Editorial:
50 years of China's socialist revolution

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the most momentous event of 
this century was the Chinese revolution and the establishment of the 
People's Republic of China on October 1 1949. The 50th anniversary of that 
event is now being celebrated.

China has by far the largest population of any country and it is a huge 
daily task to provide the basics of life for 1.3 billion people. Not only 
has that been achieved in the short 50 years of the revolution but the 
standard of living of the Chinese people is steadily rising. No other 
country in the world is achieving the regular scale of economic development 
as is China.

In the first years following the revolution China was set back by the 
"great leap forward" and then, the "cultural revolution" which were 
implemented under the leadership of Mao Zedong, who, in the later period of 
his life adopted extreme "leftist" policies. This happened despite Mao's 
undoubted contribution to winning the revolution before 1949.

It was only following the rejection of these "leftist" policies and the 
adoption of what is called by the Communist Party of China (CPC), the 
policy of "opening up to the outside world" that things took a dramatic 
turn for the better.

China has become steadily stronger economically and politically and more 
influential, particularly among other Asian countries who are China's 
neighbours.

This has been brought about in recent times by the fact that China did not 
devalue its currency when other Asian countries were forced to do so as a 
result of currency raids by the likes of George Soros and other financial 
speculators. China's stand on this question, even though it created trade 
difficulties for itself, was of great assistance to the ASEAN countries, 
and contributed to financial stability in the region.

Furthermore, China has implemented the policies of peaceful co-existence in 
relations with other countries. These principles are non-interference, 
equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit, and cultural exchanges.

At the same time China opposes imperialism, hegemonism, colonialism and 
racism and works to safeguard world peace.

In pursuing a policy of world peace, China has not established its military 
bases in other countries as have a number of European and North American 
countries.

China has not yet fully reunited all the former territories which were torn 
from China by British, Portuguese and American imperialism. Hong Kong has 
returned. Macao is about to be returned. Taiwan is the remaining province 
of China yet to be reunited.

In pursuing a policy of peace and stability China is creating the best 
situation for the continuation of its economic and social development and 
for that of other countries as well.

All this has been made possible by the fact that under the leadership of 
the CPC, the people of China have embarked on the construction of a 
socialist society.

A resolution adopted by the CPC in 1981 following the ending of the Maoist 
period said:

"Socialism aims not just at eliminating all systems of exploitation and all 
exploiting classes but also at greatly expanding the productive forces, 
improving and developing the socialist relations of production and on this 
basis, gradually eliminating all class differences and all major social 
distinctions and inequalities ... until communism is finally realised. This 
is a great revolution, unprecedented in human history ... This revolution 
which has entered the period of peaceful development is more profound and 
arduous than any previous revolution and will not only take a very long 
historical period to accomplish but also demand many generations of 
unswerving and disciplined hard work and heroic sacrifice."

It is this vision that the Chinese revolution is systematically 
implementing.

It is fortunate for the Australia people that we live in the Asian region 
which has the opportunity to gain and learn from the Chinese socialist 
revolution not only in a material sense, by trade ties, but also by the 
example of its foreign policy principles which are helping to create a 
peaceful Asian region.

It is to be hoped that Australian Government stupidities do not throw this 
opportunity away.
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