We need to further emancipate minds
By Qin Xiaoying (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-12 07:20

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the economic reform and opening up of our country. It is now necessary for us to look back at the last three decades and seek out the most valuable assets to celebrate.

In my opinion, we should review the phrase "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts", which was popular 30 years ago, and make it our motto today to seek further development.

In the late 1970s, the 10-year "cultural revolution" had just ended. The country's authorities with Deng Xiaoping as the leader displayed immense political and theoretical courage by underscoring the principle of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts".

They repudiated the theory and practice of "taking class struggle as the key link" and shifted the focus of the work of the Communist Party of China as well as the administrative onto economic development.

It is against such a background the economic reform and opening was launched.

Therefore, the principle of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts" was the starting point for all the policies regarding economic reform and opening up and it became the banner to lead us ahead in the past three decades.

Just as it had helped the Chinese people to shrug off the old mindset and embrace the economic boom of the late 1970s, it will also serve us to overcome the various difficulties ahead.

"Emancipating the mind" and "seeking truth from facts" are two sides of the same coin, each being indispensable. And the current prosperity of China is the fruit of their combination.

In President Hu Jintao's report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November last year, he said that China was seeing unprecedented challenges.

This is a remarkable statement by the country's leader, especially when it was made before the upcoming 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up.

To deal with the unprecedented challenges, we need powerful weaponry, firm determination and the courage of breaking the bottleneck to seek further success. At the same time, a social atmosphere is also an essential element to facing these challenges.

Under our current circumstances, "emancipating the mind" and "seeking truth from facts" are the most suitable catch phrases to activate the whole society to face and overcome the development obstacles ahead.

In the rapid development of last three decades, China had come across several obstacles that are difficult to explain.

When the economic reform was in its early stage in the early 1980s, it was a common prediction that China might only see a strategic opportunity for growth in next 10 to 15 years.

But the economic boom, thanks to the reform, has lasted for nearly 30 years and has shown no signs of slowing down.

During all these years, few members of the academia or officials had a clear idea as to how the market economy had played its role in driving the boom or whether it had followed any rule unique to China. The economists in other countries were equally confused.

Another unexpected occurrence was that new social problems emerged quickly and dramatically after the economic takeoff. These ranged from regional disparities between the coastal and inner areas to high property prices troubling urban residents.

The public is urging the authorities to take effective measures to control the increase in groups promoting their own interests. And it is also their demand public services should be improved.

After the economy achieved its current fruits, the superstructure of the society lagged behind the changed economic circumstances and cast an increasingly negative influence on the growth of the productive force. The appearance of such a lag occurred much earlier than estimated.

Theories stressing the planned economy and the class struggle still have their supporters in the society. And many others turn a blind eye to the real situation of China, trying to transplant the practices or theories of other countries rigidly here. The interested groups, especially those benefiting from industrial monopolies, are obstacles to political reform.

Of course, the integration of the Chinese economy with the rest of the world has also been quicker than people could have imagined three decades ago. The close ties of China with its partners have resulted in many bilateral or multilateral trade disputes that are not easy to solve.

To make things worse, these disputes have become rather complex because some Western politicians are faithful followers of the so-called "value-orientated diplomacy", which makes trade disputes part of political manipulation.

If the public is motivated by the phrases "emancipating the mind and "seeking truth from facts", their wisdom and power will be enhanced in choosing the right path to our future development.

Reviewing our prosperous achievements in the last three decades, it is not yet time to sit back and enjoy, for the Chinese people are eager to savor more freedom, democracy and wealth. With further emancipation of our minds, we will be able to ease the great pressure during the comprehensive social transition, and transform it into a driving force for more accomplishments.

The author is a researcher with China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies

(China Daily 03/12/2008 page9)