50th Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution

In view of some of the statements made about the People's Republic of 
China by letterwriters to this paper, perhaps the following Statement by 
the South African Communist Party will be of interest.

Fifty years ago, on the 1st October 1949, the People's Republic of China 
was founded. It was an event that culminated over two decades of Communist 
Party-led popular struggle.

What had begun as attempted worker insurrections in the port cities of 
Canton and Shanghai in the late 1920s, led to the Long March, which carried 
the working class ideas of Marxism into the deep and impoverished 
countryside of feudal China.

From their deep rural bases the Chinese Communists and their people's army 
led the national struggle against the Japanese militarist occupation — one 
of the most barbaric episodes of the Second World War.

The defeat of Japanese militarism, along with the defeat of nazism and 
fascism, created favourable global conditions for popular forces around the 
world, including in the world's most populous country, China.

The Chinese Revolution is one of the most significant and influential 
events of our century.

Before 1949 the illiteracy rate in China was 80 percent, and life 
expectancy was a meagre 35 years. Now, 50 years later illiteracy has 
declined to less than seven per cent, and average life expectancy is more 
than 70 years.

Over these past 50 years the Chinese people have embarked on another heroic 
Long March. The Chinese Communist Party would be the first to admit that 
there have been confusions and errors on the way. In the late 1960s, a 
ruinous and misguided "Cultural Revolution" tore apart the fabric of 
society, and set back many of the advances made in the previous decade and 
a half.

But throughout these fifty years, the Chinese Revolution has been guided by 
a number of admirable, core principles:

* A commitment to building a socialist society, in which modernisation is 
balanced with social justice, redistribution and development;

* A willingness to learn from international experience, but always to be 
prepared to chart a sovereign national course, based on the knowledge, 
customs, assets and special challenges of ones own society.

In 1978 a major economic reform process was unleashed, in which the PRC 
endeavoured to sustain the core principles of socialism while opening up to 
the market. In most Western media, we are constantly told that the PRC has 
"embraced capitalism" — this is neither how the Chinese themselves 
understand what they are doing, nor is it the reality.

The public sector enterprises, and the rural socialist economy remain core 
pillars of Chinese socialism. There have, however, been an imaginative mix 
of partnerships, liberalisations and other market-related initiatives as 
well.

The Chinese reform process stands in stark contrast to the neo-liberal 
privatisation frenzy that has reduced the former Soviet Union into a third 
world status. The PRC's ability to chart an effective course through the 
recent Asian crisis is also noteworthy.

Against the backdrop of the Asian financial crisis (and catastrophic 
domestic floods) China's GDP still grew 7.8 per cent last year. This was 
achieved, partly, through active state intervention to stimulate demand 
through wage increases in the public sector, and other measures.

On the occasion of this 50th anniversary, the SACP salutes the Chinese 
Communist Party and the people of China.