[This article is reprinted from Peking Review, Vol. 11, #43, Oct. 25, 1968, pp. 24-25.]
A CLASSE OPERARIA, organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil, published an article “Long Live People’s China!” in its recent issue, No. 24, which warmly hailed the 19th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the great victory of the establishment of revolutionary committees in all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China (with the exception of Taiwan Province).
On October first, the article said, the Chinese people and revolutionary peoples of the whole world celebrated the 19th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China with great joy and enthusiasm. Hundreds of millions of once brutally oppressed Chinese people finally achieved liberty and complete independence and opened the way for the construction of a new society after many years of heroic struggle. The broad labouring masses of China dealt the imperialist system a smashing blow; and the national-liberation movement of the colonial and dependent countries entered a new stage from then on.
The article emphasized: “The victory of the Chinese revolution in 1949 was a triumph of Marxism-Leninism, the thought of Mao Tse-tung. In decades of struggle the Chinese people tried by many means to rid themselves of a century of oppression. However, they were unable to achieve their objective. It was only under the guidance of the powerful doctrine of the proletariat, enriched with genius by Mao Tse-tung, that they removed the three big mountains weighing down on this nation — feudalism, imperialism and bureaucrat-capitalism — and founded the People’s Republic of China.”
Following the thinking of Chairman Mao that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,” China’s proletariat, peasants and progressive intellectuals adopted armed struggle as the only way to defeat the enemy and built up a powerful People’s Liberation Army.
The article said: “The People’s Liberation Army, which made glorious achievements in thousands of battles, mastered the most revolutionary military thinking and established close links with the masses. One after another, it defeated the massive Kuomintang armies equipped by U.S. imperialism. The People’s Republic of China could not have been founded without the building of this new-type army.
“Having been tempered by the most bitter class struggle, the Chinese Communist Party became the leading force of the liberation struggle. It rallied the most conscious and combat-worthy elements, especially the workers and poor peasants, won the support of the broad masses and greatly raised the people’s political consciousness. Under the leadership of Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese Communist Party became the vanguard of the revolution. It opposed and eliminated the Right and ‘Left’ tendencies in its own ranks, defended the purity of Marxism-Leninism and creatively applied Marxism-Leninism to China’s conditions.”
The article also said: “China has won tremendous successes during the 19 years of the people’s power. It has developed the people’s communes, organizing millions upon millions of peasants in a higher production system; it has built a modern industry with an advanced technical base; it has mastered the secrets of atomic energy; it has ensured the well-being of the working people and instituted universal education. However, the greatest, the most outstanding achievement of momentous historic significance is undoubtedly the unfolding of the great proletarian cultural revolution, which represents a new stage in socialist revolution. In the life of any people, seldom has a social movement reached such a scale and depth. No other movement has aroused the people in such great numbers. The cultural revolution has been a fatal blow to modern revisionism and smashed the futile attempts to restore capitalism in China.”
The article pointed out that the 19th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China is celebrated at a time when all-round victory is being won in the great proletarian cultural revolution. Revolutionary committees of the “three-in-one” combination, the new form of state power under the dictatorship of the proletariat that has appeared in the course of this revolution, have now been established throughout China in all the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions (with the exception of Taiwan Province). Thus, the banners of victory in the great proletarian cultural revolution are flying all over China. Socialist state power now rests firmly in the hands of the people and tested revolutionaries loyal to Mao Tse-tung’s thought. The Chinese people are marching forward towards a bright future.
“People’s China now enjoys indisputable world popularity and prestige. The people of the world look with admiration and respect towards this great Asian socialist country which is the powerful bastion of the struggle against U.S. imperialism and the main base area of the revolutionary movement. Unlike the Soviet revisionists who have betrayed the socialist cause and who shamelessly align themselves with the U.S. monopoly groups, China remains firm in its loyalty to the revolution and proletarian internationalism and refuses to be intimidated by the warlike elements in the White House and their Kremlin partners. It courageously defends socialism, people’s democracy and the independence of the peoples. China’s example has illuminated the road to liberation of the exploited and oppressed people of all continents.”
In conclusion, the article said that the lofty image of Chairman Mao Tse-tung appears all the more outstanding at the time of the 19th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. As a great Marxist-Leniiaist thinker, Chairman Mao Tse-tung has blazed new trails that have been proved in practice to be universal truths in all fields and has made the most valuable contributions to the treasure-house of Marxism-Leninism.
Peking Review Index | Chinese Communism | Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung