Op-Ed Contributors

Political orientation crucial

By Zheng Qingyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-28 08:07

Actively, steadily and prudently push forward reforms in the correct political direction for stability and prosperity

What political system a country adopts, and what path of political development a country takes, depends ultimately on the will of the majority of the country's people and the country's specific national, historical and cultural conditions.

Through the years of New China, we have already found an explicit answer to what political path we will take. This choice is the outcome of tenacious explorations by generations, the accumulation of the historical experiences of modern China over more than 100 years, and is consistent with the trend of the times and the aspirations of the people.

In this critical period of China's reform and opening-up and social modernization drive, the Fifth Plenary Session of the Party's 17th National Congress reiterated the significance of this political course.

"Adhere to the socialist road of political development with Chinese characteristics, adhere to the unity of the Party's leadership, people's status as masters of the State and the principle of governing the country in accordance with law, actively, steadily and prudently push forward reforms in the political setup, and continuously promote self-improvement and development of the socialist political system."

This is an important strategic arrangement based on the overall layout of socialism with Chinese characteristics and it is the fundamental political guarantee that will allow us to firmly seize historical opportunities and to push forward reform and opening-up and the socialist modernization drive.

Developing socialist democratic politics is an unswerving goal of our Party. As early as 1979, our Party made it clear it would reform and improve the socialist political system, and has since been stressing that the reforms implemented, which include reforms in the political setup, are comprehensive.

For more than 30 years, political reforms, as an important part of our country's development, have been deepening in step with economic and social development, people's rising enthusiasm for political participation, and the continuously changing times. Steady progress in the reform of political arrangements has inspired the creativity, enthusiasm and initiative of the whole Party and people of all ethnicities in the country, and maintained the vitality of the Party and the country. It has expanded socialist democracy, improved the socialist legal system, promoted the cause of human rights in our country, effectively facilitated comprehensive and coordinated development in economic, political, cultural, and social dimensions, and provided systematic support and legal guarantees for the cause of socialist modernization.

Looking back on the process of 30-odd years of reform and opening-up, it is not difficult to find that the pace of our country's reforms of the political setup, with the focus on socialist democracy and socialist rule of law, has never ceased on the road of socialist political development with Chinese characteristics.

Conforming to changes in economic and social development, and adapting to people's growing enthusiasm for political participation, we are steadily developing a socialist political civilization. The fundamental principle is to ensure that people are the masters of the State, and the aim is to enhance the vitality of the Party and the country, and to mobilize people's enthusiasm. In accordance with the law, we carry out democratic elections, democratic decision-making, democratic management and democratic supervision. We guarantee people's rights to information, participation, expression and supervision, adhere to governing in a scientific and democratic manner, and in accordance with the law promote scientific and democratic decision-making. We also widely mobilize and organize the people to manage State affairs according to the law.

We are consistently striving to ensure scientific and democratic legislation; striving to establish and perfect the socialist system of law with Chinese characteristics, and to promote administration according to law; striving to deepen judicial reforms, safeguard social fairness and justice, and preserve the unity, dignity and authority of the socialist rule of law.

Steady progress in political reform has become the great tide of our time, from the gradual standardization and institutionalization of the Party's leadership setup, to the practice to drive mass democracy with inner-Party democracy; from drastically promoting institutional reforms, to improving mechanisms of administration suited to a socialist market economy; from the abolition of life-long tenure of leading officials, to the establishment of a national civil service; from the implementation of grassroots self-government, to the gradual introduction of equal votes for urban and rural areas in electing deputies to People's Congresses; and the expansion of orderly political participation by citizens; from strengthening the supervision of, and constraints on, the practice of power, to establishing and perfecting the mechanisms for punishing and preventing corruption. This progress has built socialism with Chinese characteristics and will allow socialist China to continue making achievements that will draw attention from all over the world.