allocation ." Despite this, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee upheld the creed "Maintain the dominance of the public sector and strengthen the economic vitality of the state-owned economy." "... their theory that capitalism is the ultimate [force] has been shaken, and socialist development has experienced
4366-475: The CCP constitution in 2017. Xi's term as general secretary was renewed in 2022. Since 2014, the CCP has led efforts in Xinjiang that involve the detention of more than 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in internment camps , as well as other repressive measures . This has been described as a genocide by some academics and some governments. On the other hand, a greater number of countries signed
4484-470: The CCP criticized the Three Represents as being un-Marxist and a betrayal of basic Marxist values. Supporters viewed it as a further development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Jiang disagreed, and had concluded that attaining the communist mode of production, as formulated by earlier communists, was more complex than had been realized, and that it was useless to try to force a change in
4602-553: The CCP emerged triumphant in the communist revolution against the Nationalist government . After the KMT's retreat to Taiwan , the CCP established the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949. Mao Zedong continued to be the most influential member of the CCP until his death in 1976 , although he periodically withdrew from public leadership as his health deteriorated. Under Mao, the party completed its land reform program, launched
4720-454: The CCP had tactically withdrawn from the cities, and instead undermined KMT rule there by instigating protests among students and intellectuals. The KMT responded to these demonstrations with heavy-handed repression. In the meantime, the KMT was struggling with factional infighting and Chiang Kai-shek's autocratic control over the party, which weakened its ability to respond to attacks. The third stage, lasting from July 1947 to August 1948, saw
4838-408: The CCP have added their own theories to the party's constitution , which outlines the party's ideology , collectively referred to as socialism with Chinese characteristics . As of 2024 , the CCP has more than 99 million members, making it the second largest political party by membership in the world after India 's Bharatiya Janata Party . In 1921, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao led the founding of
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4956-686: The CCP with the help of the Far Eastern Bureau of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Far Eastern Bureau of the Communist International . For the first six years, the CCP aligned itself with the Kuomintang (KMT) as the organized left wing of the larger nationalist movement. However, when the right wing of the KMT, led by Chiang Kai-shek , turned on the CCP and massacred tens of thousands of
5074-401: The CCP would eventually control the KMT and called their opponents "rightists". KMT leader Sun Yat-sen eased the conflict between the communists and their opponents. CCP membership grew tremendously after the 4th congress in 1925, from 900 to 2,428. The CCP still treats Sun Yat-sen as one of the founders of their movement and claim descent from him as he is viewed as a proto-communist and
5192-476: The CCP, Marxism–Leninism provides a "vision of the contradictions in capitalist society and of the inevitability of a future socialist and communist societies". According to the People's Daily , Mao Zedong Thought "is Marxism–Leninism applied and developed in China". Mao Zedong Thought was conceived not only by Mao Zedong, but by leading party officials, according to Xinhua News Agency . Deng Xiaoping Theory
5310-502: The CCP, the concept integrates "Marxism with the reality of contemporary China and with the underlying features of our times, and it fully embodies the Marxist worldview on and methodology for development." Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly known as Xi Jinping Thought, was added to the party constitution in the 19th National Congress in 2017. The theory's main elements are summarized in
5428-577: The CCP. The concept has its origins back to Lenin and the Russian Bolshevik Party. At the level of the central party leadership this means that, for instance, all members of the Politburo Standing Committee are of equal standing (each member having only one vote). A member of the Politburo Standing Committee often represents a sector; during Mao's reign, he controlled the People's Liberation Army, Kang Sheng ,
5546-535: The Chinese people. This report was reproduced in the CCP's internal journal, Reference Information . On October 1, 1978, the words "to liberate thought, to provide the best service to the people are the duties of CCP members", a theme for the CCP Party, was posted on the Xidan Wall in Beijing by civilians. Since then, people were allowed to post their opinions and free-style literature on street walls throughout
