In the session on Party history education and mobilization, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that the belief in communism and the socialism with Chinese characteristics is the political soul of Communists and the spiritual pillar that the Chinese Communists need to live through any trial. He stressed that 100 years of struggle and the great achievements made by the Party underlie our confidence in China's road of development, in the theory, in our system, and in our culture. His forceful, firm and heroic speech uncovered the intrinsic relation between socialism, communism and 100 years of exploration and struggle, and manifested the perseverance of the Chinese Communists in advancing along the only correct road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

We are still haunted by many people and events, as well as many cries and songs appeared in the course of one hundred years. We survived hardships, which enabled us to create many wonders. Today, we have the obligation to console martyrs with victory: Socialism has lived up to China! We also burden the responsibility to get the future to be proved by history: Socialism will live up to China!

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Inevitability is often hidden in accidental history. Since time-honored China was broken into by the powerful guns of big powers in the 1940s, China had experienced unprecedented tragic fate. In almost the same era, Marx and Engels began to explore, in Europe where capitalism was booming, scientific socialism and the cause of human liberation and progress.

After the Opium War, China experienced chronic poverty and weakness. Tan Sitong described his desperation and hesitation with his poetic lines "Four hundred million Chinese people shed tears together. Where is China heading in the world?" The Chinese people made many explorations for national salvation in the dark, including the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Boxer Rebellion, the Revolution of 1911, etc. We also introduced reformism, liberalism, social Darwinism, anarchism, pragmatism and other western theories as a prescription for in vain strengthening the country and enriching the people. All the roads were explored, but smashed. As the poem goes, "Countless lives and running blood did those revolutionists pay. Yet only illusory republicanism did the public finally gain." The people were in dire straits due to rampant great powers and scuffling warlords. In particular, the First World War pierced through the seemingly beautiful illusion of capitalist civilization. Time and time again, countless people with lofty ideals asked with their lives and souls: Where is the way out for China? Where is the hope of the nation?

The October Revolution in Russia brought Marxism-Leninism to China. That was a great historical agreement and a solemn historical promise! Marxism-Leninism told us only through social transformation could we weed the old to bring forth the new, as the shackles of feudal society on us for thousands of years were too heavy and tight. Only by mobilizing tens of thousands of hard-working people could we resist the heavy oppression brought by imperialism to the Chinese people.

Li Dazhao exclaimed, "The warning bell of humanity has sounded! The dawn of freedom has come! The future world will be one for red flags!" Chen Duxiu declared, "The political revolution in France in the 18th century and the social revolution in Russia in the 20th century were scolded bitterly by people at that time. But later historians regarded them as the key to the change and evolution of human society." Young Mao Zedong cried out, "The chance has come! The world is witnessing more urgent revolutionary tide! The sluice gate of Dongting Lake has moved and opened! The mighty new trend of thought has been surging on both banks of Xiangjiang River!"

In the spring of 1920, Chen Wangdao, aged 29, spent two months in a woodshed of Fenshuitang in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, translating the Manifesto of the Communist Party completely for the first time. The first 1,000 copies were sold out immediately, and it had been reprinted 17 times by 1926. It was after repeated comparison and reasoning that the advanced and unyielding Chinese chosen Marxism as the guiding theory and their unswerving ambition to save the country and the people.

In July 1921, the Communist Party of China, guided by Marxism and devoted to communism, was born with faith, entrustment and dream in mind. It set sail in Shikumen in shanghai in the rising sun and in the blue waves of South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. Since then, the fire of socialism has been burning in an oriental country, and China, once in desperation and hopelessness, has been aware where it is heading!

(2)

After the Great Revolution in China (1924-1927) failed, Xia Minghan, a communist, was arrested in Hankou. Before he was killed, he wrote a farewell letter to his wife, "Whether beheaded or shedding blood, I have already taken them easy. One day, the days will be gone when each takes what he needs. The revolutionary cause will be inherited from generation to generation. The red beads are left to you for lovesickness. I hope you will help the lonely red cause." In those gloomy years, there were more than thousands of martyrs like Xia Minghan who did not regret dying for their faith in communism and in the realization of the revolutionary ideal. Once they established their faith and doctrine, they had never hesitated or wavered to water the "Communist flower" with their youth and blood.

This belief on socialism was shining like a candle of ideals in their hearts. The Manifesto of the Communist Party describes, "The old bourgeois society in which class and class antagonism exist will be replaced by such a commonwealth, where the free development of everyone underlies the free development of all." In the new socialist country without exploitation or oppression, the value of human beings is of top priority. Labor is deemed to be glorious and supreme. Everyone is equal and wealthy, and they are intimate like families…This new world is superior to the capitalist world and is the "great harmony in the world" that the Chinese nation has been dreaming of since ancient times. It has fascinated countless advanced figures to long for and practice it.

