(East-West Question) Chen Jinrong: What is the original appearance of the CCP's united front?
China News Agency, Beijing, January 14th: What is the original appearance of the CCP's united front?
——Interview with Associate Professor Chen Jinrong of Beijing Institute of Socialism
Author Wen Longjie Xu Crown
The Sixth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the united front is a precious historical experience accumulated over a century, which must be cherished and maintained for a long time.
However, some voices in the Western world have recently been selling the Chinese Communist Party's "United Front Conspiracy Theory" and "United Front Infiltration Theory".
Why was United Front demonized?
Chen Jinrong, an associate professor at the Beijing Institute of Socialism, recently said in an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East-West Question" that it is very important to clarify misunderstandings and restore the original appearance of the Chinese Communist Party's united front.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service: Some voices in the West believe that the CCP's united front is a "conspiracy" and "infiltration". What is the "original appearance" of the CCP's United Front?
Chen Jinrong:
The united front led by the Communist Party of China is not mysterious. "United Front" is translated from the English "UNITED FRONT", which means "United Front". The positive factors of mobilization will promote the Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad to think and work hard.
As the song "Unity is Strength" sings, "Unity is strength, strength is iron, strength is steel".
In fact, our united front is neither a conspiracy nor infiltration, but is aimed at achieving national prosperity, national rejuvenation, and people's happiness.
We say this and do it.
Some people in the West look at the united front led by the Chinese Communist Party with "colored glasses". On the one hand, they have misunderstandings and on the other hand they are afraid. In the final analysis, there is still a Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice.
Objectively speaking, China's development momentum has been getting better and better in recent years, especially in dealing with major challenges faced by all mankind such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic, "the scenery is unique here", and people's trust in the party and the government is also increasing. Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad are showing unprecedented unity.
Against this background, some Western politicians are out of balance and their anxiety is growing.
Because the united front has unique value and great role in promoting the great unity of the Chinese nation, it is inevitable that it will become the target of being attacked and smeared.
China News Agency reporter: Is the united front created by the CCP? Do Western political parties have similar ideas or strategies for United Front?
Chen Jinrong:
The united front was not created by the CCP, but originated from the Marxist community thought.
As a basic strategy and tactics of Marxism, the fundamental problem of the united front is to solve the problem of self-unification and allied forces in the proletarian liberation movement.
Marx and Engels proposed that "the proletarians of the world unite".
When Lenin led the Russian Revolution, he put forward the idea of a united front, such as the proletariat's leadership, the alliance of workers and peasants, and the unity of the proletarians and oppressed nations of the world.
The Communist Party of China has combined the Marxist united front theory with the reality of China, and has gathered together the forces of common struggle around the missions and tasks of each historical period.
Lenin proposed and put into practice the idea of a united front such as the proletariat's leadership, the alliance of workers and peasants, and the unity of the proletarians and oppressed nations of the world.
The picture shows a portrait of Lenin on display at the October Revolution Cultural Relics Exhibition held in Beijing in 2017.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Pan Xulin
Looking at it, of course, Western political parties also engage in a united front, mainly to form political alliances to accomplish common tasks or safeguard common interests, such as political alliances, election alliances, and governing alliances internally, and “value alliances” and “international alliances” externally. Partisan Coalition" and so on.
Not long ago, the West held a "democracy summit" with the original intention of drawing ideological boundaries and forming a united front of so-called "democratic countries", but "democracy" is just a pretense. Contradiction, and ultimately serve to maintain its hegemony.
China News Service: What are the characteristics of the CCP's united front compared to Western political alliances?
Chen Jinrong:
It should be said that there are essential differences between the CCP's united front and the political alliance in the West. Its outstanding features are reflected in four aspects:
First, it is highly organized. In most cases, Western political alliances are loose and temporary. They will join forces if they are beneficial, and break up if they are not. They belong to an unstable community of interests.
The CCP's united front has a strong leadership core, and people from all political parties, ethnic groups and all walks of life are firmly united around the CCP.
Second, it is unprecedented in scope. The scope of the CCP's united front is not limited to the alliance of political parties, but also to all socialist workers, builders of socialist causes, patriots who support socialism, patriotic patriots who support the reunification of the motherland, and are committed to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The "four" alliance of the people is a great unity and a great union.
The third is great inclusiveness. The CCP's united front is different from the West's either-or, binary opposition. Instead, it insists on the unity of "consistency" and "diversity", and insists on seeking common ground while reserving differences, being considerate and tolerant, and seeking each other's beauty and beauty. together.
The fourth is the lofty goals of struggle. The CCP's united front advocates uniting and uniting all Chinese sons and daughters of different parties, ethnic groups, strata, groups, beliefs and living under different social systems, focusing on "two The goal of "a hundred years" is to make extensive efforts to realize the great cause of national rejuvenation.
The CCP's united front advocates uniting all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, focusing on the "two centenary goals", and making extensive efforts to achieve the great cause of national rejuvenation.
The picture shows that on July 1, 2021, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Sheng Jiapeng
China News Agency reporter: Why does the CCP's united front have these characteristics? What is the relationship between it and Chinese civilization?
Chen Jinrong:
This question is very critical.