5664-671: The Democracy Movement was composed of former Red Guards . Premier Zhou Enlai , a widely respected senior CCP leader, died on January 8, 1976. On April 5, at the Qingming Festival , thousands of Beijing's residents gathered in Tiananmen Square . They wrote poems and put up big character posters in Tiananmen Square to mourn for Zhou and express their anger towards the impious Gang of Four and
5782-601: The Japanese delegates of the Democratic Socialist Party that, according to the Constitution, the Democracy Wall activities were legal. However, he noted that some party comrades did not want to criticize Mao, and he agreed. Deng's attitude caused more and more people gathering in Democracy Wall and put up poster to express their opinions and support Deng. However, besides the pro-Deng group, there
5900-450: The Japanese invaders. While the front formally existed until 1945, all collaboration between the two parties had effectively ended by 1940. Despite their formal alliance, the CCP used the opportunity to expand and carve out independent bases of operations to prepare for the coming war with the KMT. In 1939, the KMT began to restrict CCP expansion within China. This led to frequent clashes between CCP and KMT forces which subsided rapidly on
6018-524: The Japanese surrendered) to June 1946 (when the peace talks between the CCP and the KMT ended). By 1945, the KMT had three times more soldiers under its command than the CCP and initially appeared to be prevailing. With the cooperation of the US and Japan, the KMT was able to retake major parts of the country. However, KMT rule over the reconquered territories proved unpopular because of its endemic political corruption . Notwithstanding its numerical superiority,
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#17327874406146136-399: The KMT failed to reconquer the rural territories which made up the CCP's stronghold. Around the same time, the CCP launched an invasion of Manchuria , where they were assisted by the Soviet Union. The second stage, lasting from July 1946 to June 1947, saw the KMT extend its control over major cities such as Yan'an , the CCP headquarters, for much of the war. The KMT's successes were hollow;
6254-464: The KMT led to the reorganization of the Red Army, with power now centralized in the leadership through the creation of CCP political departments charged with supervising the army. The Xi'an Incident of December 1936 paused the conflict between the CCP and the KMT. Under pressure from Marshal Zhang Xueliang and the CCP, Chiang Kai-shek finally agreed to a Second United Front focused on repelling
6372-558: The KMT, while Chen Duxiu hoped that the communists would completely withdraw from the KMT. In April 1927, both Chiang and the CCP were preparing for conflict. Fresh from the success of the Northern Expedition to overthrow the warlords, Chiang Kai-shek turned on the communists, who by now numbered in the tens of thousands across China. Ignoring the orders of the Wuhan-based KMT government, he marched on Shanghai,
6490-585: The Movement had shown that the bourgeois revolution against imperialism and China had developed to a new stage, but that the proletariat would lead the revolution's completion. The May Fourth Movement led to the establishment of radical intellectuals who went on to mobilize peasants and workers into the CCP and gain the organizational strength that would solidify the success of the Chinese Communist Revolution . Chen and Li were among
6608-597: The October Revolution in Russia as groundbreaking, believing it to herald a new era for oppressed countries everywhere. Some historical analysis views the May Fourth Movement as the beginning of the revolutionary struggle that led to the founding of the People's Republic of China . Following the movement, trends towards social transformation increased. Writing in 1939, Mao Zedong stated that
6726-506: The Soviet Union in 1952. The constitution of the PRC in 1954 subsequently abolished the previous coalition government and established the CCP's one-party system. In 1957, the CCP launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign against political dissidents and prominent figures from minor parties, which resulted in the political persecution of at least 550,000 people. The campaign significantly damaged the limited pluralistic nature in
6844-534: The State Council and the Vice-Chairman of the CCP. The committee adopted both proposals. After Mao Zedong's death occurred on September 9, 1976, with Hua Guofeng as Mao's successor, he felt threatened by the politically domineering Gang of Four. On October 6, under the support of Ye Jianying , Li Xiannian , and other members of the Politburo, Hua Guofeng arrested the Gang of Four. On the following day, Hua
6962-505: The Western world is "threatening to divide us" and that "the international culture of the West is strong while we are weak ... Ideological and cultural fields are our main targets". As such, the CCP puts a great deal of effort into the party schools and into crafting its ideological message. Collective leadership, the idea that decisions will be taken through consensus, has been the ideal in