This belief on socialism reveals the law of social development and evolution. The general trend in the world is mighty, and those who follow it will survive, while those who violate it will die. As the vanguard of the working class, the Communist Party of China represents the orientation of advanced productive forces and the trend of historical progress. Armed with scientific theories and laws of social development, the Party has the consciousness of leading social changes and promoting the cause of justice, and has invincible and indomitable power.

This belief on socialism guided the revolution road leading to victory. The Chinese Communists, mainly represented by Mao Zedong, analyzed China's realities and solved problems facing China with Marxist theory. He stressed that the task of the Chinese revolution was to overthrow the oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism (like three mountains on the Chinese people) by encircling cities from the countryside and seizing power by armed forces. The task could only be accomplished by the working class, the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie under certain conditions. The Chinese revolution should be carried out by the people, real heroes, led by the proletariat, in two stages——the democratic revolution and the socialist revolution… That scientific understanding was teeming with brilliance of the Marxist truth, leading the Chinese revolution forward.

The revolutionary ideal was of top priority. Driven by ideals and beliefs, our Party mobilized the masses of workers and peasants to be bold in assault and promoted the Northern Expedition. Harboring ideals and beliefs, the surviving Communists buried the corpses of their fellow revolutionaries, and took up arms into the mountains where they plunged into new battles. Inspired by ideals and beliefs, the Red Army officers and soldiers broke through natural barriers, fought against strong enemies, climbed snowy mountains and crossed grasslands, completing the 25,000 Li Long March shining in the annals of human history. As a poem goes, "With clothes soaked in wind and rain, their bones became harder, and with wild vegetables to satisfy hunger, their determination became stronger". Impelled by ideals and beliefs, the Party and the people wrote, with perseverance and bloody fight, the national anthem of fighting against Japanese militarism, and won the final victory of resisting foreign aggression. Urged by ideals and beliefs, the heroic People's Liberation Army defeated 8 million Kuomintang reactionaries in only three years, showing the meaning of "If nature is knowledgeable, it will perceive the unchangeable law of prosperity and decline. Continuous variation and progress are the inevitable law of the development of human society."

"The weapon of criticism, of course, cannot replace the criticism by weapon. Material power can only be destroyed by material power itself." Over the bloody battles and advance through hardships for 28 years, our ancestors witnessed our country changed from the "sick men of East Asia" who were bullied by others to the "waken oriental lion" who kept eyes in the world polished, and our people from slaves to proud masters. The victorious Chinese revolution was the great practice of the Chinese Communists in using Marxism to save China and was a great course where scientific truths showed its strength!

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On June 30, 1949, Mao Zedong published "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship". This passage proposed China should go through the People's Republic, and shift from an agricultural country to an industrial country, from a new democratic society to a socialist and Communist society. The passage noted that the founding of the People's Republic of China resulted from the combination of the principles of scientific socialism and the reality of the Chinese revolution. That also marked the development of the cause of human progress and the socialist strength, and launched a great era of socialism in the Orient of the world.

That was an era of reform and innovation. Faced with a raft of difficulties and trials, the Communist Party of China led the people to quickly treat the wounds from war and restore the national economy. The Party creatively realized the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicraft industry as well as capitalist industry and commerce——the most profound and greatest social change in the history of China——completing the shift from the new democratic revolution to the socialist revolution. The magnificent land reform enabled over 300 million farmers to obtain, free of charge, 700 million mu of land and means of production. The 1954 Constitution, the fundamental law, fixed the principles of people's democracy and socialism. The system of the People's Congress, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China, and the system of regional national autonomy constitute the pillars of the socialist system... In this country both ancient and young, the Chinese people constructing the towering building of socialism tasted a happy life.

That was a vigorous and passionate era. "People worked every second to create a socialist society." The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, planned in the late Qing Dynasty, was still a dotted line on the map for more than 40 years before the founding of new China, and was completed only two years after it was officially started in 1950. During the first five-year plan, 156 key projects and 694 construction projects were completed, setting the stage for socialist industrialization. Remarkable results were achieved in harnessing the Huai River, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and the development of irrigation and water conservancy was burning with ardor nationwide. The network of urban and rural health care basically formed across the country. Diseases, including smallpox, cholera, schistosomiasis, malaria, bubonic plague, were eradicated or controlled. The fresh regime aroused great productivity, and the new socialist system energized the people and promoted their well-being.

