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IN late 1989, Professor Li Junru, former vice president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, attended an international philosophy symposium held in Hong Kong. While there he introduced his research on the relationship between the philosophical thinking of Mao Zedong and the policies of China’s reform and opening-up.
During the tea break, a Belgian philosopher approached him and told him that she believed Mao’s thinking to be profound, and that her favorite point of view was “The more knowledge you have, the more counter-revolutionary you are.”Astonished, Li explained that this concept didn’t come from Mao, and asked her why she had picked it out in particular.“Knowledge is just like paint,”the philosopher said. “Those who receive a red education are painted red, and those who receive a white education are painted white. People have no ideological differences when they are born; the differences come from the education they receive later.”
These words brought home to Li the fact that many people hold a biased view of China and the CPC due to different cultural backgrounds and ideologies. He realized that it is important for all people, especially those with different world outlooks, to communicate with each other in order to reach the truth.
This book, published in the run-up to the 18th National Congress of the CPC and leadership transition, is Li’s attempt to introduce those outside of China to the CPC’s theories, guidelines, and principles and help bring them closer to that truth.
It begins by introducing the members of the Party to the reader, giving an idea of the nature and variety of people who make up its membership and explaining the process of joining. Li goes on to outline the nature of the ideology of today’s CPC – that of scientific socialism with Chinese characteristics – and provides historical information on its former incarnations. He puts particular emphasis on the fact that this ideology is neither the socialism of the Soviet Union nor capitalism, but a new incarnation of socialism adapted to China’s unique environment.
Most of the remainder of the book is concerned with more technical aspects of the CPC, describing its practical organization, operating mechanisms, role in the state, and culminating in an explanation of its goal of peaceful development. Though it is difficult to give a panoramic view of the CPC in a book of only 253 pages, it has been acknowledged on several fronts that it is a useful introduction to those who wish to understand one of the most influential features of Chinese society. “One distinctive feature of this book is that it directly targets the international community’s common concerns surrounding the CPC, and explains to its readers the Party’s operational mechanisms and governance style in a conversational tone, providing vivid examples and extensive information, dispelling confusion, and in doing so presenting the Party’s true nature,” said Li Zhongjie, deputy director of the Party History Research Center under the Central Committee of the CPC. “This is the kind of information that is required by those who have a genuine interest in China and the CPC.”
David Shambaugh, a professor of political science and international affairs, with particular expertise on China, at George Washington University, commented on this book from a different angle. “Read this book if you want to know how the CPC thinks about itself, its organization and management, its ideology and theories of political reforms, its links to society and the economy, and its role in the world.” He highlights the particular value it has in introducing the CPC to international audiences, saying, “It will help readers understand the CPC from a Chinese point of view.”
During the tea break, a Belgian philosopher approached him and told him that she believed Mao’s thinking to be profound, and that her favorite point of view was “The more knowledge you have, the more counter-revolutionary you are.”Astonished, Li explained that this concept didn’t come from Mao, and asked her why she had picked it out in particular.“Knowledge is just like paint,”the philosopher said. “Those who receive a red education are painted red, and those who receive a white education are painted white. People have no ideological differences when they are born; the differences come from the education they receive later.”
These words brought home to Li the fact that many people hold a biased view of China and the CPC due to different cultural backgrounds and ideologies. He realized that it is important for all people, especially those with different world outlooks, to communicate with each other in order to reach the truth.
This book, published in the run-up to the 18th National Congress of the CPC and leadership transition, is Li’s attempt to introduce those outside of China to the CPC’s theories, guidelines, and principles and help bring them closer to that truth.
It begins by introducing the members of the Party to the reader, giving an idea of the nature and variety of people who make up its membership and explaining the process of joining. Li goes on to outline the nature of the ideology of today’s CPC – that of scientific socialism with Chinese characteristics – and provides historical information on its former incarnations. He puts particular emphasis on the fact that this ideology is neither the socialism of the Soviet Union nor capitalism, but a new incarnation of socialism adapted to China’s unique environment.
Most of the remainder of the book is concerned with more technical aspects of the CPC, describing its practical organization, operating mechanisms, role in the state, and culminating in an explanation of its goal of peaceful development. Though it is difficult to give a panoramic view of the CPC in a book of only 253 pages, it has been acknowledged on several fronts that it is a useful introduction to those who wish to understand one of the most influential features of Chinese society. “One distinctive feature of this book is that it directly targets the international community’s common concerns surrounding the CPC, and explains to its readers the Party’s operational mechanisms and governance style in a conversational tone, providing vivid examples and extensive information, dispelling confusion, and in doing so presenting the Party’s true nature,” said Li Zhongjie, deputy director of the Party History Research Center under the Central Committee of the CPC. “This is the kind of information that is required by those who have a genuine interest in China and the CPC.”
David Shambaugh, a professor of political science and international affairs, with particular expertise on China, at George Washington University, commented on this book from a different angle. “Read this book if you want to know how the CPC thinks about itself, its organization and management, its ideology and theories of political reforms, its links to society and the economy, and its role in the world.” He highlights the particular value it has in introducing the CPC to international audiences, saying, “It will help readers understand the CPC from a Chinese point of view.”