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Toronto, Norman Bethune Institute, 1976 [Jump to the table of contents ] 4 Publisher's Note The present English edition of A Basic Understanding of the Communist Party of China has been translated by the Norman Bethune Institute (NBI) from the French edition which was originally published in the first quarter of 1976 by the Noveau Bureau d'Edition, B.P. 97/75662, Paris, Cedex 14, and subsequently reprinted by NBI. The translation from the original Chinese into French was carried out by Danielle Bergeron. The entire text as well as the reference notes at the end of the book have been translated as they appeared in the original French edition. translated from the French edition and published by: NORMAN BETHUNE INSTITUTE printed by: PEOPLE'S CANADA PUBLISHING HOUSE distributed by: NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS CENTRE Distributors of Progressive Books & Periodicals P.O. Box 727, Adelaide Station Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5 A Basic Understanding of the Communist Party of China (Shanghai 1974) Translated from the French Edition NORMAN BETHUNE INSTITUTE TORONTO, 1976 6 Preface to the French Edition (Paris) This book has been prepared by the "Basic Understanding of the Party" Editorial Group and published by People's Publishing House, Shanghai. The translation from Chinese into French was carried out by Danielle Bergeron from the first edition of March, 1974, of which 474,000 copies were printed. The exact title of the book is A Basic Understanding of the Party . For the French edition we have replaced "Party" by "Communist Party of China." The quotations from Chairman Mao at the beginning of the book were included in the Chinese edition. That edition did not, however, include reference notes and thus the references and clarifications that are found at the end of the volume have been added by us. In this edition, we have also inserted the Constitution of the Communist Party of China approved at its Tenth Congress. Patrick Kessel 7 QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN MAO The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party. The theoretical basis guiding our thinking is Marxism-Leninism. ( 1) To lead the revolution to victory, a political party must depend on the correctness of its own political line and the solidity of its own organisation. ( 2) Practise Marxism, and not revisionism; unite, and don't split; be open and aboveboard, and don't intrigue and conspire. ( 3) 8 QUOTATION FROM CHAIRMAN MAO Socialist society covers a considerably long historical period. In the historical period of socialism, there are still classes, class contradictions and class struggle, there is the struggle between the socialist road and the capitalist road, and there is the danger of capitalist restoration. We must recognize the protracted and complex nature of this struggle. We must heighten our vigilance. We must conduct socialist education. We must correctly understand and handle class contradictions and class struggle, distinguish the contradictions between ourselves and the enemy from those among the people and handle them correctly. Otherwise a socialist country like ours will turn into its opposite and degenerate, and a capitalist restoration will take place. From now on we must remind ourselves of this every year, every month and every day so that we can retain a relatively sober understanding of this problem and have a Marxist-Leninist line. ( 4) 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN MAO INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 13 I THE CHARACTER OF THE PARTY The Communist Party of China is the Political Party of the Proletariat ................................................ 17 The Party is the Vanguard of the Proletariat ............... 20 Struggle to Preserve the Proletarian Character of the Party 24 II THE GUIDING THOUGHT OF THE PARTY Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought Represents the Most Correct, the Most Scientific and the Most Revolutionary Truth ........................................ 26 Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought Is Our Party's Guide to Action ............................................ 30 Struggle to Defend the Guiding Thought of the Party ........ 33 III THE BASIC PROGRAMME AND THE FINAL GOAL OF THE PARTY Communism is the Noble Ideal of the Proletariat ............ 37 To Realise Communism, It is Necessary to Go Through the Dictatorship of the Proletariat ............................ 41 We Must Struggle All Our Lives for the Realisation of Communism .................................................. 43 IV THE BASIC LINE OF THE PARTY The Basic Line is the Lifeblood of the Party ............... 46 We Must Fully Recognize the Protracted Nature of the Class Struggle and the Two-Line Struggle ......................... 50 We Must Have the Revolutionary Spirit of Going Against the Tide ....................................................... 53 We Must Correctly Handle the Relationship Between the "Key Link" and the "Whole Chain" ........................... 55 V THE PARTY'S PRINCIPLES OF "THE THREE DO'S AND THREE DON'TS" Practise Marxism and Not Revisionism ....................... 57 Unite and Don't Split ...................................... 61 Be Open and Aboveboard, Don't Intrigue and Conspire ........ 64 "The Three Do's and Three Don'ts" Are Three Basic Principles Which Members of the Communist Party Must Observe .................................................... 67 VI THE CENTRALISED LEADERSHIP OF THE PARTY The Party Must Exercise Leadership In Everything; This is an Important Marxist-Leninist Principle ....................... 71 The Centralised Leadership of the Party is Essentially the Leadership of a Correct Ideological and Political Line ..... 74 Grasp Important Questions Well, Strengthen the Centralised Leadership of the Party ........................ 78 The Members of the Communist Party Must Consciously Come Under the Centralised Leadership of the Party and Maintain It ................................................ 81 VII DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM IN THE PARTY Democratic Centralism is the Organisational Principle of the Party ...................................................... 84 Correctly Handle the Relationship Between Collective Leadership and Individual Responsibility ................... 87 Develop Internal Party Democracy and Maintain Centralised Unity .......................................... 91 VIII PARTY DISCIPLINE Discipline Ensures the Implementation of the Line .......... 94 Consciously Respect Party Discipline ....................... 96 Correctly Implement Party Discipline ....................... 99 IX THE "THREE GREAT STYLES OF WORK" OF THE PARTY The "Three Great Styles of Work" Are a Fine Tradition of Our Party .................................................. 103 The Style of Work of Integrating Theory with Practice ...... 105 The Style of Work of Maintaining Close Ties With the Masses ..................................................... 108 The Style of Work of Practising Criticism and Self-Criticism 112 X THE TRAINING OF SUCCESSORS FOR THE REVOLUTIONARY CAUSE OF THE PROLETARIAT Training Successors for the Revolution is an Important Strategic Task ............................................. 117 Train and Select the Successors for the Revolutionary Cause Through Struggle ........................................... 119 Let the Whole Party Put Its Shoulder to The Task of Training Successors ................................................. 122 XI THE TASKS OF THE PRIMARY ORGANISATIONS OF THE PARTY The Development and Strengthening of the Primary Organisations of the Party Is of Great Significance ........ 126 The Fighting Tasks of the Primary Organisations of the Party 129 The Primary Organisations of the Party Must Ensure Their Own Consolidation .......................................... 134 XII THE EXEMPLARY VANGUARD ROLE OF PARTY MEMBERS The Exemplary Vanguard Role of Members of the Communist Party is Extremely Important ..................... 137 To Play an Exemplary Vanguard Role We Must Observe the "Five Requirements" ........................................ 139 Conscientiously Remould Our World Outlook so as to Completely Adhere to the Party Ideologically ............... 142 XIII CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR ADMISSION OF PARTY MEMBERS Conditions for Admission of Party Members .................. 144 Procedures for Admission of Party Members .................. 146 Correctly Handle the Question of the Admission of Party Members .............................................. 149 Conscientiously Carry Out the Work of Enlisting New Members .................................................... 152 XIV UPHOLD PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM Proletarian Internationalism Is a Fundamental Principle of Marxism-Leninism ..........................................