National reunification a historic mission

Editor's note: Serving the Chinese people and achieving national rejuvenation have been the top priority of the Communist Party of China since its founding. As the Party embarks on a new journey toward realizing the second centenary goal of building a modern socialist country, how can it continue contributing to development? Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily:

In his speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, reviewed the history of the Party and charted the course of its journey ahead. The speech sent some key messages to the world.

The first message is that the Party has completed its first historic mission after a century of struggle.

After the Opium War in 1840, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Taiping Rebellion, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Boxer Rebellion and the 1911 Revolution were organized by the Chinese people one after another to save China from further ignominy. But all ended in failure. So China urgently needed a new philosophy, new organization and new set of people to unite the revolutionary forces and lead the nation.

The Communist Party of China was founded against this background. And during its century-long existence, it has made great achievements. For instance, it achieved the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and eradicating absolute poverty by the end of last year. And now it is moving toward realizing the second centenary goal of developing China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful by 2050.

Second, the Chinese people have chosen the CPC, and China is pursuing the right path. Since its founding, the CPC has adapted Marxism-Leninism to China's national conditions, and made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission. For the past 100 years, the Party has led the Chinese people through their struggles and sacrifices to achieve their greatest goal: the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The success of the Chinese revolution has reshaped the future and destiny of China and its people, as well as the nature and trend of global development.

Third, the Party's leadership has two important features. One, socialism with Chinese characteristics advocated by President Xi Jinping is not an abstract concept. Rather, it is about promoting coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilizations, and paving a new path of modernization that suits China.

And two, the promotion of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the Party's leadership has a general template that includes high-quality development, building up China's strengths in science and technology, ensuring that Chinese people run the country, continuing to govern based on rule of law, and upholding core socialist values.

Also, throughout its development, China will improve people's well-being, and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. These features are the essence of China's development model.

As for the argument that the model is gaining increasing traction globally, that is a natural course of development.

Fourth, China will get along with the rest of the world, by adhering to the path of peaceful development and continuing to hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation for win-win outcomes.

The Party has pledged that China will continue to work with all peace-loving countries and peoples to promote the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, freedom and democracy, and champion cooperation over confrontation, focus on mutual benefits instead of zero-sum games, and oppose hegemony and power politics.

China has always honored its promise, and fulfilled its commitment to uphold world peace, contribute to global development and safeguard the international order. And as President Xi said, China has never bullied, oppressed or subjugated other countries, and it never will, and by the same token, it will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or subjugate it. And those who try to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by more than 1.4 billion Chinese people.

Fifth, between now and the time when China achieves the second centennial goal, it will attach the utmost importance to national unification. To build a great socialist country, the Party must bring together the brightest minds and expand the common ground, so the Chinese people, both at home and abroad, can focus their energy and creativity on realizing national rejuvenation.

The Party will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus in perpetuity, and do whatever it takes to realize peaceful national reunification. And all the Chinese people, including compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, must come together and move forward in unison to achieve the historic mission of national reunification.

To achieve national rejuvenation, China will take resolute actions to defeat any attempt to seek "Taiwan independence".

Xi has warned the detractors to not underestimate the resolve, will and capability of the Chinese people to defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. And there is no reason for the world to underestimate the seriousness of the warning.

Source: chinausfocus.com

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

The author is a professor at China Center for Contemporary World Studies.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.