7080-741: The Wuhan KMT government, but on 15 July 1927 the Wuhan government expelled all communists from the KMT. The CCP reacted by founding the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of China , better known as the "Red Army", to battle the KMT. A battalion led by General Zhu De was ordered to take the city of Nanchang on 1 August 1927 in what became known as the Nanchang uprising . Initially successful, Zhu and his troops were forced to retreat after five days, marching south to Shantou , and from there being driven into
7198-440: The basic constitutional rights: freedom of speech and freedom of the press without retaliation. These freedoms were never realized. On January 28, the members of seven unofficial journals in Beijing organized a joint conference to counter the criticism against their literature on Democracy Wall. These members then met weekly to discuss recent public issues. However, this was still a very loose organization and their opinions varied to
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#17327874406147316-446: The basis of historical materialism , will eventually triumph over capitalism. In recent years, when the party has been asked to explain the capitalist globalization occurring, the party has returned to the writings of Karl Marx . Despite admitting that globalization developed through the capitalist system, the party's leaders and theorists argue that globalization is not intrinsically capitalist. The reason being that if globalization
7434-575: The beginning of 1921, among them Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and Mao Zedong, the CCP organization and authorities grew tremendously. While it was originally held in a house in the Shanghai French Concession , French police interrupted the meeting on 30 July and the congress was moved to a tourist boat on South Lake in Jiaxing , Zhejiang province. A dozen delegates attended the congress, with neither Li nor Chen being able to attend,
7552-507: The beginning of the Chinese Democracy Movement . It is also known as the " Democracy Wall Movement ". This short period of political liberation was known as the " Beijing Spring ". In 1966, when Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution , millions of middle school, high school, and college students answered Mao's call, being organized as the " Red Guards " to rebel and root out the " capitalist roaders " from within
7670-469: The cause of the poor living conditions of the people; and (2) the political system of Yugoslavia would be a good model for bringing economic wellbeing to the people. Besides the big character posters, that talk about the democracy, freedom, and human rights, there were also many posters written by petitioners detailing the suffering and persecution endured during the Cultural Revolution and bureaucratic corruption of local officials. They put up their posters on
7788-439: The changing situation dynamically; to know if a certain policy is obsolete or not, the party had to " seek truth from facts " and follow the slogan "practice is the sole criterion for the truth". At the 14th National Congress, Jiang reiterated Deng's mantra that it was unnecessary to ask if something was socialist or capitalist, since the important factor was whether it worked. The "Three Represents", Jiang Zemin's contribution to
7906-413: The collective leadership". Academics have noted a decline in collective leadership under Xi Jinping. "[Democratic centralism] is centralized on the basis of democracy and democratic under centralized guidance. This is the only system that can give full expression to democracy with full powers vested in the people's congresses at all levels and, at the same time, guarantee centralized administration with
8024-577: The communists go on the offensive and the collapse of KMT rule in mainland China as a whole. Mao's proclamation of the founding of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949 marked the end of the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (or the Chinese Communist Revolution , as it is called by the CCP). Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) before a massive crowd at Tiananmen Square on 1 October 1949. The CCP headed
8142-602: The condition of unity among party members in upholding the agreed-upon decision. The highest body of the CCP is the National Congress , convened every fifth year. When the National Congress is not in session, the Central Committee is the highest body, but since that body usually only meets once a year, most duties and responsibilities are vested in the Politburo and its Standing Committee . Members of
8260-581: The constitution. ("Four Freedoms" or "Four Big" was a political slogan during the Cultural Revolution, which means people have the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of debate, and freedom of putting up big character posters.) From June to July 1978, big character posters were widely spread on major universities of Beijing. The posters were initially encouraged to criticize the Gang of Four and previous failed government policies as part of Deng Xiaoping's struggle to gain political power. In September, foreign journalists reported that they were allowed free contact with
8378-509: The country. On November 23, Lü Pu (Chinese: 吕朴) posted his writings on the Democracy Wall in Xidan. He critiqued Mao Zedong and pointed out that the real reasons behind the April 5 Movement were a backward economy, rigid thought control, and the poor living conditions of the people. This poster was called the "Fire Lighter of Democracy Wall". On November 25, 1978, the Democracy Assembly Group was formed by Ren Wanding and eight other youths. Two days later they gathered at Xidan Democracy Wall and led