That was an era when heroes with high morale came forth in large numbers. To maintain peace, the volunteers fought abroad and wrote a magnificent epic. At that time, China which had insufficient steel to support the war but had highly spirited soldiers, defeated the enemy, who had sufficient steel to support the war but had low spirited soldiers. In order to get rid of the label of "country short of oil", Wang Jinxi, hailed as the "Iron Man", led the drilling team, who "would rather live 20 years less than win a big oilfield", to work hard. To reduce poverty and backwardness, Jiao Yulu, role model of secretary of the county Party committee, led the Lankao people to rectify "three evils". One of the "three evils" was sandstorm, for which Jiao Yulu and other local officials were born and die. To underlie self-reliance of China, Qian Xuesen, Qian Sanqiang, Deng Jiaxian and a large quantity of other scientific workers poured their sweat and blood on the vast Gobi Desert, creating the miracle of developing "atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, artificial satellite" (two bombs and one satellite)... Countless heroes whose names were known or unknown shouldered the national responsibility and the glory of the Republic with their flesh and blood as well as their strong arms.

As a Chinese saying goes, "One in rags drives a simple carriage to open up the mountain." By the same token, building socialism in China, a large Oriental country with relatively backward economy and culture and a large population, resembles climbing a mountain that the foot of man has not trodden. There is no straight road to walk on or no ready-made path to follow. However, relying on the great power of the people who create history and on the advantages of "concentrated efforts to do great things", we have created one miracle after another that can be recorded in the history of the Chinese nation and human beings. Thanks to the spirit needed in "revolution and hard work" and to the courage reflected in the famous saying "Ten thousand years is too long. Seize the day and hour", we have painted the most beautiful picture of socialist new China on the land covering more than 9.6 million square kilometers. But we should learn forever the painful lessons and serious setbacks we suffered such as the "Cultural Revolution" on the way of exploring.

Be it flat or rugged, sunny or rainy, the Party will always move forward in leading the people to explore the socialist road. History has proved that we are good at not only destroying an old world, but also building a new one.

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The Chinese Communists have never stopped answering the two historical questions that reverberates over China: "What is socialism? How will we build socialism?" In building socialism, China made precious explorations and arduous progress, including the "Ten Relations" deeply revealing the relationship between socialist building and socialist transformation, the timely important conclusion that the main social contradiction in our country has changed into "the contradiction between the advanced socialist system and the backward social productive forces", and the proposal of correct handling of contradictions among the people.

The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee held in 1978 was a great turning point of far-reaching significance in the history of the Party and new China. The session advised stopping "taking class struggle as the key link", shifting the focus of the work of the whole Party to socialist modernization drive, and re-establishing the ideological line of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts... To build socialism, the Communist Party of China led the people to dedicate themselves to promoting the new great revolution and launched the great journey of reform and opening up.

Socialism is not characterized by poverty! Deng Xiaoping explained, "The essence of socialism is to achieve common prosperity by liberating and developing productive forces, and eliminating exploitation and polarization." When it came to the adaptation of production relations to the development of productive forces, China witnessed the system of household contract responsibility widely implemented, the special pilot economic zones established, the township enterprises springing up, the reform of the system of science and technology promoted, the pattern of opening up to the outside world speeding up, and the vitality and creativity hidden in the broad masses of the people bursting out.

Blaze a trail of our own and build socialism with Chinese characteristics! This is the lesson we drawn from building socialism. We were deeply aware that our country remained and would be in the primary stage of socialism for a long time. In that case, we formulated the Party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism. That means we would develop the basic economic system of keeping public ownership as the mainstay of the economy and allowing diverse forms of ownership to develop side by side, improve the system of socialist market economy. We put forward the goal of a moderately prosperous society and the sub step strategy of modernization. All these practices created and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics.

It is necessary to uphold socialist orientation in reform and opening up. Adhering to reform and opening up and adhering to the four fundamental principles are closely linked and neither can be neglected. We uphold the principle of developing both socialist material civilization and spiritual civilization and attaching equal importance to each. It means we should firmly promote the new great project of Party building while promoting the integrated development of socialist economy, politics, culture, society and ecological civilization with Chinese characteristics. That will enable the people to share the fruits of reform and development, and allow the socialist ideal to come true.

Since the reform and opening up was initiated 40 years ago, China's total economic output has surpassed that of Italy, France, Britain, Germany and Japan in succession, ranking second in the world. With the living standards of our people continuously improved, China has entered the ranks of middle and high-income countries. China is witnessing changes with each passing day, such as a network of highways, dense railways, west-to-east natural gas transportation, south-to-north water diversion, high dams, towering bridges and deep chasms turned into thoroughfares. It also defeated major natural disasters such as floods, freezing rain and snow, earthquakes and SARS, which had been rarely seen in history. It also lived through the severe ordeals of the Asian financial crisis and the international financial crisis. After the storm, China is more calm and upright.

