On 16 June 2021, an article titled “The Great Cause of the Communist Party of China” by H.E. Liu Hongyang, the Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, was published on Nation and Daily Times, the leading newspapers in Malawi. Following is the full text of the article:

                                       

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). With the rising of China’s international status, there have been voices of pessimism, slander and even demonization on the CPC in recent years. While the truth is that, the CPC, rallying the Chinese people around itself, succeeded in realizing the goals of national independence from a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, making it possible for the Chinese people to become the true masters of the country. With the hard work and dedication of the CPC and the Chinese people, China has been turned from a weak and impoverished agrarian country with backward productivity to the world’s second largest economy. According to independent polls conducted by Pew Research Center, Harvard University and other institutions worldwide, the Chinese people’s overall support for the CPC and the Chinese government has been over 90% on average, ranking top in the world. And with the support of the people, the CPC has grown from a party of dozens of members to the world’s largest governing party.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the CPC and also China.

The CPC is the founder of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Founded on 23rd July, 1921, the CPC’s highest ideal and ultimate goal is the realization of communism. It shoulders the original aspiration and the mission of national rejuvenation and seeking happiness for the Chinese people. The CPC emphasizes not only the importance of running of the country by the people, but also the importance of securing the people’s rights on elections and governing the country. Since the founding of PRC in 1949, the CPC has been the ruling party in China, and has successfully built a socialist China. Different from multiparty systems, or single party systems, China has found a democratic path which suits our own national conditions -- the system of CPC-led multi-party cooperation and political consultation. Under this system, the CPC as the ruling party, together with all other 8 democratic parties, enjoy long-term cooperation and mutual oversight. The system well combines the wisdom of all other democratic parties, associations and people from all walks of life. The combined wisdom of the system can not only help to promote a more scientific and democratic decision-making of the ruling party and the government at all levels, but also help to balance the interests and needs of various communities. The system avoids the disadvantage of a lack of supervision in single-party systems, and at the same time helps to prevent party wrangling, political chaos and social instability caused by multiparty disputes.

The CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese people, and the Chinese nation. The vanguard is a group of people who fight valiantly in the front line while are not afraid of laying down their lives to realize their ideal and for the interest of the people. An essay titled The Lovely China describes how the people were suffering under the oppression of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism, and expresses the author’s determination to save China with blood even his life. The author’s name is Fang Zhimin. He joined the CPC in 1924, and was one of the first leaders of the CPC. Rooted in the rural areas in China, he organized peasants armed forces, carried out the agrarian revolution, and founded the Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangxi base area, one of the six major Soviet regions in the country. In 1935, Fang led the Red Army northward to resist Japanese aggression, and was surrounded by heavy Kuomintang troops on the way. In order to cover and help evacuation of the Central Red Army, Fang led his troops, which were outnumbered by the enemies, to fight for seven days and nights. He was arrested on 29 January, 1935. Unyielding to the severe punishment and lure, Fang died bravely at the age of 36 on 6 August, 1935. Before being executed, he left his last words, “Head can be cut off by the enemy, but the faith in communism will never be shaken”. Fang was one of the countless CPC members who had sacrificed their lives for the course of the Chinese nation and the people. According to incomplete statistics, more than 21 million CPC members died in their fight for building a new China in the past century. After 28 years of tough fights, the Chinese Communists finally led the people to defeat the feudal warlords, the Japanese imperialism, and the reactionary Kuomintang, and established the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

The CPC is the builder of a new China. Back in 1949 when the new China was founded, China’s share of world GDP is less than 5%. The people did not have enough food and clothing. Such a huge country could not even build a tractor on its own. Generation after generation, the CPC members have worked hard together with the people, to concentrate their efforts on the economy and production. In 1978, based on the ideological foundation of “emancipating the mind, and seeking truth from facts”, the CPC made a great decision to focus on economic construction and implement reform and opening up, which greatly liberated the country’s productivity and improved the people’s living standards. 72 years after the founding of the PRC, the CPC has led the Chinese people to achieve one historic achievement after another:

China is now the world’s second largest economy, largest trader in goods, and with largest foreign exchange reserves. China contributes about 30% to the world growth for the past years. China’s GDP came in at 24.93 trillion RMB yuan ($3.8 trillion) in the first quarter of 2021, surging 18.3 percent year-on-year, the highest quarterly growth since 1993. China’s economy continued to boom in April and May from the record growth in the first quarter, with strong exports and rising business confidence supporting the recovery.

China is the only country in the world that has all the industrial sectors categorized in the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities. It only takes China 70 years to complete the industrialization, which costed western countries hundreds of years.

China’s grain output has stabilized at more than 650 billion kg for six consecutive years, feeding nearly 20% of the world’s population with only 9% of the world’s arable land.

China has completely eradicated extreme poverty, with 800 million rural population shaking off poverty since reform and opening up.

China’s scientific and technological strength is rising. Chang’e-5 probe brings home moon samples; rover Zhurong lands on Mars; Beidou Navigation Satellite System starts offering navigation and positioning services; Jiaolong completes the 10,000-meter sea trials.

With China’s great achievements under the CPC leadership in the past century, the argument of slandering China is self-defeating, and those who slander China turn out to be slandering themselves.

The CPC is a party fighting for the Chinese people. Friends in Malawi have often put this question to me: How did the CPC achieve today’s achievements? I think the most fundamental reason is that the CPC and the Chinese people have a close-knit connection. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “The country is the people, and the people are the country.” The fight against COVID-19 proves that the CPC has never been the spokesperson of any class or interest groups, but a party deeply rooted in the broadest possible majority of the people. In this battle without gunpowder, the CPC members have acted as the vanguard. More than 39 million CPC members fight the virus in the front line, and more than 13 million CPC members volunteer their services. Nearly 400 CPC members have defended others’ lives and safety at the cost of their own. Whether it’s an infant only 30 hours old or a centenarian, or a foreigner studying or working in China, China treats them equally and provides free treatment. In contrast, in some western countries that advertise so-called “democracy” and “human rights”, the death rate of the poor is twice as high as that of the rich, and the death rate of the black doubles that of the white. This is the reflection of social tearing and racial discrimination in those countries. At present, the epidemic in China has been effectively controlled, bringing stability to the society, and a safe and healthy life to the people. The victory of China’s fight against the epidemic provides a vivid answer of the question -- “why the CPC works”.

The CPC is the party fighting for human progress. Unlike some countries that uphold the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, the CPC is happy to see the developing countries find a development path that suits their national conditions. It is also our hope that the CPC’s great achievements in the last century could bring confidence to other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence. The CPC knows that China will do well only when the world does well. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, and the concept of a global community of shared future for mankind. The global governance is meant to benefit from the founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New BRICS Development Bank, the Silk Road Fund, etc.. It is worth mentioning that, these initiatives and mechanisms do not attach any political conditions, and do not intend to form a small circle to keep others out, but only aim to create a large platform for open cooperation.

On 24 November last year, the CPC established official relations with the Malawi Congress Party. I am confident that mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two parties and the two countries will be further deepened. China is willing to share development achievements and experience with Malawi, to promote the long-term, sound and stable development of China-Malawi relations.