8496-649: The destructive Cultural Revolution . In response, Mao ordered the police and the PLA to disperse the people, and around four thousand were arrested. This incident was also called the April 5th Movement . Deng Xiaoping was announced as the "black hand" of the movement. On April 7, Mao Zedong proposed that the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CCP denounce Deng Xiaoping's official positions and that Hua Guofeng would assume Deng's positions as Prime Minister of
8614-474: The early 1920s. The May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement had identified issues of broad concern to Chinese progressives, including anti-imperialism , support for nationalism , support for democracy , promotion of feminism, and rejection of traditional values. Proposed solutions among Chinese progressives differed significantly, however. The CCP was founded on 1 July 1921 with
8732-480: The economic element of Sun's ideology was socialism. Sun stated, "Our Principle of Livelihood is a form of communism". The communists dominated the left wing of the KMT and struggled for power with the party's right-wing factions. When Sun Yat-sen died in March 1925, he was succeeded by a rightist, Chiang Kai-shek , who initiated moves to marginalize the position of the communists. Chiang, Sun's former assistant,
8850-794: The first unofficial publication, appeared in Guiyang . Later it was reprinted in Beijing in January 1979. On December 16, 1978, another very famous unofficial journal, The Forum of April Fifth (Chinese: 四五论坛) published its first issue. Soon, different groups of activities formed their own editorial organizations to express different political opinions. The arguments concerning political reforms could be divided into three general categories according to their attitudes towards Marxism : classical Marxism , eclectic Marxism, and anti-Marxism radicals. Throughout late 1978 and early 1979, crowds would gather to buy or exchange issues of these people's journals. From
8968-412: The fundamental interests of the people." The theory legitimized the entry of private business owners and bourgeois elements into the party. Hu Jintao , Jiang Zemin's successor as general secretary, took office in 2002. Unlike Mao, Deng and Jiang Zemin, Hu laid emphasis on collective leadership and opposed one-man dominance of the political system. The insistence on focusing on economic growth led to
9086-469: The governments at each level ..." — Mao Zedong, from his speech entitled "Our General Programme" Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam [REDACTED] Vietnam portal The Central Military Commission ( CMC ; Vietnamese : Quân Ủy Trung ương ) is an organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam , which is the highest body in Vietnam on military policy and
9204-443: The help of the Far Eastern Bureau of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Far Eastern Secretariat of the Communist International , according to the party's official account of its history. However, party documents suggest that the party's actual founding date was 23 July 1921, the first day of the 1st National Congress of the CCP . The founding National Congress of the CCP was held 23–31 July 1921. With only 50 members in
9322-402: The ideological core of the movement. These journals likewise discussed a wide range of topics and ideological stances, including commentaries on socialism, democracy, Marxism, civil rights, and morality, socioeconomic conditions (including wage reform, inequality, and consumer and housing shortages) as well as artistic and literary matters. Criticism of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution were
9440-519: The ideological head the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) alongside the Ministry of National Defence , which is responsible for executive management of the People's Army and politically under effective influence of the CMC. Its membership includes some members of the Politburo and military leaders. The CMC is headed by a secretary . The Statute of the Communist Party of Vietnam says that the VPA
9558-511: The journals' circulation was relatively small, usually from 200 to 500 copies per issue. As, for example, the editors of People's Reference News (Chinese: 群众参考消息) calculated in May 1979, they had some 300-400 subscribers and had received almost 1000 letters from readers in two months. However, compared to wall posters, journals were more substantial than the numbers of subscribers, because people usually hand copy and re-send to other people, which caused
9676-399: The key issue as the elimination of bureaucratism and the bureaucratic class. However, the movement lacked ideological cohesion. It involved many individuals and small groups with diverse political views and areas of concern. "From an organizational standpoint, there was no single movement" and ideological views were often sharply-divided. While Democracy Wall participants agreed that "democracy"