In fact, what kind of development path a country and a nation take, what theory it adheres to, and what kind of system it establishes is closely related to its own country's historical and cultural traditions.
The reason why the united front led by the CCP can become an important magic weapon for overcoming the enemy and ruling and rejuvenating the country is not only scientifically guided by the Marxist united front theory, but also inseparable from the rich nourishment provided by Chinese civilization.
As early as more than 2,000 years ago, China has evolved into a super-large political community, and is a unified country with many ethnic groups.
Confucianism contributed to the collectivist ethics of the family, the state and the world, Legalism established the state form of the county system, Taoism proposed the natural law of all-encompassing and harmonious coexistence, and Mohism emphasized the social action order of "sameness" and "persistence". .
From the perspective of the root of civilization, the core essence of Chinese civilization is "great unification", which provides political consensus and cultural consensus for maintaining national unity, promoting social harmony, and promoting the co-construction of civilization.
Compared with the Western world view of the separation of man and nature, the social view of atomism, the ethnic view of ethnic division, the religious view of either-or, the governance view of local self-government, and the development view of natural selection, Chinese civilization emphasizes nature. The unity of people, the isomorphism of the family and the country, the harmony of all nations, and the coexistence of harmony, with particular emphasis on inclusiveness, harmony and win-win results, and peaceful development.
These excellent traditional cultures and values have become an important source of ideas for the Communist Party of China to consolidate and develop the united front.
In fact, we are facing an important task today, which is to rebuild the narrative of civilization, to be good at telling Chinese stories well and to bridge cultural barriers in a "cross-cultural" way.
On May 28, 2019, in Qufu, Shandong, representatives of religious circles participated in the "Religious People's Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture Learning and Experience Activity" hosted by the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan
China News Service: What are the theoretical innovations and practical development of the CCP's united front in contemporary times?
Chen Jinrong:
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Marxist united front thinking has been combined with China's specific reality and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. There have been many new developments in the theory and practice of the united front.
For example, clarifying the policy of the United Front work in the new era is to correctly handle the relationship between consistency and diversity, emphasizing the enhancement of consistency and respecting diversity; clarifying the characteristics and advantages of China's new party system, emphasizing the strengthening of socialist party building with Chinese characteristics; clarifying China's The correct way to solve ethnic problems with unique characteristics emphasizes the establishment of a sense of community of the Chinese nation; clarifies the socialist religious theory with Chinese characteristics, and emphasizes adhering to the direction of sinicization of religions in our country, etc.
These important innovations and developments of the united front theory in the new era have provided theoretical guidance and practical compliance for promoting the harmony of political party relations, ethnic relations, religious relations, class relations, and relations between compatriots at home and abroad, and to maximize the strength of common struggle.
On June 25, 2021, the State Council Information Office of China released the white paper "China's New Political Party System" and held a press conference in Beijing.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yu
China News Service reporter: Do you think China's United Front wisdom can provide reference for solving today's world problems and the progress of human civilization in the future?
Chen Jinrong: At
present, the trend of anti-globalization is intensifying, but it should be emphasized that differences in civilizations do not necessarily lead to conflicts.
Learning from the West does not mean that China will become the West, and not becoming the West does not mean that it will threaten the West.
Chinese and Western civilizations should communicate and learn from each other, and should not fall into either-or confrontation.
China's united front contains the wisdom of harmony but difference, harmony and symbiosis, inclusiveness, harmony and win-win. These are the spiritual wealth and values shared by all mankind. They should and can play an active role in promoting unity and cooperation and solving world problems.
On the road of the great road, the world is for the public. China has always paid attention to the future and destiny of mankind from a global perspective, and correctly understood and handled the relationship between itself and the outside world from the perspective of the general trend of human development, the general pattern of world changes, and the general history of national development.
Some Western countries, politicians and media should also abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stand on the right side of history, stand on the side of human progress, adhere to openness rather than closure, adhere to unity rather than engage in confrontation, and insist on the best of each other. , Do not engage in self-reliance, adhere to mutual benefit and win-win results, do not engage in zero-sum games, actively build a community with a shared future for mankind, promote the great unity of the peoples of all countries, jointly cope with risks and challenges on the way forward, and push the wheel of history to a bright future.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Chen Jinrong: Doctor of Laws from the Central Party School, associate professor of the Teaching and Research Department of Beijing Institute of Socialism, director of the Beijing Political Consultative Conference Theory and Practice Research Association.
Mainly engaged in the comparison of world political parties, the basic theory and policy research of the United Front.
In recent years, he has undertaken 10 national, provincial and municipal projects, published 5 books (co-authored) and textbooks, and published more than 20 theoretical articles and research reports in "People's Daily", "Learning Times", "China United Front", etc. The research results have been given important instructions by the leaders of the central and municipal Party committees.
He has successively won more than 10 scientific research achievement awards, such as the first prize of "National United Front Theory and Policy Research and Innovation Achievements" by the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee, the first prize of "Social Science Research Achievements" of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, and the first prize of "Excellent Project Achievements" of the National Social Academy.
In December 2020, he was named "The 15th Beijing Excellent Ideological and Political Worker".