That indicates we should advance guided by the logic of historical progress and develop in accordance with the trend of the times. The surging practice in China shows that only socialism can save China and enable the people to live a happy life, and that only through reform and opening up can China catch up with the times in big strides. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is increasingly wider!

(5)

The magnificent socialist cause embodies the hard work and devotion of generations of Communists, as well as the aspiration and expectation of numerous sages and heroes. When the baton of socialist cause was passed on again, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech in a sonorous and forceful voice: The task of our generation of Communists is to continue to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics!

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China solemnly declared to the whole Party, people all over the country and the whole world, "Thanks to long-term efforts, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era——a new historical orientation of China's development."

In the new era of China, the bright banner of ideal is flying high. Amid great changes in the world which have never been seen in the past hundred years, General Secretary Xi Jinping leads the whole Party and people all over the country to focus on the overall situation, adapt to changes and start a new situation. Under his leadership, we have made historic achievements and witnessed historic changes in the cause of the Party and the state, and the Chinese nation is closer to the great goal of national rejuvenation than ever before. Now, the Chinese people have a firmer belief in Marxism and communism, as well as in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and have confidence as never before in realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In the new era, China has a strong driving force for development. At the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the CPC proposed comprehensively deepening the reform. Later, China made some strategies for development, including a comprehensive framework for promoting the rule of law, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, an all-out effort to enforce strict Party discipline and the Party's self-revolution to promote social revolution. Going forward, China made a number of innovations to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, including upholding and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, basing itself on the new development stage, implementing the new development concept, building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. Under the leadership of the CPC, the strategic layout of socialism with Chinese characteristics is becoming increasingly perfect, and the direction and goal of modernization increasingly clear.

In the new era of China, the status of the people is fully demonstrated. The CPC always keeps in mind that "The political power relies on the people, and the people underlie the political power." The echo of the CPC's original intention has gone through time and space. The CPC is impressed with the sonorous declaration of "Our goal for struggle is People's yearning for a better life". In order to realize the Chinese people's cherished wish to eliminate poverty for a thousand years, the Party led the people to fight against poverty. A large number of cadres and masses in poverty-stricken areas fought hard for poverty reduction. The first secretary and cadres stationed in villages devoted themselves to the work. The cooperation was accurately docked between the East and the West of China. Figures of all sectors of the society donated money or offered support. Each poor family felt the warmth of the socialist family, and each silent mountain was teeming with vigor and hope.

In the new era of China, the strength of unity is unconquerable. We have never shrunk back in front of the peak of science and technology. We have made great achievements in science and technology, including Chang'e lunar prospector series landing on the moon, Jiaolong manned submersible diving deep into the sea, FAST watching stars, and Beidou networking satellites. Not long ago, the "Zhurong" Mars rover landed on the Mars after a 295 day journey. Faced with bullying and repression, we have never given in. The whole Party and all the people of the country have the courage to fight for success with untied strength. The outbreak of COVID-19, which had not been seen in 100 years, strengthened the link between the fate of each of us and that of our country and the collective. The 1.4 billion Chinese people protected the country hand in hand, creating a miracle in the history of human struggle against pandemic. All this demonstrated the superiority of the socialist system.

As a Chinese poem by Wen Tianxiang, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, goes, “There is a kind of aboveboard spirit in the universe, which endows all things with various shapes”. By the same token, if socialism, as a just cause and lofty value pursuit of human beings, has endowed the new era with the brightest background and the most powerful strength, the new era endows scientific socialism with a new ideological dimension and a new historical height through its most magnificent practice.

In April 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping paid a special visit to the Red Army Long March Memorial Garden for Xiangjiang River Campaign in Quanzhou, Guangxi Province. He said emotionally that the fire of ideals and beliefs, once lighted, would create tremendous spiritual strength. He asked us to cherish the memory of revolutionary martyrs, inherit the spiritual blood of Communists, uphold the faith and temper the revolutionary will.

Dating back to eighty-seven years ago, countless Red Army soldiers fought hard to preserve the revolutionary fire and dyed the long march journey and surging Xiangjiang River with blood. The majority of these soldiers in their twenties, or even at the age of 15 or 16, were optimistic and tenacious just because they had a belief in the victory of the revolution and a vision for a better socialist and Communist society. That is the immortal gene of the Party and the password for a nation's prosperity from wane.

Today, we can console all our ancestors and the souls of martyrs over the past 100 years. At this moment, the sun of socialism is shining on the fighters and the smiling faces of children. The banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics is guiding the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, displaying an unexampled bright future. We surely will create a greater miracle that will keep eyes in the world polished, and surely will realize the greatest ideal of Communists!