9794-508: The latter are seen as the top leadership of the party and the state. Today the party's leader holds the offices of general secretary (responsible for civilian party duties), Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) (responsible for military affairs), and State President (a largely ceremonial position). Because of these posts, the party leader is seen as the country's paramount leader . The current leader
9912-619: The latter sending a personal representative in his stead. The resolutions of the congress called for the establishment of a communist party as a branch of the Communist International (Comintern) and elected Chen as its leader. Chen then served as the first general secretary of the CCP and was referred to as "China's Lenin". The Soviets hoped to foster pro-Soviet forces in East Asia to fight against anti-communist countries, particularly Japan . They attempted to contact
10030-417: The mode of production, as it had to develop naturally, by following the " economic laws of history ." The theory is most notable for allowing capitalists, officially referred to as the "new social strata", to join the party on the grounds that they engaged in "honest labor and work" and through their labour contributed "to build[ing] socialism with Chinese characteristics." In 2003, the 3rd Plenary Session of
10148-520: The most common complaint by movement participants. Some participants, however, revived the Cultural Revolution-era “ ultra-left ” argument against China’s “bureaucratic class.” Under the influence of the official discussion, the general public also started to put up big character posters to cause a debate. On August 18, 1977, the 11th National Congress of the CCP recommended adding the "Four Freedoms" (Chinese: 四大自由 ) to Article 45 of
10266-666: The most influential promoters of Marxism in China during the May Fourth period. The CCP itself embraces the May Fourth Movement and views itself as part of the movement's legacy. Study circles were, according to Cai Hesen , "the rudiments [of our party]". Several study circles were established during the New Culture Movement , but by 1920 many grew sceptical about their ability to bring about reforms. China's intellectual movements were fragmented in
10384-420: The office of CCP general secretary at the expense of the collective leadership of prior decades. Commentators have described the campaign as a defining part of Xi's leadership as well as "the principal reason why he has been able to consolidate his power so quickly and effectively." Xi's leadership has also overseen an increase in the Party's role in China. Xi has added his ideology , named after himself, into
10502-409: The offices of CCP general secretary, CMC chairman and PRC president . Before Jiang Zemin's tenure as paramount leader, the party core and collective leadership were indistinguishable. In practice, the core was not responsible to the collective leadership. However, by the time of Jiang, the party had begun propagating a responsibility system, referring to it in official pronouncements as the "core of
10620-480: The participants to oppose "technology blockades," and "developmental decoupling" in order to work towards "building a community with a shared future for mankind." The core ideology of the party has evolved with each distinct generation of Chinese leadership . As both the CCP and the People's Liberation Army promote their members according to seniority, it is possible to discern distinct generations of Chinese leadership. In official discourse, each group of leadership
10738-418: The party this was duplicated, with standing committees now in effective control. After being expelled from the party, Chen Duxiu went on to lead China's Trotskyist movement. Li Lisan was able to assume de facto control of the party organization by 1929–1930. The 1929 Gutian Congress was important in establishing the principle of party control over the military, which continues to be a core principle of
10856-419: The party's formal commitment to Marxism–Leninism with the introduction of the ideological theory, the Three Represents. However, party theorist Leng Rong disagrees, claiming that "President Jiang rid the Party of the ideological obstacles to different kinds of ownership ... He did not give up Marxism or socialism. He strengthened the Party by providing a modern understanding of Marxism and socialism—which
10974-400: The party's ideology, was adopted by the party at the 16th National Congress . The Three Represents defines the role of the CCP, and stresses that the Party must always represent the requirements for developing China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people." Certain segments within
11092-426: The party's ideology. Li's leadership was a failure, leaving the CCP on the brink of destruction. The Comintern became involved, and by late 1930, his powers had been taken away. By 1935, Mao had become a member of Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP and the party's informal military leader, with Zhou Enlai and Zhang Wentian , the formal head of the party, serving as his informal deputies. The conflict with
