In a series of escalating confrontations with
Beijing recently, Washington's broadsides against the Communist Party of
China have become a daily occurrence. However, the more than 70 years
of economic growth and social stability China has achieved under the
leadership of the CPC are a testimony to the Party's success in ruling
the world's most populous country.
When the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out, the CPC led the
Chinese people to successfully contain the virus in a short time and
restart economic activities. It has also actively worked with political
parties of other countries to jointly uphold global public health
security, providing medical supplies and expertise to affected countries
to help them fight the virus.
Amid the global pandemic, politicians in the United States, including
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and
Attorney General Bill Barr, have kept ramping up their rhetoric against
the CPC to slander its credibility. However, findings from a US research
institute on governance point to the Chinese people's satisfaction with
the government's performance.
A policy brief, released by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance
and Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of
Government earlier this month, finds that "Chinese citizens rate the
government as more capable and effective than ever before" and the
Chinese people's overall satisfaction with the central government
exceeds 93 percent.
The report contains data from eight separate surveys between 2003 and
2016, and it records face-to-face interview responses from more than
31,000 individuals in both urban and rural settings. It said "the Party
appears to be as strong as ever" and that "a deeper resilience is
founded on popular support".
Zheng Yongnian, a professor of politics and director of the East
Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, said that the
US administration is clinging to an approach of "identity politics" to
demonize China, and under its narratives, the CPC takes the place of
China when US hard-liners and elite conservative politicians vilify the
country.
The purpose is to sever the connections between the CPC and the
Chinese people, and to portray the confrontation between China and the
US as a conflict between different systems, Zheng told Chinese social
media platform Zhenghedao.
While seeking to drive a wedge between the CPC and the Chinese
people, he added, the US also uses the approach to isolate China by
demonizing the CPC in a bid to form a united front of Western
governments to confront China.
When describing its relations with the people, the CPC always uses
"the flesh-and-blood bond" to highlight that it comes from the people,
relies on the people and works for the people. Serving the people
wholeheartedly is the fundamental purpose of the CPC, as laid down in
the Party Constitution and upheld by generations of its leadership.
During the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak, the CPC has
upheld the belief of "people first "and mobilized all resources
available to protect people's lives and health. Xi Jinping, general
secretary of the CPC Central Committee, acted as commander-in-chief in
the war against the contagion, urging officials to give top priority to
people's health and lives.
In the third volume of his book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China,
which was published at the end of June, Xi explained how strengthening
the Party's leadership and upholding a people-centered philosophy have
great relevance in realizing national rejuvenation.
"To ensure that the people enjoy a better life is the ultimate goal
of all our work and is an important manifestation of our Party's
fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly," Xi said in
the book.
Yao Yang, dean of Peking University's National School of Development,
said anyone trying to comprehend China from a Western perspective will
find it difficult to understand what happened to the country.
Speaking during a recent online seminar on China's political system,
Yao said that for many people in the Western world, if a country's
system is not categorized as a "Western-style democracy", it will be
"authoritarian".However, Yao said, it's incorrect to describe China's
system as "authoritarian" as the CPC is actually different from
political parties as defined by "Western-style democracy".
He explained that political parties in Western countries often
represent a group of people, however, the CPC represents the whole
Chinese people, and it boasts more than 90 million members from all
walks of life throughout the country.
Original aspiration
Since it was founded in 1921, the CPC has made clear its mission of
modernizing China and leading the Chinese people to live a better life,
Yao said.
The CPC will be marking its centenary next year. It said, by that
time, China will secure victory in completing the building of a
moderately prosperous society in all respects. It also aims to eliminate
absolute poverty throughout the country by the end of this year.
While seeking domestic development, the CPC has also led the country
to evolve from a follower and learner into a champion and contributor of
multilateralism and globalization. It is always open and inclusive and
willing to share ideas and solutions to address common concerns,
especially in the times of COVID-19 and world economic recession.
Martin Jacques, a senior fellow of politics and international studies
at Cambridge University, attributed China's success to the CPC's
constant reforms and its principle of "serving the people".
"One of the features of the Communist Party of China has been its
ability to constantly reform itself, keep moving on and not getting
stuck, and constantly responding to the latest situation in the
country," Jacques said in a video interview with China Central
Television.
The scholar said that the CPC has made remarkable achievements in
leading China to be an influential player on the international stage,
adding that the CPC's modesty in learning and self-reform will help it
to cope with the problems on the way forward.