In 2021, the Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated its centenary birthday. A century-old party is in its prime. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China Civilization Network launched the audio program "The Power of Belief" on the story of Party history. Today, I will tell you the story of the basic completion of socialist transformation and the establishment of the socialist system in the early days of the founding of New China.
The First Session of the First National People’s Congress and the Constitution of People’s Republic of China (PRC)
With the beginning of large-scale national economic construction, it is an important and urgent task to strengthen the construction of national political and legal superstructure and better serve the establishment of socialist economic foundation. Therefore, Mao Zedong personally presided over the drafting of the first constitution of New China with great energy.
In September 1954, the first session of the First National People’s Congress was held in Beijing. A major contribution of the Congress was the unanimous adoption of the Constitution of People’s Republic of China (PRC). This is a socialist constitution, which embodies the principles of people’s democracy and socialism. In the form of fundamental law, it confirms the heroic struggle of China people against internal and external enemies, for national independence and people’s freedom and happiness in modern times for more than 100 years, confirms the historical change that the Communist Party of China (CPC) led China people to win the victory of the new-democratic revolution and China people to master state power, determines the political system in which China people exercise their right to be masters of their own affairs, and points out the correct way to continue their struggle for building a socialist society.
The Constitution further establishes China’s fundamental political system, and clearly stipulates: "People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a people’s democratic country led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants." "All power in People’s Republic of China (PRC) belongs to the people. The organs where the people exercise power are the National People’s Congress and local people’s congresses at various levels. " "The National People’s Congress, local people’s congresses at various levels and other state organs all practice democratic centralism." The constitution also establishes the pattern of the state system: the National People’s Congress is the highest organ of state power; The State Council, the Central People’s Government, is the highest state administrative organ.
The General Assembly elected Mao Zedong as Chairman of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Zhu De as Vice-Chairman; Elected Liu Shaoqi as Chairman the NPC Standing Committee, and Soong Ching Ling and other 13 vice chairmen; Zhou Enlai was appointed Prime Minister of the State Council.
The people’s congress system is the fundamental political system of our country. The convening of the National People’s Congress marks the establishment of the people’s congress system. The implementation of the people’s congress system in China is a great creation of Chinese people in the history of human political system, a basic conclusion drawn from a profound summary of the painful lessons of China’s political life after modern times, a historical result of the radical changes and stirring development of China society for more than a hundred years, and an inevitable choice for Chinese people to turn over and master their own destiny. The establishment of a new political system in China, a country with a civilization history of over 5,000 years and a population of several hundred million, is of epoch-making significance in the history of political development in China and even in the world.
The system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a basic political system in China, and it is a new political party system grown from the soil of China. The Constitution of People’s Republic of China (PRC) clearly points out: "In the great struggle to establish People’s Republic of China (PRC), our people have formed a broad people’s democratic United front of all democratic classes, democratic parties and people’s organizations led by the Communist Party of China (CPC)." In the future, "China’s people’s democratic United front will continue to play its role." After the first session of the First National People’s Congress was held, the task of China People’s Political Consultative Conference to implement the functions and powers of the National People’s Congress came to an end. In December 1954, the China People’s Political Consultative Conference held the first meeting of the Second National Committee. The meeting adopted the Constitution of the China People’s Political Consultative Conference, affirming that the CPPCC still needs to exist as an organization of the people’s democratic United front. The meeting clarified the nature, position, role and tasks of the CPPCC after the National People’s Congress, as well as the relationship between the CPPCC, the NPC and the government, which further consolidated the people’s democratic United front and laid the foundation for China’s long-term adherence to the basic political system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). CPPCC is a great achievement of the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s combination of Marxism–Leninism’s United front theory, party theory and democratic politics theory with China’s reality, and a great creation of political system led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), democratic parties, personages without party affiliation, people’s organizations and people from all ethnic groups and walks of life.
An important content of the Constitution of People’s Republic of China (PRC) is to establish the relationship of equality, friendship and mutual assistance among ethnic groups in China from the fundamental law, and to guarantee the autonomy rights of ethnic minorities. The Constitution clearly stipulates: "People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a unified multi-ethnic country." "Regional autonomy is practiced in areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities. All ethnic autonomous areas are inseparable parts of People’s Republic of China (PRC). "
The system of regional ethnic autonomy is a basic political system in China, an important part of the correct way to solve ethnic problems with China characteristics, and an important creation of the Party to solve ethnic problems in China by applying Marxist ethnic theory according to the historical and realistic characteristics of China. In September 1949, the Common Program of China People’s Political Consultative Conference decided to implement the system of regional ethnic autonomy. In August 1952, the Central People’s Government promulgated and implemented the Outline for the Implementation of Regional National Autonomy in People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 1954, the Constitution standardized ethnic autonomous areas into autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, and ethnic townships were set up in ethnic minority areas below the county level. The implementation of the system of regional ethnic autonomy is of great and long-term significance for China to maintain the integrity and unity of the country and promote the unity, mutual assistance and development and progress of all ethnic groups under any complicated international and domestic environment.
The basic political system of the People’s Congress, multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the establishment of the basic political system of regional ethnic autonomy constitute China’s socialist political system, which provides political guarantee for China to establish a socialist economic foundation and corresponding economic system.