11210-491: The party's members, the two parties split and began a prolonged civil war. During the next ten years of guerrilla warfare , Mao Zedong rose to become the most influential figure in the CCP, and the party established a strong base among the rural peasantry with its land reform policies . Support for the CCP continued to grow throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War , and after the Japanese surrender in 1945,
11328-473: The peasant movement supported by the CCP became more violent. Ye Dehui , a famous scholar, was killed by communists in Changsha , and in revenge, KMT general He Jian and his troops gunned down hundreds of peasant militiamen. That May, tens of thousands of communists and their sympathizers were killed by KMT troops, with the CCP losing approximately 15,000 of its 25,000 members. The CCP continued supporting
11446-408: The point of not achieving their objectives. The wall posters and the underground journals' connections were intimately linked. It was a common practice to print posters in the journals, as well as to post the printed pages on the Xidan Wall. The editors also sold their journals near the Democracy Wall. Printing and publishing journals was not an easy task due to the lack of technicians and funding. So,
11564-424: The power vacuum left behind. Following Mao's death in 1976, a power struggle between CCP chairman Hua Guofeng and vice-chairman Deng Xiaoping erupted. Deng won the struggle, and became China's paramount leader in 1978. Deng, alongside Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang , spearheaded the " reform and opening-up " policies, and introduced the ideological concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics, opening China to
11682-502: The radical left, (2) moderates, and (3) the radical right. The first two categories of journals strayed within the political tradition of Marxism , while the third challenged it. Another format of the debate and demonstration was also rapidly developing in China: the "unofficial journals", also known as "people's journals," "independent journals," or "underground journals" (Chinese: 地下刊物). On November 26, 1978, Enlightenment (Chinese: 启蒙),
11800-519: The realization on both sides that civil war amidst a foreign invasion was not an option. By 1943, the CCP was again actively expanding its territory at the expense of the KMT. Mao Zedong became the Chairman of the CCP in 1945. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the war between the CCP and the KMT began again in earnest. The 1945–1949 period had four stages; the first was from August 1945 (when
11918-424: The same walls and tried to draw attention from the central government to solve their individual cases. However, because this kind of posters were written by less educated people, except for some articles which were re-published in unofficial journals, most of the petitioner's posters were torn off afterwards. Academic Liu Sheng-chi writes that the journals of the Democracy Wall movement fall into three categories: (1)
12036-477: The security apparatus, and Zhou Enlai, the State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . This counts as informal power. Despite this, in a paradoxical relation, members of a body are ranked hierarchically (despite the fact that members are in theory equal to one another). Informally, the collective leadership is headed by a " leadership core "; that is, the paramount leader , the person who holds
12154-639: The socialist republic and solidified the country's status as a de facto one-party state . The Anti-Rightist Campaign led to the catastrophic results of the Second Five Year Plan from 1958 to 1962, known as the Great Leap Forward . In an effort to transform the country from an agrarian economy into an industrialized one, the CCP collectivized farmland, formed people's communes, and diverted labour to factories. General mismanagement and exaggerations of harvests by CCP officials led to
12272-494: The spring of 1978, 130,000 victims of the Anti-Rightist Movement who had been removed from their positions in 1957, recovered their social statuses. Deng continued to challenge Hua's legitimacy and fight for the domination in ideological field. For example, Deng wrote an essay on May 24, 1977 titled "The 'Two Whatever' Policy Does Not Accord With Marxism". Under the support of Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang indicated
12390-439: The ten affirmations, the fourteen commitments, and the thirteen areas of achievements. The party combines elements of both socialist patriotism and Chinese nationalism . Deng did not believe that the fundamental difference between the capitalist mode of production and the socialist mode of production was central planning versus free markets . He said, "A planned economy is not the definition of socialism, because there
12508-424: The term socialist market economy, which replaced Chen Yun 's "planned socialist market economy". In his report to the 14th National Congress Jiang Zemin told the delegates that the socialist state would "let market forces play a basic role in resource allocation." At the 15th National Congress, the party line was changed to "make market forces further play their role in resource allocation"; this line continued until
