Chapter 18 Opening speech of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China

(September 15, 1956) Comrades: The Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China is now open. (All stand up, prolonged warm applause) During the eleven years since the Seventh National Congress of our Party[1], comrades and friends throughout China and the world who have fought heroically and worked hard for the cause of communism and the liberation of mankind, and thus have sacrificed their lives, There are many, and we should always remember them. (all rise, silence) The task of our Congress this time is: to sum up the experience since the Seventh Congress, to unite the whole Party, to unite all forces that can be united at home and abroad, and to strive to build a great socialist China. (warm applause)

In the eleven years since the Seventh Congress, we have thoroughly completed the bourgeois-democratic revolution and won decisive victories in the socialist revolution in a large country with a vast territory, a large population and complex conditions.The practice of the two revolutions has proved that from the Seventh Congress to the present, the line of the Party Central Committee is correct, and our Party is a politically mature and great Marxist-Leninist party. (Enthusiastic applause) Our party is now more united and more consolidated than ever before. (Enthusiastic applause) Our Party has become the core force uniting the people of the whole country in socialist construction. (Enthusiastic applause) We have made great achievements in all aspects of our work.We did our job right, but we also made some mistakes.At this conference, we need to summarize the main experience in our work, including successful experience and wrong experience, so that those beneficial experiences can be promoted and lessons can be drawn from those wrong experiences.

As far as domestic conditions are concerned, our victory was achieved by relying on the worker-peasant alliance led by the working class and extensively uniting all possible forces.In order to carry out the great construction work, we have before us an extremely heavy task.Although we have more than ten million party members, they still only constitute a tiny minority of the national population.In our various state organs and various social undertakings, a great deal of work has to be done by non-Party personnel.If we are not good at relying on the masses and cooperating with people outside the Party, we will not be able to do our work well.While we continue to strengthen the unity of the whole Party, we must also continue to strengthen the unity of all nationalities, democratic classes, democratic parties, and people's organizations, and continue to consolidate and expand our people's democratic united front. Any undesirable phenomenon in the work link that hinders the unity of the party and the people.

In the international arena, our victory has relied on the support of the peaceful democratic socialist camp headed by the Soviet Union (warm applause) and the deep sympathy of the peace-loving people all over the world. (Enthusiastic applause) Now, the development of the international situation is more favorable to our country's construction.Our country and the socialist countries all need peace, and the people of all countries in the world also need peace.Those who desire war and do not want peace are only certain monopoly capitalist groups in a small number of imperialist countries who rely on aggression to make their fortunes.Thanks to the continuous efforts of peace-loving countries and peoples, the international situation has tended to ease. (Applause) In order to strive for lasting peace in the world, we must further develop friendly cooperation with the fraternal countries in the socialist camp, (warm applause) and strengthen our unity with all peace-loving countries. (Enthusiastic applause) We must strive to establish normal diplomatic relations with all countries willing to live in peace with us on the basis of mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit.We must give active support to the national independence and liberation movements in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as to the peace movements and just struggles in all countries in the world. (Enthusiastic applause) We firmly support the Egyptian government's completely legal move to take back the Suez Canal Company, and resolutely oppose any attempt to violate Egypt's sovereignty and carry out armed intervention against Egypt. (Enthusiastic applause) We must completely bankrupt the imperialist plots to create tension and prepare for war. (prolonged warm applause)

The victories of revolution and construction in our country are all victories of Marxism-Leninism.It is a consistent ideological principle of our party to closely link the theory of Marxism-Leninism with the practice of the Chinese revolution.Over the years, especially since the rectification movement in 1942, we have done a lot to strengthen the education of Marxism-Leninism within the Party.Now, compared with before the rectification movement, the ideological level of our Party's Marxism-Leninism has been raised one step higher.But we also have serious shortcomings.Among many of our comrades there still exist viewpoints and styles of work that violate Marxism-Leninism, namely: ideological subjectivism, work bureaucracy and organizational sectarianism.These viewpoints and style of work are divorced from the masses and reality, are not conducive to unity within and outside the party, and hinder the progress of our cause and the progress of our comrades.We must vigorously overcome these serious shortcomings in our ranks by strengthening ideological education within the Party. (applaud)

After the October Revolution, Lenin put forward such a task for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: study and study again. [3] Comrades in the Soviet Union, the people of the Soviet Union, followed Lenin's instructions.They have achieved extremely brilliant achievements in a short period of time. (Prolonged warm applause.) At the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held not long ago, many correct policies were formulated and the shortcomings existing in the Party were criticized.It can be concluded that their work will have extremely great development in the future. (Long and warm applause)

We are now facing roughly the same tasks as in the early days of the Soviet Union.To transform a backward agricultural China into an advanced industrialized China, the work before us is very difficult, and our experience is far from enough.Therefore, you must be good at learning.We must be good at learning from our pioneer, the Soviet Union, (applause) we must be good at learning from the people's democracies, (applause) we must be good at learning from all fraternal parties in the world, (applause) we must be good at learning from the people of all countries in the world. (Applause) We must never adopt an arrogant big-nation attitude, and we must never become arrogant because of the victory of the revolution and some achievements in construction.Every country, big or small, has its strengths and weaknesses.Even if our work has achieved great results, there is no reason for pride.Humility makes people progress, pride makes people lag, and we should always remember this truth. (warm applause)

Comrades, I and everyone believe that the strength of the liberated Chinese people is inexhaustible. We also have the assistance of our great ally, the Soviet Union and other fraternal countries. (Applause) We also have the support of all fraternal parties in the world. (Applause) With the support of all sympathizers in the world, (applause) we do not feel isolated, so we will surely be able to build our country step by step into a great socialist industrialized country. (Enthusiastic applause) Our congress this time will give a great impetus to the advancement of our country's construction. (applaud)

Present here today are representatives of the Communist Party, Workers' Party, Labor Party and People's Revolutionary Party from more than fifty countries. (Prolonged warm applause) They are all Marxist-Leninists, and they share a common language with us. (Applause.) They have traveled a long way to come to our country and participate in this congress of our party with lofty friendship.This is a great encouragement and support for us. (Enthusiastic applause) We extend a warm welcome to them. (All stand up, long and enthusiastic applause) Also here today are representatives of various democratic parties and democrats without party affiliation in our country. (Enthusiastic applause) They are close friends who work with us. (Applause) They have always given us a lot of help. (Applause) We extend a warm welcome to them. (All stand up, long and enthusiastic applause)

According to the "People's Daily" published on September 16, 1956. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] The Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China, see note [3] on page 98 of this volume. [2] Rectification movement, see note [13] on page 59 of this volume. [3] See Lenin's "Five Years of the Russian Revolution and the Prospect of the World Revolution": "Our most important task today is to learn and learn again." (Volume 4 of "Selected Works of Lenin", People's Publishing House, 1995 edition, p. 728) See also Lenin's "I would rather be less, but better": "In order to reform our state organs, we must set ourselves the following tasks: The first is learning, the second is learning, and the third is learning.” (Volume 4 of "Selected Works of Lenin", People's Publishing House, 1995 edition, p. 786)