Socialist transformation of private ownership of means of production and establishment of socialist economic system
With the implementation of the first five-year construction plan and the start of socialist industrialization, and with the proposal and propaganda of the Party’s general line in the transitional period, the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce is also advancing step by step.
The socialist transformation of agriculture actually started before the general line of the transition period was put forward. In September 1951, the CPC Central Committee formulated the Resolution on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation in Agricultural Production (Draft), emphasizing that the movement of mutual assistance and cooperation should follow the principle of steady progress according to the needs and possibilities of production development, and must implement the principles of voluntariness and mutual benefit, adopt typical demonstration and gradual popularization methods, and guide farmers to take the road of mutual assistance and cooperation. After the announcement of the general line for the transition period, in December 1953, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Developing Agricultural Production Cooperatives was adopted. It is under the guidance of these two resolutions that the rural mutual aid and cooperation movement has made steady progress. In the early stage of the agricultural cooperative movement, it was mainly to develop agricultural production mutual aid groups.
After September 1953, it entered the stage of developing agricultural production cooperatives. Since the large-scale economic construction began in 1953, the contradiction of agricultural products in short supply has occurred, which has caused drastic fluctuations in food prices. After repeated weighing, in October, 1953, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a decision on the unified purchase and marketing of grain, followed by the unified purchase of oil and the unified marketing of edible oil. In 1954, the unified purchase of cotton and the unified purchase and marketing of cotton cloth were implemented. The unified purchase and marketing of major agricultural products has accelerated the pace of agricultural socialist transformation. After July 1955, agricultural cooperation reached its climax.
The agricultural cooperative movement was basically healthy in the early stage. In 1953, there was some impatient deviation, which was quickly corrected. The advantages and effects of agricultural cooperation are also obvious. The statistical data at that time showed that more than 80% of cooperatives increased production and income, and mutual aid groups were generally better than individual ones, and cooperatives were better than mutual aid groups. Therefore, the movement of mutual assistance and cooperation has been welcomed by the poor farmers, and joining the cooperative has become a mass action. By the end of 1956, agricultural cooperation was basically completed.
The transformation of capitalist industry and commerce is realized through state capitalism. Before the end of 1953, we will focus on the development of primary and intermediate state capitalism with processing and ordering as the mainstay. Since 1954, it has begun to focus on the development of public-private partnership, an advanced form of state capitalism.becauseAfter the public-private partnership, the production of enterprises has developed rapidly, and the dividends shared by private shares are mostly more than those in the private period, prompting more capitalists to demand public-private partnership. At the end of 1954, the State Council decided to adopt the policy of "overall consideration, centralized arrangement and transformation by industry" to solve the contradiction between public and private; According to the industry, the joint venture is implemented by taking the big ones with the small ones and the advanced ones with the backward ones, which has accelerated the pace of transforming private industries. By the end of 1956, the socialist transformation of capitalist industry and commerce was basically completed.
The socialist transformation of individual handicrafts generally goes through three stages: handicraft production cooperation group, handicraft supply-marketing-production cooperative and handicraft production cooperatives. According to local conditions, it is carried out from low level to high level, from small to large, from simple to complex according to the forms easily accepted by different craftsmen. The state adheres to the principle of voluntariness and mutual benefit and strives to make cooperatives beneficial to producers, countries and consumers. By the end of 1956, the whole country had basically realized the cooperation of handicraft industry.
In the process of socialist transformation, the party has created a series of forms that are suitable for China’s characteristics and gradually transition from primary to advanced, making individual farmers, craftsmen and private industry and commerceWho canChange the old mode of production step by step. Especially for capitalist industry and commerce, the "redemption" method has been created, which allows capitalists to continue to receive a part of dividends and dividends from enterprises for a considerable period of time without paying a large amount of ransom from the state. It is not only conducive to capitalists accepting transformation, but also can continue to play the positive role of private industry and commerce in expanding production, invigorating circulation, maintaining employment and increasing taxes. The party won over most national capitalists and played a beneficial role in socialist transformation, thus successfully realizing the peaceful redemption of the bourgeoisie once envisioned by Marx and Lenin. This is an original experience of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which enriches and develops Marxist theory of scientific socialism.
History has proved that the Party’s general line for the transitional period is completely correct. However, in the later stage of the transformation, there are some shortcomings, such as too urgent requirements, too rough work, too fast change, and too simple and uniform ownership form and economic composition of the means of production. Nevertheless, socialist transformation, as an unprecedented and profound social change, was completed under the condition of ensuring economic development, social stability and people’s support, and its achievements and influence were great and far-reaching.
In 1956, the socialist transformation was basically completed, and China’s socialist political system and economic system were established. At this point, China’s socialist system has been established. Under the leadership of the Party, China, a big eastern country with a quarter of the world’s population, entered the socialist society and successfully achieved the deepest and greatest social change in China’s history. This is a great historic event.Victory, for the contemporaryAll development and progress in China have laid a fundamental political premise and institutional foundation. From then on, the fundamental task facing the Party is to lead the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country to vigorously develop social productive forces on the basis of the newly established socialist system, and to strive for the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people.