12626-558: The unofficial journal to be widely spread all over China. The most complete collection of the unofficial documents today is the 20-volume Collection of Underground Publications Circulated on Chinese Mainland (Chinese: 大陆地下刊物汇编), which was edited by the Taiwanese Institution for the Study of Chinese Communist Problems from 1980 to 1985. Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ), officially
12744-626: The warlord Wu Peifu but failed. The Soviets then contacted the Kuomintang (KMT), which was leading the Guangzhou government parallel to the Beiyang government . On 6 October 1923, the Comintern sent Mikhail Borodin to Guangzhou, and the Soviets established friendly relations with the KMT. The Central Committee of the CCP , Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , and the Comintern all hoped that
12862-763: The wilderness of Fujian . Mao Zedong was appointed commander-in-chief of the Red Army, and led four regiments against Changsha in the Autumn Harvest Uprising , hoping to spark peasant uprisings across Hunan. His plan was to attack the KMT-held city from three directions on 9 September, but the Fourth Regiment deserted to the KMT cause, attacking the Third Regiment. Mao's army made it to Changsha but could not take it; by 15 September, he accepted defeat, with 1,000 survivors marching east to
12980-516: The winter of 1978 to spring 1981, over 50 unofficial journals appeared in Beijing alone. The following list includes some famous journals during the movement: Since early 1979, unofficial journals became the backbone of the Democracy Wall Movement. The activities were also seeking to organize together to form a stronger concentrated structure. On January 15, 1979, six leading unofficial journals announced their intention to fight for
13098-456: The world's markets. In reversing some of Mao's "leftist" policies, Deng argued that a socialist state could use the market economy without itself being capitalist. While asserting the political power of the CCP, the change in policy generated significant economic growth. This was justified on the basis that " Practice is the Sole Criterion for the Truth ", a principle reinforced through a 1978 article that aimed to combat dogmatism and criticized
13216-415: Was added to the party constitution at the 14th National Congress in 1992. The concepts of " socialism with Chinese characteristics " and "the primary stage of socialism" were credited to the theory. Deng Xiaoping Theory can be defined as a belief that state socialism and state planning is not by definition communist, and that market mechanisms are class neutral. In addition, the party needs to react to
13334-401: Was also anti-Deng voice. On December 5, 1978, the most famous poster of the Democracy Wall, " The Fifth Modernization : Democracy and Others" written by writer and activist Wei Jingsheng , was posted on Democracy Wall. This long article strongly criticized the undemocratic practice of Mao and Deng. It also emphasized that (1) the history of Germany, Russia and China proved that anti-democracy was
13452-422: Was not actively anti-communist at that time, even though he hated the theory of class struggle and the CCP's seizure of power. The communists proposed removing Chiang's power. When Chiang gradually gained the support of Western countries, the conflict between him and the communists became more and more intense. Chiang asked the Kuomintang to join the Comintern to rule out the secret expansion of communists within
13570-441: Was one of the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Therefore, Shambaugh argues, Chinese policy-makers believe that their party ideology must be dynamic to safeguard the party's rule. British sinologist Kerry Brown argues that the CCP does not have an ideology, and that the party organization is pragmatic and interested only in what works. The party itself argues against this assertion. Hu Jintao stated in 2012 that
13688-436: Was purely capitalist, it would exclude an alternative socialist form of modernity. Globalization, as with the market economy, therefore does not have one specific class character (neither socialist nor capitalist) according to the party. The insistence that globalization is not fixed in nature comes from Deng's insistence that China can pursue socialist modernization by incorporating elements of capitalism. Because of this there
13806-581: Was the means to resolve the conflict between the bureaucratic class and the people, the nature of the proposed democratic institutions was a major source of disagreement. A majority of participants in the movement viewed the movement as part of a struggle between correct and incorrect notions of Marxism . Many participants advocated classical Marxist views that drew on the Paris Commune for inspiration. The Democracy Wall movement also included non-Marxists and anti-Marxists, although these participants were
13924-635: Was voted in as chairman of the CCP and chairman of the Central Military Committee by a joint meeting of the First Secretaries of the Provincial Party Committees and the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CCP. For proving his legitimacy, Hua instructed Wang Dongxing to let the People's Daily , People's Liberation Army Daily , and Red Flag magazine to publish an editorial now known as
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